Early Childhood and Development Committee Special Meeting | April 14, 2026

The Early Childhood and Development Committee held a special meeting on April 14, 2026, to finalize funding recommendations for early childhood and development programs within Buncombe County. The session began with the unanimous approval of the minutes from the previous meeting. A significant portion of the discussion centered on a correction to previously used scoring data, which staff identified as a "significant or material error." This correction involved removing "no scores" (0%) from calculations to prevent them from skewing averages, a change that resulted in the YWCA Empowerment program moving into consideration and Asheville City Schools being removed from a specific funding scenario.

Committee members reviewed several funding scenarios, each outlining different criteria for awarding funds, including options for full funding based on votes, partial funding based on scores, and penalties for projects receiving significant "no" recommendations. Detailed discussions covered the YWCA Empowerment program, with committee members highlighting research demonstrating its effectiveness in supporting workforce participation for low-wage earners. The committee also addressed why Asheville City Schools was seeking county funding for personnel costs, clarifying that state funding does not fully cover their needs and that the schools rely on local support.

A key debate focused on prioritizing projects that received unanimous support for some level of funding. Committee Member Joe raised a point suggesting that prioritizing projects with unanimous agreement should be a primary factor in the final decision. After extensive discussion regarding these priorities and the handling of remaining funds—which staff noted are typically returned to the county at the end of the fiscal year if grantees cannot use them due to factors like personnel vacancies—the committee voted to adopt Scenario Five. This scenario prioritizes projects that received unanimous support from committee members to receive some level of funding.

During the meeting, Diana Sierra, CEO of the YWCA, spoke as a presenter to thank county staff for their communication and feedback on the YWCA’s application. She offered to provide further clarification on their action plan if needed. Committee Chair Rachel acknowledged the complexity of the decision-making process and thanked staff for their transparent approach throughout the review.

The committee’s funding recommendations will be forwarded to the county manager for inclusion in the proposed budget, which will be presented to the Board of Commissioners in May. Staff will contact all applicants, particularly those receiving funding awards, to develop scopes of work and budgets. Additionally, the committee will hold an extended meeting on May 5th to discuss the future state of funding models.