Bullet-resistant windows, higher security approved in $40M Buncombe County school fund

ASHEVILLE - School lobby security upgrades — which include adding bullet-resistant windows, upgraded security cameras and the reconfiguration of lobbies to screen visitors — were the highest priority projects in the recently approved $40 million budget for the School Capital Fund Commission during the Buncombe County Commissioners Nov. 7 meeting.

Total approved Buncombe County School system security upgrades total around $6.1 million, while the overall approved $40 million is the highest ever approved amount for the capital fund — an increase of $10 million from 2022.

"We can't go into great detail but can generally say our upfits focus on items like intrusion resistant glass, upgraded security cameras, and front office and lobby reconfiguration to allow staff to more efficiently screen visitors," Buncombe County Schools spokesperson Stacia Harris in an email with the Citizen Times.

The School Capital Fund Commission is a Buncombe County board dedicated to fulfilling the capital needs of the Buncombe County and the Asheville City school systems.

The major source of revenue for the fund is from the Article 39 sales tax. A portion of the tax is allocated for local school capital projects, such as new buildings and repairs, under a 1983 state law.

In recent years, Buncombe County has regularly issued debt to leverage the Article 39 revenue. The fund services the debt on these projects, such as track replacements, ADA renovations, HVAC upgrades and renovations for music rooms. Currently, the fund is nearly 45% of all Buncombe County debt.

"Over the next five years, we are expecting this revenue fund to bring in around $30 million a year," said Buncombe County Financial Planning Analyst Matt Evans, who presented on the amendment during the Nov. 7 meeting.

To qualify for the fund, projects must exceed $100,000, prioritize correcting health and safety concerns, comply with legal requirements, maintain lowest life-cycle cost and improve the educational environment.

"Unfortunately, with the climate of where we are, a lot of significant resources are spent on security," Evans said.

During the meeting, Evans described the additions as adding bulletproof windows, along with being general "lobby security upfits."

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What might the renovations look like?

Nearly $5.4 million of the approved funds are dedicated to upfitting security between three Buncombe County schools — one high school and two elementary schools, Harris said in an email with the Citizen Times. She would specify which schools were being upgraded. There are 45 schools in the Buncombe County School system.

During a Sept. 11 School Capital Fund Commission meeting, the content of recently completed security projects was explained by Buncombe County Schools Assistant Superintendent Joe Hough.

Hough noted one of the "two biggest features" that the schools are planning to add is laminate film, which helps protect from intruders, as tempered glass provides far less protection.

"When you put the laminate over it, a bullet might go through it, but they aren't just going to walk in," Hough said. "They are going to have to sit over there and beat at that glass."

Hough said that with the extended time it takes to allow an intruder to get in, the hope is that there are "sirens in the distance."

The meeting also included a presentation on a "prototype lobby sequence" that displayed a three-layer security entrance system, including bullet-resistant, glass for front office workers, a transaction window to talk to students or guests and a secure locking electrified door system that visitors must check-in through.

Systems like the lobby configuration prototype have already been added to Pisgah Elementary School and A.C. Reynolds High School as of 2023.

"We are getting great responses from our schools, students and parents," Hough said during the Sept. 11 meeting. "Parents see it and parents are very appreciative of it."

Harris said the plans to institute these systems in Buncombe County schools are part of the results from a 2018-2019 study which aimed to help bolster school security.

"During the 2018-19 school year, BCS and Asheville City Schools participated in a comprehensive safety study. All of our campuses were evaluated and a variety of safety upgrades were recommended. Since then, we have worked to prioritize and implement these upgrades. This is a proactive and ongoing process with the ultimate goal being to ensure unauthorized individuals cannot gain access to our buildings," Harris wrote in a Nov. 16 email to the Citizen Times.

The study was performed before the 2022 mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in which 19 children and two teachers were shot to death by an intruder at an elementary school.

Where is the other money headed?

Nearly $9.4 million of the approved capital fund will head toward Asheville City Schools, of which nearly $7 million will be used for HVAC repairs, window replacement, kitchen renovation and an elevator uplift at Hall Fletcher Elementary. The remaining $2.4 million will be used for a track replacement at Asheville Middle School. A remaining $110,000 will head toward safety and security concerns for multiple ACS schools.

For the remaining nearly $24 million approved for Buncombe County Schools, here are a few big ticket items:

• W.D. Williams Elementary School will receive an additional $1.7 million toward an ongoing classroom and media center addition.

• Erwin Middle will receive $2.7 million toward ADA and egress renovations and $900,000 for a queuing drive.

• The Progressive Education Program will receive $2.9 million for additions and renovations to address increased membership.

• Hall Fletcher Elementary will receive $6.9 million toward campus wide projects.

• Another total $6.4 million will go towards building additional bus bays, network infrastructure and prepping school roofs for solar panels in Buncombe County Schools.

Future plans for school infrastructure?

Though discussion on the amendment was brief, County Commissioner Amanda Edwards briefly mentioned the lack of a "great plan" for when school infrastructure fails.

Edwards sits as a county appointed member to the School Capital Fund Commission. Edwards is married to Derek Edwards, principal of Asheville High School.

"Many of our school buildings are old, and they are getting older every single day," Edwards said. "And there doesn't seem to be a great plan in place as to what happens when, for example, an HVAC system breaks. The response that I was given was: 'Well, it can come to the general fund.'"

Edwards' concerns about HVAC system failures echo concerns with another local public building — the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium. The auditorium's HVAC system failed earlier this year led city officials to fund a $1.5 million emergency HVAC repair.

"Ultimately, I support it. I was not going to be the naysayer in this," Edwards said.

"But I still want everyone to know that I am deeply concerned about allocating $40 million when there are no plans in place for when situations happen. I'm not talking about a FEMA disaster, but something that we would even deal with in one of our own county buildings."

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Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Bullet-resistant windows coming to some Buncombe County schools