Asheville City Board of Education Work Session Monday, November 2, 2026

At the Asheville City Board of Education work session on November 2, 2026, the board reviewed a draft audit reporting no financial-statement or state/federal award findings and low-risk audit status. The audit noted that the child nutrition fund continues to draw down cash and received a $575,000 transfer from the general fund; administrators said participation is being targeted for improvement. The district is in a multi-year Chartwells food-service contract, and board members requested more information on comparable districts and program costs. The audit was expected to return for acceptance at a later meeting; no audit vote occurred at this work session. Early-childhood program updates also described grant and tuition funding, a projected budget gap of about $938,000, and a $214,000 Play and Learn grant.

The principal procurement item was a capital-funded GP Howard contract to repair sinkhole damage affecting stormwater and sewer infrastructure near the hillside and stadium, and to repair the damaged track. Staff said the work followed a sealed-bid RFP process and GP Howard was the lowest responsive bidder; a lower bid was disqualified as nonresponsive. The contract was planned for the next meeting’s consent agenda, with no award vote taken during this work session. In policy review, the board advanced contracting-policy changes to a second reading, including language prohibiting division of a contract or expenditure to avoid board approval; the stated approval threshold is $90,000. The board also discussed removing provisions relating to historically underutilized businesses following statutory changes and asked the administration to consider ways to publicize solicitations to small and historically underrepresented businesses.