Asheville City Schools Raise Concerns Over Teacher Turnover Data

Local Education Officials Question State Report

ASHEVILLE – Local education officials are questioning state data that shows the city school system has the worst teacher turnover in the state, though they acknowledge the number of Asheville City Schools instructors quitting is still likely one of North Carolina’s highest. The State of the Teaching Profession in North Carolina report released on April 4 by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction highlighted Asheville City Schools as the top system in the state for teachers quitting, with a 30.7% attrition rate from March 2022 to March 2023.

However, on April 10 ACS spokesperson Kim Dechant said the state used the wrong number of total teachers, 319, to calculate the percentage based on 98 teachers quitting. With what she said was the correct number of 362 − and assuming other data is correct − ACS would have a 27% attrition rate, the third-worst in the state. DPI, though, told the Citizen Times the report relied on how teacher positions were coded through the state payroll system and only used those coded as “classroom teachers.”

Efforts to Address High Turnover

“It’s possible that districts may have considered other types of instructional roles, such as instructional support roles like curriculum facilitators, school counselors, school social workers, etc.,” said DPI spokesperson Blair Rhoades. “Therefore, there may be variance in what a district shared and what we presented based on what our report requires us to define as a classroom teacher per legislation.”

“We still 100% agree that retention is a problem − in Asheville City Schools, and across the state,” Dechant said. Superintendent Maggie Fehrman, who was hired on July 17, 2023, said turnover was bad enough that the school board prioritized an increase in the local salary supplement, asking the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners for more funding last year.

“One of (the school board’s) primary goals was to increase the monthly supplement by 2% across the board because they recognized the high cost of living in the city of Asheville and Buncombe County,” Fehrman said in a release from the school system. Commissioners instead approved a 1% increase, which was added to the property tax rate. The General Assembly controls most of teacher pay and raised base salaries 7% over two years. That enlarged the base pay for a new teacher with a bachelor’s degree from $37,000 annually to $39,000 for 2023-24 and $41,000 for 2024-25. With the county increase, that brought ACS beginning teacher pay to $42,510 for 2023-24.

Much of the high cost of living comes from Asheville rents, the highest in the state, according to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which estimates a local one-bedroom apartment at $1,496 a month, a number rivaling Washington, D.C. and Atlanta.

Leadership Changes and Future Plans

Dechant, the ACS spokesperson, said the strikingly high turnover came during a year when ACS had two different superintendents. In hiring Fehrman, the school board was looking for a leader who would be invested in the community and make a commitment to stay and rebuild the district “with a focus on belonging and trust,” she said. Fehrman, she said, was committed to creating a sense of belonging, challenging and relevant learning for all students, and making every second count, and that would lead to a decrease in attrition.

“When you feel like you belong, and you’re part of something, you really want to be invested. And that’s what we want to create here in our school system,” said Fehrman. “We want our staff to feel supported and a true sense of belonging in every school and every department.”

Statewide Attrition Numbers

If other state attrition numbers are correct, the worst in the state is 29.6% in the eastern Halifax County system, with 42 of 142 teachers leaving. Second-highest is Weldon City Schools at 28.3%, with 13 of 46 educators quitting. Buncombe County Schools has a 16.1% attrition rate, with 257 of 1,599 teachers leaving.