Asheville, Buncombe teachers, parents, staff demand higher pay: 'I can't live on this'

ASHEVILLE - Educators, students and parents from Asheville and Buncombe County schools are calling for "urgent action" to be taken to retain and recruit staff, with more than 100 people gathered at Pack Square Park March 20 to deliver a petition of nearly 2,500 signatures.

Chief among the coalition's asks is higher pay. Specifically, the petition calls for the Asheville and Buncombe school districts to become living wage certified, with local supplements increased to match other N.C. districts with a similarly steep cost of living.

Daniel Withrow, president of the Asheville City Association of Educators, the organization leading the charge along with the Buncombe County Association of Educators, said 85% of all ACS staff has signed the petition.

In both districts, he said, the strain is similar: “We have seen huge turnover in the last couple of years as people just can’t afford to stay here any longer ... what happens is that as people leave, we lose those relationships with students and families and coworkers, we lose the institutional knowledge, we lose the expertise in our local curricula.”

Previous coverage:What did Buncombe County Schools employees earn in 2021? Why some say they need more

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Asheville High School teacher Liz LeBleu led chants in front of a crowd decked-out in red, one of several voices leading the way at the rally, her back to the towering Buncombe County Courthouse and City Hall.

While stories and vantage points varied, the central refrain was clear: "I can't live on this pay."

That was from Cassandra Wells, bus driver and instructional assistant at Claxton Elementary School. She said her work days start at 6:23 a.m. and end at 5:30 p.m. Even working three jobs, she said she can hardly save, can't afford to buy a house and fears any unexpected financial strains, like medical bills.

"Some of us are at our breaking point," Wells said. "I've seen good drivers quit because there is no change."

More:Some Asheville school bus drivers get 250% stipend increase after another near-walkout

LaTonya Best, Exceptional Students Instructional Assistant at Montford North Star Academy, has been with ACS for 21 years. She described a job she loves, but a financial strain that means she's often "barely getting by."

"Raise my pay," she said. "Pay me for the years of experience, so ... I can help my babies and see my babies walk across the stage."

In August 2022, the Citizen Times reported that ACS saw a a 16% increase in turnover in the 2021-22 school year over the year before.

Similarly, in May 2022, Citizen Times reporting found that "the school system is facing a 'tsunami' of employee exodus and low-salary backlash in the next two to three years."

“What we’re saying is we really need to figure out how to interrupt this vicious cycle," Withrow said. "We need to figure out how to ensure that people can stay here, so we don’t continue having this high rate of turnover, so that we can meet the needs of our students and so that we can stabilize our communities and our schools.”

The coalition also calls for both districts to permanently fund all positions currently funded through temporary pandemic-relief funds, especially positions that attend to student mental and emotional health.

More:Buncombe Schools salaries so low, district facing an employee-loss 'tsunami,' study says

How is school staff pay determined? Where do Asheville, Buncombe rank?

Base pay in Asheville Buncombe County schools are determined by the state. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has a rigid pay schedule for teachers based on their education and experience levels.

According to the fiscal year 2022-2023 DPI salary schedule, a new teacher with a bachelor's degree must make a minimum of $37,000 annually. Paired with the 9% supplement, a new teacher at ACS has a starting salary of $40,330.

On top of that base salary, ACS and BCS provide a local supplement for their employees. The supplement is based on North Carolina years of service and is paid out in a lump sum every year in May.

Buncombe's local supplement information can be found at buncombeschools.org/o/bcs/page/salary-schedules, and Asheville's here: ashevillecityschools.net/domain/2607.

When compared with other major urban school districts in N.C. with high costs of living, Asheville and Buncombe’s school staff wages lag well behind, said a March 17 news release from BCAE and ACAE.

In ACS, a teacher with 10 years of experience earns a 10% annual local supplement, in BCS it's 10.5%. The release compared this to Wilmington, which despite the cost of living in New Hanover County being 86% of Buncombe's, has an 18.1% local supplement.

A presentation from Withrow does note that Asheville's supplements is higher than other WNC districts, but lower than pricier districts around the state. The issue, he said, is that while cost of living skyrockets, wages stagnate.

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'We all recognize the need'

On March 20, the petition was presented to representatives from the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners and school board members. Ultimately, Buncombe County and Asheville school boards will deliberate on their budget, and make a formal budget request to county commission.

"It was impactful. We’ve known for a while the education system is in crisis right now, and our teachers need our help," said Commissioner Martin Moore of the rally. He said now is the "perfect season" to have these discussions about how to achieve a living wage for educators.

More:Democrat Moore, incoming District 2 Buncombe commissioner, talks vision on growth, safety

"It’s really hard to hear that folks are leaving our community, and teachers are the backbone of so much of what we do. I’d love to see us focus on that as one of our budget priorities, in addition to what we’ve already set out thus far."

With budget development underway, the Asheville Board of Education is already considering a number of different pay increase options, and heard a presentation on March 15. Scenarios range from flat to variable rate increases, and ACS spokesperson Dillon Huffman said the board is "looking at all options."

“The only way for us to remain competitive is for the state to help with staff salaries," Huffman said. "We look forward to working with the ACAE/BCAE as we continue to have conversations around this topic and form a coalition to go to the people at the state level who can make those decisions.”

Similarly, BCS spokesperson Stacia Harris said they "appreciate any effort," whether it's the proposed budget from Gov. Roy Cooper or local conversations about staff pay, "that shines a light on our talented educators."

"We know that pay is directly tied to the recruitment and retention of high-quality teachers and support staff; without these employees, our students can't be successful," Harris said. "We continue to support any effort to ensure public education is fully supported in all aspects of our funding."

Though it's been a long fight for higher pay in local school districts, Withrow said he feels hopeful.

“I really do think we all recognize the need here ... We are working together on this: our school board, the superintendent, our county commissioners, and the county school board and superintendent, I believe," he said. “We’re all trying to figure out a way to work together to make this happen."

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What are the asks?

The petition requests centered on classified and certified staff. Certified staff are those that hold an N.C. teaching or administration license, such as teachers, instructional coaches and principals. Classified are hourly employees, such as custodians, bus drivers and maintenance workers.

Here are the asks:

• Increase take home pay for certified staff by 7% in every category.

• Raise classified staff pay to a minimum of $20.10/hour, the 2023 living wage for Buncombe County, or a 20% raise, whichever is greater for each staffer.

• Acquire and maintain a Just Economics Living Wage Employer certification, and commit to providing an annual cost of living adjustment for classified staff.

• Address pay compression in the classified staff salary schedule by providing a step increase of at least 2% of overall wages every year of service.

• Commit to using permanent local funds to continue funding all positions currently funded through temporary federal COVID relief funds or temporary state monies.

• In order to ensure that students can access needed supports in a timely manner, establish an Exceptional Children and Student Support Advisory Committee. The committee, composed of certified and classified staff working with exceptional students and in intervention and student services roles, will identify staffing issues, policy hurdles, and other barriers to securing the supports that students need to learn and thrive and will develop and propose solutions to these issues.

Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message on Twitter at @slhonosky.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville, Buncombe teachers, parents, bus drivers call for higher pay