Pre-K expansion? EMS facility? Buncombe considers acquisition of Asheville Primary School
ASHEVILLE - Buncombe County is considering possible acquisition of the former Asheville Primary School site, with a vision of its future use including pre-K expansion or an Emergency Medical Services facility, commissioner Jasmine Beach-Ferrara told the Citizen Times.
During a Feb. 6 work session, at interim Superintendent Jim Causby's recommendation, the Asheville City Board of Education consented to discuss the matter further with the county, with any and all information to come back to the school board for consideration.
Asheville Primary School, at 441 Haywood Road in West Asheville, was closed at the end of the 2021-2022 school year, following a controversial Dec. 13, 2021 vote by the school board.
Since its closure, ACS spokesperson Dillon Huffman said, the building has been used for storage and houses the maintenance department.
Previous coverage:Asheville Primary School OK'd for use as temporary homeless shelter, but there's a catch
More:Asheville Primary nixed, West Asheville Presbyterian now to become 10-bed winter shelter
More:School board votes to close Asheville Primary School
“There is an interest from the county. We have not committed anything other than possibly arranging a time to talk,” Causby said.
Beach-Ferrara called the Feb. 6 meeting a "formal request for dialogue and conversation, one we are excited about," to learn if there is any "alignment" between ACS's future use of the building and the county's top priorities.
“This is really us saying, ‘we would love to sit down in a more formal way with you all, hear what your vision is, share some of what ours are, and see if there is a path forward,” she said.
Pre-K expansion?
Once home to a beloved Montessori program, the decision to close Asheville Primary School came amid significant public outcry.
The closure was recommended by former Asheville City Schools Superintendent Gene Freeman after a fall 2021 facilities study that cited low enrollment numbers and $7.1 million in needed repairs and additions.
Beach-Ferrara noted the property's key location in a populous area, along a public transit line and just off I-26.
More:A new kind of housing? 2 micro-housing projects could bring 300+ apartments to downtown
More:West Asheville Baptist Church-owned house gets planning board OK for rezoning request
“We are in a place, certainly, where there is such pressure and compression on any property or facility within the downtown corridor ... that we always hope to be at the table with partners, having conversations about whether publicly owned facilities and land can be used to address pressing community issues," Beach-Ferrara said.
She said expanding access to early childhood education and pre-K has been a top policy priority since 2017, and conversations included the concept of a "pre-K hub" of 15-25 classrooms, a model that has "compelling" benefits in both cost efficiencies and quality of education.
Another priority she named is expanded EMS services. With a "striking increase" in call volume, Beach-Ferrara said they are actively looking for potential locations for EMS facilities.
School board to select superintendent search firm
Also at their Feb. 6 meeting, members discussed the selection of a search firm to take on the district's high-priority superintendent search.
Causby began his tenure as interim superintendent in June after Freeman's early departure. Freeman left two years into his four-year contract, taking with him a $94,000 buyout, about $23,500 more than he would have made in his final 5 1/2 months had he stayed in the job.
He was the district's fifth leader in seven years.
More:With Gene Freeman exit, ACS interim superintendent Jim Causby addresses community
More:Fact checking the Asheville busing myth: Are homeless people being bused into the city?
In response to its request for qualifications for search firms, posted in January, school board attorney Kris Caudle said the board received seven proposals. Each of the school board members took on a proposal — calling references and reporting back to the full board.
After briefly discussing each applicant, school board members indicated board Chair George Sieburg and Vice Chair Amy Ray should interview the three favored applicants: Summit Search Solutions, whose president and owner is based in Asheville; Nebraska-based McPherson and Jacobson; and North Carolina School Boards Association.
They will present their recommendation at the boards next regular meeting Feb. 13.
The board hopes the new superintendent will be hired in time to begin July 1.
Sieburg reminded the board that moving forward with the search without hiring a search firm is also an option.
Community input sessions
The school board has scheduled seven community input forum listening sessions to help guide the search, according to a Feb. 6 email from Huffman:
Feb. 16 at Ira B. Jones Elementary: 6 p.m.
Feb. 21 at Asheville Middle School: 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 22 at Hall Fletcher Elementary: 10:30 a.m.
Feb. 23 at The Arthur R. Edington Center: 6 p.m.
Feb. 27 Isaac Dickson Elementary: 8:15 a.m.
Feb. 28 Virtual Option: 5 p.m.
March 1 at Asheville High/SILSA: 6 p.m.
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: Buncombe County considers acquisition of Asheville Primary School site
