Parents and educators press Buncombe County board to push Raleigh on school funding, urge mass outreach

An extended public-comment period at the April 2 Buncombe County Schools meeting was dominated by parents, educators and advocates who urged the board to push state lawmakers for more funding and to distribute a drafted advocacy letter to all district families.

Multiple speakers — including Alex Ramirez, Jerry Nugent, Natalie Dorsey and representatives of parent and advocacy groups — asked the board to share a drafted letter that would mobilize families to contact state legislators about school funding shortfalls. Commenters said state appropriations have not kept pace with costs and cited specific local problems: frozen pay for employees, cuts to instructional and extracurricular programs, disconnected HVAC in a school gym, depleted discretionary school funds, a shortage of bus drivers, and limited nursing and mental-health staff.

Several speakers cited a North Carolina Supreme Court ruling in the Leandro school funding case earlier that day and framed it as worsening the state funding crisis. Sharon Broussard told the board that the court’s decision “turned the back on our constitution” and that the ruling ends a long path to relief for plaintiffs from rural counties. Other speakers recounted local impacts: Natalie Dorsey listed program and position cuts at Enka-area schools, including STEM program cuts and the loss of some assistants; parents and grandparents said teachers are leaving for better-paid jobs and nurses and counselors are strained.

Kim Po Teet — who spoke about AI guardrails in classrooms and offered an AI-focused proclamation — asked the board to adopt technology protections that emphasize parental consent and data transparency. That request was one of several more-specific policy asks lodged during the public-comment period.

Advocates asked the board to collaborate across Western North Carolina and to bring the district’s concerns to the School Board Association and the General Assembly. Craig White of Public School Strong urged ongoing persistence and coalition-building; Lindsey Prather, an elected official present in the room, said the current legislative turnover creates an advocacy opportunity and offered to work with the board.

Board members acknowledged the remarks during the later action-items discussion and the district subsequently presented a 2026 legislative agenda and a state budget resolution (both adopted during the meeting) that reflect many of the requests made by commenters.

The board did not vote to send the draft letter to families during the meeting; several speakers and attendees urged follow-up action and broader coordination with neighboring districts.