Hard choices loom for whomever wins election to the Buncombe County Board of Education this November.
As recently reported by the Citizen Times, Buncombe County Schools is spending through its fiscal reserves. Administrators say the system could need to shed nearly 120 jobs to balance next year’s budget. Meanwhile, although academic performance is improving, just three of the district’s 44 graded schools received an “A” ranking in the most recent report from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.
Three of the county school board’s seven seats are up for election in nonpartisan races this fall. In District 5, which covers the area feeding into Enka High School, incumbent Judy Lewis faces first-time candidate Alina Moiseyev. In District 6, the territory
associated with Clyde A. Erwin High School, board Vice Chair Kim Plemmons seeks another term against new challenger Taras Shevchenko. Chair Rob Elliot is running unopposed in District 3, associated with A.C. Reynolds High School.
The Citizen Times reached out to all candidates in the contested school board races to learn more about their positions. Lewis did not respond to multiple requests for comment, including email, text, and voice messages. Her campaign does have an active Facebook presence.
District 5
Moiseyev, a Candler real estate agent, said she was motivated to run based on her observations as a former teacher and current mother of seven children in public schools. “I feel like I can bring a different perspective as a parent from practical experience and a sense of responsibility,” she said.
Asked about school staffing, Moiseyev emphasized the importance of teaching assistants as “not a negotiable.” Especially when class sizes are large, she said, teachers need support staff in the classroom to give children the attention they need. She also suggested that parents be given more paths for in-school volunteering to supplement staff when possible.
On a policy level, Moiseyev said she’d work to tighten rules around technology in classrooms. Education should focus on hands-on learning and analog activities, she explained, “because kids should not be raised by electronics.”
She also supports conservative policies around gender and sexuality. In June, Buncombe County Schools became the target of a federal inquiry regarding its approach to transgender students and restroom use. The U.S. Department of Education declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation.
“Keep the boys and girls bathrooms separate,” Moiseyev said. “They’re innocent children; let them stay innocent as long as they can. We don’t need to be pushing the agenda on the children.”
Lewis, Moiseyev’s opponent, did not respond to the Citizen Times. Her profile on Buncombe County’s “Meet the Board” webpage notes that Lewis is a former assistant principal at Enka who taught English for over two decades. She was first elected to the board in 2022.
District 6
Plemmons is also seeking another term, having first earned her seat in 2022. Prior to her election, the retired banker had a long history of involvement in Buncombe school groups such as parent-teacher organizations, advisory councils, and booster clubs.
Whatever the system’s financial difficulties, Plemmons said, it must not reduce resources for children-facing positions — “not just teachers, but behavior specialists, counselors, social workers, and of course principals and assistant principals.” She expected that the schools would see enough natural staff attrition and retirement to avoid making further cuts next year.
Shevchenko, Plemmon’s opponent, is a parent of three Buncombe students who works in the transportation industry. He said he wasn’t intimately familiar with the system’s budget but felt like enough resources weren’t being directed to teachers. As the child of Ukranian immigrants, he added, he wanted to support resources for the district’s English as a Second Language Program.
Like his fellow challenger Moiseyev, Shevchenko wants the district to take a tougher line on classroom technology and matters of what he called “ideology.” He said teachers were worried of professional consequences if they didn’t go along with students’ self-identification.
“Teachers are afraid now to stand up, to say, ‘No — I’m not going to call you a cat today, or “Fluffy,” or whatever,’” said Shevchenko, in an apparent reference to debunked rumors about students identifying as animals. “That line has already crossed, and I do not agree with that.”
Plemmons instead focused her policy comments on how the district has been shaping mandates from the state. For example, in response to a recently passed law requiring schools to excuse children for religious instruction, Buncombe schools clarified that students couldn’t miss core subjects like English or math.
Early voting for Buncombe County’s midterm elections opens Thursday, Oct. 15. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. More information on where and how to vote is available through the Citizen Times voter guide.
Daniel Walton is the City Government Watchdog Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Email him at dwalton@citizentimes.com, and connect with him on social media through Facebook, Instagram, or Reddit.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Who's running for Buncombe's school board in 2026?
