Asheville City Schools makes May 1 optional for Raleigh rally attendance

Asheville City Schools will make Friday, May 1, an optional teacher workday after a significant number of staff members asked to take leave for a rally in downtown Raleigh, a move that puts the strain of the state education fight directly on Asheville families and school operations.

Superintendent Maggie Fehrman said in a letter to families and staff that the district could not provide adequate supervision because of the volume of leave requests. The decision means the school system will adjust its calendar so educators can attend the Kids Over Corporations rally at Halifax Mall without creating an unmanageable staffing problem in Asheville classrooms.

The Buncombe County Association of Educators said more than 100 local educators are expected to make the trip. The group has arranged a shuttle from Asheville Mall, with check-in at 5:30 a.m. and departure at 6 a.m., so participants can reach the 11 a.m. rally in Raleigh. The turnout is notable not just for its size, but for what it signals: enough Asheville-area school employees are willing to give up a workday to press their case in person at the state Capitol.

Statewide, the North Carolina Association of Educators says thousands of educators, parents, students and community allies will gather for the May 1 march, which EdNC reported is being billed as the largest public education march North Carolina has ever seen. The event is set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Halifax Mall and is part of a broader campaign for more public school funding, accountability for voucher spending and an end to policies that prioritize tax cuts over students.

NCAE says North Carolina serves about 1.5 million public school students, failed to adopt a budget in 2025 and ranks 50th in the nation in school funding effort. The organization also says private-school voucher programs cost the state more than $625 million last year and are projected to cost more than $551 million annually by the 2032-33 school year. It says lawmakers have enacted more than $18 billion in tax cuts and that Gov. Josh Stein has warned of a possible $3.5 billion budget shortfall within two years.

In Buncombe County, educators have pointed to the 2024 closure of Montford North Star Academy and the 2022 closure of Asheville Primary School as evidence of what reduced public investment can mean on the ground. For Asheville City Schools, the optional workday is a practical accommodation; for many in the district, it is also a clear sign that the fight over public education funding is far from settled.