At an emergency meeting on Friday, the Buncombe County School Board heard a somber update on the status of its students and facilities.
Superintendent Rob Jackson confirmed that four students have died, although their names were not shared.
“I’m extremely broken hearted to share that since the storm’s arrival we have lost four of our students,” he said. “The loss of anyone diminishes us. Our school system is diminished by this loss.”
Jackson added that the school system has seen “significant numbers of our staff members who have lost family and friends.”
The fatality count in Buncombe County is at 72 as of Friday.
There are 21 students still unaccounted for, out of more than 22,000 students in the county school system. The county has made contact with 100% of its staff.
Meanwhile, the system still has no timeline for reopening its 45 schools, primarily due to the lack of running water, which is the biggest hurdle.
Jackson said he’s “losing sleep” over how to solve the problem. In a normal situation, he said he would have never considered running a school without functional water systems, but he is “absolutely determined to reopen the schools” as soon as possible.
“In my 33 years, if we didn’t have water, we sent students home. We closed schools. We couldn’t imagine operating schools without water. Water is crucial to the operation of a building,” he said.
He explained that schools use water for pressurized sprinklers, sanitation and hygiene, and the more than 44,000 meals the system prepares for students each day.
Of the county’s 45 schools, only 13 have running water. All but one have power and all but six have internet access.
When pushed on the issue, Jackson said he would not consider reopening some schools while others remain closed, citing unfairness to the more than 4,500 students who would not be able to return to school with their peers.
He also said the county school system is not planning to follow Asheville City Schools’ idea of drilling its own wells.
Jackson said one possible solution could be combining classrooms and campuses into the functional facilities and shortening school days.
Another solution could be to import large cisterns of water into the 32 schools currently without running water and use a pump system to move the water through the facility, but the schools would need roughly 180,000 gallons of water imported per day to pull off that plan. It would also need more than 900 porta potties and 300 handwashing stations, which it does not currently possess.
There are also problems beyond water. The roads damaged by Helene have made some bus routes impassable. The system would need to redo bus routes to ensure students could safely move to and from school.
Additionally, Kim Plemmons, the Erwin District representative, raised issues around public health and sanitation. Many students are unable to bathe at home, which could result in more health issues like head lice and viruses.
Jackson also emphasized the need for mental health support for students, teachers and other faculty. He said once schools resume there will be extra counselors available.