Educators in Buncombe County, N.C., speak out against budget cuts

Picketers calling out against budget cuts to schools for children's education. | Brian Badescu / People's World

ASHEVILLE, N.C.—On Jan. 22, as an arctic storm cut temperature down through the city, the Buncombe County Association of Educators (BCAE) conducted a practice picket outside the Buncombe County Commissioners office. Slogans of protecting education and providing for the children of the county were shouted into the frigid air, the workers of the region demanding that the commission not cut $4.6 million from schools.

Educators, custodians, students, and allies alike gathered with picket signs and megaphones to shout out their frustration and dissatisfaction with the decision coming down the pipeline. The practice picket came only hours before the commission would motion and decide on whether or not to cut the school’s budget later that night. “Our kids deserve an education” rang out in shouts from frustrated workers hoping to protect the futures of their children, understanding that poor education is poor preparation for life in the United States.

“Last Thursday, there was a budget presentation from the county. In that budget presentation, there were a lot of drastic cuts because of loss of revenue. But the second largest category of cuts is public education, and already right now, schools are so underfunded that if you take any more money from public education, it would be squeezing blood from a stone. There is nothing there left to cut,” said Timothy Lloyd, a custodian of Asheville Middle School and president of the Asheville City Association of Educators (ACAE), “It would also put an undue burden on our students.”

When asked about their demands, Lloyd said: “Back in December, the county commissioner could have decided to raise taxes. As of right now, any sort of demand for property tax raise is out of the question until June. But right now, there is still a remaining fund balance that we believe the county commissioner can dip into that can help minimize the amount of cutbacks that they want from our schools.”

The rally continued until about 5 p.m., after which the picketers entered the building to speak with the commissioners on the issue. As the meeting finally came to the matter of public school budget cuts, Dr. Maggie Fehrman, chair of the Asheville City School Board, stood at the podium to ask for the county to reimburse the schools for any budget cuts:

“We ask for a confirmation and an acknowledgment that if the county’s projected revenue loss is less than predicted for the current budget year or if recovery funds are later received into the county’s general fund, the county will reimburse both school districts for funds being reduced today. Like you, our current year budget was voted on last summer with revenue and expense decisions made in reliance on the county’s appropriations. Unlike you, we don’t have the flexibility in the middle of the school year to find savings with hiring freezes and salary caps. And unlike you, we will use our savings to cover the shortfall.”

Public comment

As the public comment portion of the meeting opened, several workers took to the stand to speak on behalf of their students and for themselves as educators.

The first to stand, Pepi Acebo, elected member of the Asheville City Schools Board of Education, asked for the commission to “take advantage of the section of law that wasn’t quoted in our presentation on Thursday that allows for a voluntary return on funds instead of the mandated 4% across the board.”

Arya Williams, a graduate of Buncombe County’s schools, took to the stand:

“As an EMT and a grief worker, I work a lot with people during moments of crisis. I also got to experience our school system as a grieving family because my first year as a student, my dad died. During moments of crisis and afterward, when we’re still recovering, and we’re dealing with these things, we need to find a way to put as many resources as we can in the moment. Our schools are the thing that connects our community the most!”

Williams continued on to discuss how the cuts would affect the children currently in the system. “We have too many school staff workers doing as much as they can to make it work for our students. They have forever [been] doing too much with too little. To ask now, in this moment of crisis, that they do more with less is unjust. It is unethical, and it is unnecessary.”

Timothy Lloyd, the ACAE president, took the stand to speak, noting that “if Asheville Middle School is funded any less, understand that staff will be upset. But even greater, these students who have just been through a hurricane [Helene] will suffer.”

“You, as county commissioners, can stop this! You can dip further into the Emergency Rainy Day Fund balance. Later, you can raise the property tax rate by a whole penny, and it can cover the entire current education funding shortfall and cost the average homeowner $4 extra per month,” Lloyd stated.

Final vote

As more workers spoke, it was made abundantly clear to the County Commission that their people were demanding that the schools not be touched in this budget cutback. With each worker, student, teacher, custodian, or staff member standing up to speak their mind on the matter came cheers from attendees.

Before the final vote was held, county commissioners spoke of unity and working together as a community to get through these difficult times in the county. With different budget concerns and even amendments to protect early education for students passing, the vote was held.

The final vote was five years to two nays in favor of the budget cuts—a difficult blow to absorb for the working-class educators of Buncombe County.

Leaving the meeting, the workers in public education still held their heads high. Teachers spoke of continuing to work tomorrow, not only in school but to continue pressuring public officials who hold these financial positions of power.

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CONTRIBUTOR

H. V. Leaven

H. V. Leaven is a member of the CPUSA in western North Carolina.