Buncombe County and Asheville City school district merger not recommended, consultant says

ASHEVILLE – A Charlotte-based consulting firm is not recommending the consolidation of Buncombe County’s two school districts, according to a draft report of a feasibility study conducted in 2024 and released by the county.

In 2023, the North Carolina General Assembly mandated that Asheville City Schools and Buncombe County Schools study a potential merger. Acting as the lead agency, Buncombe County government hired Prismatic Services to conduct the study, which is costing the county more than $300,000. The consulting firm looked at the potential impacts of consolidation on student performance, cost-saving potential and other areas.

“One factor that could be a strong reason to recommend consolidation is whether either school system is currently facing a financial or other crisis,” the report’s authors wrote. “In such situations, consolidation would be a reasonable potential solution. Prismatic did not find either system to be in the midst of a crisis.”

Buncombe County published the draft report on its website Jan. 7 after the Citizen Times requested the document from the county, the city of Asheville, Buncombe County Schools and Asheville City Schools on Jan. 6. Prismatic had provided the draft to both school districts to review and note any errors, according to ACS.

The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will hold a joint meeting with the boards of education of each district Jan. 16, when Prismatic will present its final report. The meeting is open to the public and will begin at 9 a.m. in first-floor conference room of the Buncombe County Administration Building, located at 200 College St. in downtown Asheville.

The final report will be sent to the General Assembly before the Feb. 15 completion deadline.

‘Little local appetite for consolidation’

Merging Buncombe County Schools with Asheville City Schools has been a topic of discussion and political debate for decades.

Numerous feasibility studies dating back to 1963 have been conducted. Early reports recommended consolidation, according to Prismatics’ draft report, while others were inconclusive or recommended against a merger. One report conducted in 1982 suggested consolidation could result in a potential tax increase, with its authors noting “overwhelming public opposition” to a merger.

More than 40 years later, not much has changed, according to Prismatic’s draft findings.

“There is little local appetite for consolidation,” the report’s authors wrote.

To gather public input, Prismatic hosted nine drop-in community meetings, one online forum and conducted surveys in 2024. Those who supported consolidation cited leadership turnover at ACS – the district has cycled through several superintendents in the last 10 years – as well as an achievement gap between Black and white students, which Prismatic said consolidation would do little to close.

“Both (school districts) have disappointing current results with various student subgroups,” the report’s authors wrote. “Although both systems are making efforts to reduce achievement gaps, neither has yet demonstrated that (it’s) on a certain path to success.”

The report also dispels common community perceptions, like ACS’s central office is bloated and “top heavy,” finding any potential cost savings of consolidation to be minimal.

“Overall, Prismatic did not find areas of excess central office staffing in either ACS or BCS,” the report’s authors wrote.

The firm identified only 25 central office positions, plus one superintendent position, that could be eliminated with consolidation. According to the report, those cuts would result in a maximum of $3.3 million in annual savings, which is less than 1% of overall expenditures based on budgets from the 2022-23 school year.

The consolidated district would also be primed to lose approximately $500,000 in annual funding from the state, the report said. Plus, Prismatic predicted consolidation would lead to additional merger-related expenses, both one-time and ongoing.

Additionally, salary increases for some leadership positions could be expected.

“Typically, leaders in larger school systems command higher salaries than those in smaller ones,” the report’s authors wrote.

Prismatic did suggest some savings could be had if the consolidated systems adopted BCS’s teacher staffing levels, which would increase class sizes and reduce the number of teacher positions needed at former ACS schools.

But consolidation would pose at least one significant financial concern, according to Prismatic. Specifically, a consolidated system would have to adopt a consistent salary and supplement schedule for its staff, otherwise some lower-paid employees might quit.

Currently, each district has a different average salary, which is based on experience and education, for teachers and other certified personnel .

“It would be difficult to retain staff in a position if because they were previously employed by ACS or BCS they were now earning less than others in a similar position in the new system,” wrote the report’s authors.

Room for improvement

While Prismatic’s initial recommendation doesn’t favor consolidation, it did identify areas the school systems could address, like their lack of collaboration with one another and facility capacity, that could alleviate some of the challenges each are facing.

“Prismatic recommends that ACS and BCS initiate a series of conversations around the potential for greater shared services, beginning with child nutrition, transportation, and facilities maintenance,” the report’s authors wrote.

They also suggest Buncombe County require the two districts “to meet at least quarterly to discuss common areas of strategic importance, including annual budget development.”

Prismatic also recommended Buncombe County and the city of Asheville work together to redraw school district lines so they align with city boundaries, though the report’s authors acknowledge redistricting may require approval from state legislators. Alternatively, Prismatic suggested the county and city could “promote policies to allow families in the city to choose which system they would like for their students to attend.”

In 2023, ACS had 3,828 students enrolled in its schools, while BCS had 21,731 students.

Given enrollment projections for each district, which are flat at best, the consulting firm recommended each district “review options for rightsizing their facilities inventories and implement at least some school closures.”

More: Could Asheville City, Buncombe County schools be merging? Study mandated by NC legislature

More: ACS votes to close Montford North Star, consolidate with Asheville Middle in 5-2 vote

Jacob Biba is the county watchdog reporter at the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Email him at jbiba@citizentiems.com.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Consolidation of ACS and BCS not recommended, consultant says