Dozens of peaceful protesters gathered outside the Avery County Board of Education office Monday, April 22nd calling for more answers about reported staffing changes and other spending complaints. Students and adults gathered outside the central offices of the county school board chanting and holding signs directed at the school board. Some of the signs read, “Honk for Education; Students, Parents, Teachers; the truth!!” “Kids not cuts” and “Education is the real national emergency.”
Video from the scene shows a protester with a megaphone shouting, “This is our county. This is not the school board’s county. This is not Dan Brigman’s (the superintendent) county. This is Avery County.” The protestors expressed concerns about district leadership, and positions being eliminated with no explanation and other spending decisions they believe are questionable.
A post from Friday, April 19th on the district’s Facebook page from Superintendent Dan Brigman alludes to the district’s need for budget cuts.
“Avery County School System Faculty, Staff, Students & Community Members:
Our academic year is quickly passing, and the Class of 2024 will soon depart for their post high school endeavors. As you are aware, our annual budget development process is underway. All school systems across North Carolina – and the nation – are having similar challenges with school budgets. ESSER funds are depleted; therefore, district leadership teams and Board of Educations are seeking ways to sustain operations while improving services for children.
Since 2019, inflation has continued to rise, hourly wages have increased, and the cost of goods and services have drastically increased. These impacts, combined with our loss of student enrollment (based upon which most of our state funding is calculated), continue to strain our budgets. More than 85% of our operational budgets go towards salaries and benefits, leaving us with minimal flexibility or options for reductions in our budgets. Ongoing efforts have been made over the past four years to protect our local budget and fund balances in preparation for this moment in time.
Our priority is to protect classrooms and schools while ensuring the highest quality of teaching and learning continues throughout the Avery County School System. Recognizing upcoming fiscal challenges and hoping to avoid a Reduction in Force, we have been reviewing all positions throughout the district over the past two years and, when possible, absorbing positions as employees retire or leave the system. In addition to absorbing positions, we must make staffing decisions in the best interest of students and to protect our operational budgets. As done for many years, this approach will also require some staff to be reassigned to other schools or departments. Rather than making last-minute announcements, we are notifying all employees at the earliest time possible who could possibly be affected by a change in placement for the upcoming academic year. At this time, we are unsure how our budget outcomes will occur and will continue to make plans for reductions as necessary.
We will continue to seek other options while protecting resources at the classroom level. Hopefully, with the reassignments and reductions in positions, use of a portion of our available fund balance, and essential funding from our county government, we will successfully sustain our current level of operations as we prepare for the 2024-2025 academic year. Thank you for your continued support as we strive to maximize every dollar while maintaining a balanced budget in the Avery County School System.
Sincerely,
Dan Brigman, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Photos courtesy Facebook
