Parents press Buncombe schools for clarity on state budget stalemate
Parents told Buncombe school leaders the state budget stall is already freezing salaries for 3,330 employees. They want families told what delays mean for nurses, officers and classroom staffing.
Parents pushed the Buncombe County Board of Education for a clearer warning about what Raleigh’s budget stalemate is already doing to local schools, arguing that uncertainty over state money is no longer an abstract political fight but a daily staffing problem in Asheville classrooms.
At the board’s April 2 meeting, Natalie Dorsey, co-coordinator of the Buncombe County chapter of Public School Strong, joined other parents in asking why the district had not sent a direct letter to families explaining the stall and urging public pressure on state lawmakers. The board’s agenda that night included public comment, a 2026 Legislative Agenda item and a North Carolina State Budget Resolution, putting the issue squarely before elected school leaders.
Dorsey told the board that North Carolina ranks 49th out of 50 states in public school funding, a figure that tracks with Education Law Center reporting that placed the state 48th in funding level and 49th in funding effort. The message from parents was blunt: if state money keeps getting delayed, so do school decisions that affect staffing, safety and basic operations.
Some of the most immediate concerns were concrete. Parents said a school resource officer is only on campus a couple of days per week, and a nurse is also shared across schools on a limited schedule. Other commenters pointed to teacher shortages, larger class sizes and bus-driver shortages, underscoring that the budget fight is reaching far beyond Raleigh and into the school day itself.
State Rep. Lindsey Prather, who represents Buncombe County, attended the meeting and said she would carry those concerns back to Raleigh during the short session. The board then voted for a resolution asking the North Carolina General Assembly to immediately pass a 2026 Appropriations Act, signaling that local leaders want a state solution now, not a wait-and-see approach.
The stakes are especially high in Buncombe County Schools because state funding makes up about 60% of the district’s budget, Superintendent Rob Jackson said. Jackson also said salaries were frozen for 3,330 employees because there was no set state budget, and he described the current wait as the longest he had seen in 35 years with the district.
The uncertainty is not new. In 2024, Buncombe County Schools sought an additional $13.5 million from county commissioners as state and federal funding questions mounted. With no finalized state budget, parents say the longer Raleigh stalls, the more Buncombe schools will be forced to make temporary decisions about staffing, support services and family planning that should have been settled months ago.
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