Asheville City Schools outlines five-year plan at public town hall

At the Dr. Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Community Center, Asheville City Schools leaders faced parents and staff who wanted to know how a five-year strategic plan will affect classrooms, hiring and student support in the next year, not just by the end of the decade.

Superintendent Maggie Fehrman opened the April 28 town hall by pointing to four priorities in the district’s plan: climate and culture, student outcomes, staff, and operations and finance. The plan also frames the work around student goals and outcomes, staff recruitment, retention and development, and sustainable stewardship for student success. Fehrman said the district has “amazing things” underway and needs to make sure those opportunities reach every student, regardless of ZIP code or background. She said the goal is to prepare every student for life after college.

The district says the plan is designed to prepare every ACS student for the future by strengthening teaching, expanding real-world learning and ensuring access to opportunity. It also says Asheville City Schools wants a more sustainable, standardized and resilient operating model built on infrastructure, shared training and documentation, data-driven accountability and strategic partnerships. During the 2025-26 school year, ACS launched a feasibility study and facility needs assessment to guide future operational and building changes.

The sharpest questions at the town hall came from the gap between broad goals and day-to-day realities. Copeland Rudolph of the Asheville City Schools Foundation asked about closing the achievement gap between white and Black students and recruiting more teachers of color. Ernest Sessoms Jr., ACS elementary and federal program director, said equity should be part of every district conversation, including construction, the budget and student outcomes. He said the district is working proactively on students’ sense of belonging and is considering mentorship programs. Mark Dickerson, assistant superintendent for human resources, said recruiting teachers of color is complicated by Asheville’s high cost of living compared with teacher salaries. He said the district has discussed stipends to encourage more diverse hires and wants staff demographics to more closely reflect the student body.

The town hall landed after a long stretch of budget strain. ACS closed a $5.7 million deficit in August 2024 and was still facing a $2.82 million shortfall in June 2025. In May 2025, Fehrman said Buncombe County’s draft budget compared funding in a misleading way and treated ACS differently after post-Helene revenue losses, while the district’s requested increase in the special supplemental tax district was left out. Later that month, educators warned that as many as 100 to 150 staff positions could be at risk if funding fell short.

Fehrman’s district biography says she created the Cougar Academy of Leadership and Learning to diversify district leadership and established a Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council. Those efforts fit the tone of the town hall, but the real test is narrower: whether the district can turn a five-year promise into clearer staffing, stronger support and more stable operations before another school year passes.