Buncombe County Schools -

Consent Agenda
· Minutes: April 3, 2025 – Open Session Regular Meeting
· Minutes: April 7, 2025 – Special Called Work Session
· Personnel Report – May 1, 2025
· 2024-2025 Budget Amendment #6
· Approval of the 2024-2025 Enrollment & Facilities Needs Report
· Sole Source Procurement Request – Ellevation Platform & Strategies Licenses 

Information Agenda
· Finance Reports
· Notification of Informal Construction & Repair Projects and Change Orders
· Policies for First Reading:
-Policy 3225/4312/7320 Technology Responsible Use
-Policy 5071/7351 Electronically Stored Information Retention 
 
Announcements/Future Meetings
· The next Board of Education Regular Meeting is June 5, 2025 at 5:30 p.m. in the Minitorium. Work session updates and Closed Session begin at 4:00 p.m. in the Executive Conference Room at 175 Bingham Road, Asheville, NC.

Superintendent's Comments
Good evening Parents, Members of the Community, Board Members, and Teammates,

Welcome to the month of May — the final stretch of our school year, with just 27 days remaining. This season is one of both celebration and focused determination. Across our schools, we’re seeing remarkable achievements in academics, the arts, and athletics. At the same time, our students and staff remain deeply engaged in making every instructional moment count. I could not be more proud of the dedication and work ethic on display in our classrooms. I believe that future generations will look back to the challenges we have faced this year, to our response, and to our service, and they will remark that this was one of the finest years in the history of Buncombe County Schools as much has been required of our school system teammates and they have responded with grace, with strength, with determination, and with love.

Our High School Musical season is in full swing, with performances this weekend at Enka, Erwin, Owen, and Roberson High Schools. You can find all showtimes on the Arts Calendar on our district website. In addition, the High School All-County Visual Art Show is currently on display at the Asheville Mall through May 17th. My wife and I had the pleasure of visiting the exhibit, and we were absolutely inspired by the incredible creativity and talent of our student-artists. I am so grateful that Buncombe County Schools continues to prioritize the arts and provide meaningful opportunities for students to express and grow their gifts.

In the world of athletics, our spring teams have entered playoff season, and we are already seeing great success on the fields, courts, tracks, and courses. There’s no better way to enjoy a beautiful spring evening than by cheering on our student-athletes. Their talent, teamwork, and perseverance continue to make us proud.

While the arts and athletics enrich our students' experiences, they are ultimately in service of our core mission — academics. In classrooms across the county, I see firsthand the extraordinary effort of our students and staff. I am continually moved by their dedication and am deeply grateful to our teachers, support staff, and school leaders for the difference they make each and every day.

At our recent Budget Work Session, I shared a belief I hold strongly: you can understand what a person or organization truly values by looking at two things — their calendar and their checkbook. How we spend our time, and how we allocate our resources, speaks volumes about who we are and what we stand for.

Tonight, the Board will consider our Local Budget Request — the result of months of thoughtful planning and collaboration. This work began last fall and has involved input from every school and department across the district. I want to thank our Board Members for their time, insight, and advocacy throughout this process, including participation in six budget work sessions and countless additional conversations.

Our proposed budget is built on a foundation of sustaining the critical services we currently provide to students and families. You will also hear tonight about the outstanding efforts of our Student Support Services team, who continue to walk alongside students and staff on the long path of recovery following Hurricane Helene — the most devastating natural disaster in our state’s history. The needs remain great, and our commitment to meeting them remains strong.

Our work is guided by the BCS Strategic Plan — a document shaped by thousands of voices through surveys, town halls, and school-level conversations. It is a reflection of our community’s hopes and expectations, and I am proud to say that our Local Budget Request aligns fully with that vision.

In Buncombe County Schools, we give our very best — because our students deserve nothing less. As we have shown throughout the year, from even the most tragic of challenges, in Buncombe County Schools, Together We Rise!

To our team and to our Board Members, Thank you for all that you do for the students, families, teachers, and staff of Buncombe County Schools.

Mister Chair, this concludes my comments.