Buncombe County Schools is facing the possibility of having to "absorb" more than 100 positions to balance the 2027-2028 budget.
The potential cuts to positions came up in a presentation by interim superintendent Jennifer Reed at a board meeting Sept. 3.
Reed said that the local revenues for the district are $109 million and estimated local expenditures for 2026 to 2027 are at $124 million, leaving the district needing an estimated $15 million to cover the budget shortfall. If the district budgets for that, Reed said, that leaves it with a projected fund balance of $2 million as of June 30, 2027.
Additionally, for the first time last school year, the district implemented a new position allotment model, and the district needs another year to align
with that model, Reed said. The district also has fewer students in school this year, which indicates that there will be a reduction in state funding.
Based on that information, the district would need to "absorb" approximately 118 positions to balance the 2027-2028 budget, Reed said.
In the spring, there will be an opportunity to "leverage vacancies" in order to absorb those positions, Reed added.
One issue they might possibly face is that they might not have the attrition in the same areas where the district needs to cut positions, which could lead to some "staffing shifts" during the hiring season, Reed said.
Board of Education vice chair Kim Plemmons said during the meeting that she is disappointed by the situation.
"I feel certain that we are going to be looking at every single position as they're vacated. I think it's important for us to put that out there, because $2 million left in a savings account, … when you look at our total budget, that's not a lot of money," Plemmons said. "We're going to have to be frugal and make tough decisions."
Tina Thorpe, chief finance officer for the district, said that the state budget, which passed in July, has led to the situation the district finds itself in.
"We got our budget in July, and there are so many unknowns in there that impact our local budget and cause it to increase dramatically and put us in an unsecure financial situation," she said
Separately during the meeting, the Board of Education voted to give exceptional children teaching assistants the ability to work eight hours rather than the seven they are currently allotted beginning in the 2027-2028 school year. If all 150 of those teaching assistants move to an eight-hour shift, it would cost the district more than half a million dollars, but not all are expected to do so, Reed said.
Kara Fohner is the Public Safety Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Email her at kfohner@usatodayco.com or call her at 980-241-8671.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: With school budget issues in Buncombe, 100-plus positions to be scrutinized
