Buncombe educators join Raleigh rally for more school funding

More than 200 teachers and school staff members from Asheville and Buncombe County spent May 1 at Halifax Mall in Raleigh, joining an estimated 15,000 educators in a push for more public school funding that could shape staffing and classrooms back home.

The North Carolina Association of Educators called the day the “Kids Over Corporations” march and rally, and it drew educators, parents and community allies from across the state. For Buncombe County, the turnout was unusually heavy: local reporting said the delegation included more than 200 people from Asheville and Buncombe County, a visible sign that frustrations over pay, vacancies and school support have reached far beyond a single district.

That local pressure had already forced schedule changes. Buncombe County Schools announced on April 23 that May 1 would be an optional teacher workday after nearly 600 staff members requested leave for the rally. The district said it had been contacting substitute teachers and using Central Services staff to cover vacancies. Asheville City Schools also shifted May 1 to a work day, underscoring how deeply the Raleigh event disrupted the normal school week in Buncombe County.

The rally came as North Carolina continued to lag in several key education measures. The state was projected to rank 46th nationally in average teacher pay for 2025-26, and separate data cited by WUNC put North Carolina 46th in per-student spending. The Education Law Center’s 2025 “Making the Grade” report ranked the state 50th in public school funding effort and said North Carolina spent about $5,600 less per student than the national average.

NCAE said the pay outlook was especially alarming because North Carolina was the only state projected to see teacher salaries decline in 2025-26. At least 13 districts statewide canceled classes or changed schedules because so many educators requested leave to attend the rally, a reminder that the staffing strain is not confined to Buncombe.

For families in Asheville, Black Mountain, Weaverville and Woodfin, the fight in Raleigh will matter only if it produces something tangible: a state budget that raises teacher pay, makes it easier to fill vacancies, and gives districts enough money to keep classrooms staffed and supported. Until then, the trip stands as a direct challenge to lawmakers to treat public education as a core obligation, not a line item to be managed after the fact.