Amid growing concerns about educational funding consistency, Buncombe County has announced a revamped financial strategy for its K-12 schools. This newly devised formula aims to ensure increased funding and predictability for Asheville City Schools and Buncombe County Schools, as approved by the county Board of Commissioners in a unanimous decision.
Buncombe’s budget director, John Hudson, detailed that the new funding model will allocate 37.76% of property taxes and specific sales taxes collected over the previous year to school operations. Adjustments to this percentage will occur if school enrollment changes by more than 2% annually. Additionally, schools may petition for extra funding in response to unforeseen events.
For the current budget cycle, Hudson noted that this formula would result in $119.5 million directed toward K-12 education, a 1.9% increase over the $117.3 million budget previously adopted. With the anticipated rise in property and sales tax revenues, school funding is expected to grow over time…