(Updated, see below) Joint Presentation from the City and County School Boards, Buncombe County Commission Briefing, February 7th

This was an update on the County’s “Educated & Capable Community” Strategic Plan Focus Area. (You can read the coverage in the Asheville Citizen Times here.) The report documented the vast disparities in education in both City and County schools between Black students and white students. For example, “13% of Black students in (grades three through eight) were considered proficient in reading, compared to 75% of white students, a 62 percentage point gap.” City Superintendent Jim Causby suggested that “poverty is likely the cause of these gaps.” Gaps exist not just in academic achievement, but also when it comes to discipline. Black students in County schools are 2.5 times more likely than white students to be referred to law enforcement; in City schools, Black students are seven times more likely than white students to be so referred.

Our original response: Like many, we are appalled at the failure of our local schools to serve the needs of Black children. We agree with Superintendent Causby that poverty is one likely factor, but we wonder if others have been adequately explored. In addition to racial data, the City and County also have data on how many of their students are “economically disadvantaged,” but their presentation doesn’t address the overlap of race and class. We wonder: Do “economically disadvantaged” students of all races receive disproportionate discipline and score lower than other students? Do Black students who aren’t “economically disadvantaged” have law enforcement referral and test scores on par with their white peers? If poverty is indeed the primary cause of these problems then the data should reflect that, but this presentation did not report the data in this way, and we suspect that there are other factors at play.

Updated response 2/14/23: Buncombe County Commissioner Amanda Edwards responded to our report last night. “I specifically asked during the meeting for the economically disadvantaged data to be broken down further by race. County staff are working with both school districts to obtain this information. However, please know that some data cannot be disaggregated due to federal regulations, specifically around free and reduced lunch.”

We’re glad to hear that Commissioner Edwards has already taken action to get answers to these questions. We’re leaving this item in the “yellow (things of concern, more information needed), pending those answers coming out. However, we are no longer suggesting that you reach out to the City and County Superintendents, since the process is apparently underway.

City Council Worksession: Discussion of the McCormick Field project and potential funding plans

Major League Baseball, which oversees minor league teams like the Asheville Tourists, is demanding millions of dollars in renovations to McCormick Field. If they aren’t made, the team will not be able to play there, which means it will likely move to another city. The owners of the team are proposing the City pay $13.5 million over 15 years. They are also proposing that the state, the Tourist Development Authority (TDA), and the County contribute funds. The owners are offering to pay $4.5 million themselves. (You can read more about the issue in this Asheville Watchdog article.)

We recognize that the Asheville Tourists are important to many people in the City, and would welcome a plan to keep them here. However, the price the City is being asked to pay seems very high, in light of other priorities like reparations and affordable housing. We would encourage City Council to push for a better arrangement – one which asks the team owners, Major League Baseball and the Tourist Development Authority (among others) to contribute more, and which prioritizes the needs of the East End community that surrounds McCormick Field.

City Council Agenda: New Business A. Resolution authorizing the City Manager to sign a funding letter of commitment to the N.C. Dept. of Transportation regarding the city betterments and aesthetics treatments for the I-26 Connector Project Sections B & D. (Staff Report)

The City is preparing a “funding letter of commitment” for the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), outlining the “city betterments” and “aesthetic treatments” for the I-26 Connector Project. Staff is recommending that the City pay $5.4 million for various improvements. They claim that doing so “is financially advantageous to the City as any additional costs, including cost escalations, incurred for the associated improvements will be borne by NCDOT.”

We wonder if any of these projects (city betterments and aesthetic treatments) will involve the acquisition of any right-of-way that could negatively impact communities of color. Will there be an opportunity for affected communities to participate and object to the projects if they determine necessary, or will the “funding letter of commitment” lock the City into a course of action that locals won’t be able to significantly influence?

City Council Agenda, Consent K: Resolution amending the 2023 City Council meeting schedule to add in-person City Council agenda briefing worksessions (Resolution)

City Council is proposing to do these in-person public briefings every other week, outlining for the community the issues that are likely to be on the official City Council agenda the following week.

We’re excited to see this development. For years, this work has been done through a “check-in” process that carefully avoided a Council quorum so it could be done behind closed doors. Shifting to public meetings is an important step toward a more transparent and democratic process.