The Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College Board of Trustees convened a meeting on Monday, May 4, 2026, at 3:06 p.m., in the Brumit Center for Culinary Arts, Tillman Dining Room. Dr. Joe Barwick, Chair, presided.
In addition to Dr. Barwick, the following members of the Board participated: Theresa Banks, Michael Garrison, Matt Kern, Libby Kyles, Judy Lewis, Roger Metcalf, Anthony Penland, Frances Ramsey, Roger Reid, Ben Teague, Glenda Weinert, and Robert Uhren, Ex-Officio. Drew West was absent.
Others present for the meeting included: John Gossett, President; Deborah Bailey, Vice President Continuing Education & Workforce Development; Amanda Edwards, Executive Director College Advancement, Kerri Glover, Executive Director, Community Relations and Marketing; Cris Harshman, Vice President of Operations/CIO; Fairley Patton, Vice President of Student Services; Beth Stewart, Vice President of Instructional Services; and Carolyn Rice, Secretary to the Board.
Call to Order
At 3:06 p.m., Chair Barwick read the ethics statement. No conflicts were reported. Ms. Rice called the roll; a quorum was present.
Consent Agenda
At 3:08 p.m., Chair Barwick asked for a motion to approve the Consent Agenda.
Mr. Kern moved to approve Consent Agenda items: 1. A. April 6, 2026, Board Meeting Minutes; 1. B. Personnel Actions; and 1. C. Board Attendance Record 2025-2026. Mr. Teague seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Resolution/Action Item
2. A. Dr. Gossett presented the proposed budgets for Buncombe and Madison Counties for the 2026-2027 fiscal year to the Board. The College anticipates a 3.14 percent increase in our budget from Buncombe County and is also seeking an increase in the budget from Madison County to help offset rising costs in staffing and utilities.
Dr. Metcalf moved to approve the Proposed Budgets for Madison and Buncombe Counties. Chief Penland seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Budget Information
3. A. Ms. Green updated the Board on the status of Article 46 Funded Repair and Renovation Projects. The County is putting over $18 million in repair and renovation projects out to bid in June. We have received quotes for the countertops in the Vet Tech facility, and bids to repair the cooling tower in Allied Health will be going out soon.
3. B. Ms. Valko discussed the State and County Budget as of March 31, 2026. We are within proper spending levels at the end of the first quarter, although there was a significant increase in utility costs during the last cold snap. We received funds for faculty recruitment and retention as well as allegorical funding from the state. The budget remains on track for the end of the year.
Trustee Business
4. A. Dr. Beth Stewart shared the results of the SACSCOC-required College’s Mission Vision Statement Survey. The majority of the survey respondents agreed that the Mission Vision Statement is clearly defined and is specific to the College.
Chief Penland moved to approve the results of the Mission Vision Statement. Mr. Teague seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
4. B. Dr. Stewart then shared and discussed the results of the SACSCOC required Trustee Self-Evaluation Survey. The Board has satisfied both SACSCOC requirements.
Mr. Kern moved to approve the results of the Trustee Self-Evaluation Survey. Chief Penland seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
4. C. The Presidential Evaluation Committee met in April and chose the questions to be used in the President’s Evaluation Survey. The Evaluation Survey will be emailed to the Board on May 5 with a completion deadline of May 15. Evaluation results will be shared with Dr. Gossett and the full Board during the closed session on June 1.
4. D. Commencement is May 16, 2026, and we hope all Trustees can attend.
President’s Report
Dr. Gossett shared the following with the Board:
A compliance review was conducted at the College by North Carolina Community College System Compliance Services staff to ensure data used to allocate State funds was accurately reported for the 2022-2023 reporting period. The College received notification of the results of the review in August 2024. Dr. Dirk Wilmoth conducted the September 2024 Board meeting while Dr. Gossett was out of the country. The October 2024 Board meeting was cancelled due to the hurricane, and the rest of 2024 was dedicated to recovery efforts for our college and community. Reporting the results of the review to the Board slid through the cracks. The review showed minimal issues, and therefore, no action needed to be taken.
Good Jobs WNC is taking shape. A team met last week to begin the next steps of engaging employers to hear what they want from the College. Good Jobs WNC will support academic programs that lead to a living wage for our graduates.
Dr. Gossett met with the Buncombe County Commissioners on April 16 to discuss Article 46 and to make a case for not letting the appropriations for the College sunset. The Commissioners asked the county staff to work with the College on a solution. We hope to hear something soon.
The recent budget retreat with our staff went well. The retreats are an excellent way for staff to hear from other areas of the College on their needs and how their budgets are spent.
Graduation was last week for participants from the seven community colleges who participated in the yearlong Western Community College Leadership Academy.
We attended the Pinnacle Awards last month, which honored Staff Member of the Year Heather Pack and Business of the Year Pratt & Whitney.
Congressman Edwards was on campus last week for a small gathering.
Dr. Gossett is going to Raleigh on May 6 for Community College Day. He will visit with our Senators and Representatives and advocate for 99¸£ÀûÊÓƵ and the community college system.
We are still waiting to hear about the EDA/Futures Factory Grant.
SGA Report
SGA President Mr. Robert Uhren shared that Earth Day was very successful. Over 900 meals were served, and T-shirts were handed out. Booths were set up where students could make tote bags, their own mineral oils, and have snow cones.
The SGA sponsored several other events as well. Trips to the Asheville History Museum, National Leadership Training Day, button, and fidget tool crafting. The Vet Tech Club is running a towel and blanket drive, and the School of Nursing held a stethoscope charm crafting event.
The SGA is wrapping up for the year, elections have been held, and we are pleased to know that Mr. Uhren will remain as President of the SGA for the 2026-2027 school year!
Staff Report
Ms. Kaitlin Pierce, Data Analyst for the Continuing Education department, shared how the software SmartSuite can improve data for faculty and staff with the automation of manual tasks, collaboration across campus departments, and streamlined registration and documentation processes. SmartSuite works to decrease the administrative workload by decreasing the time spent manually to time for high-value work for the College.
SmartSuite has been widely accepted by faculty and staff, and we are seeing movement from silos to transparent workflows, while increasing institutional capability and capacity.
The Board thanked Ms. Pierce for an excellent presentation and for all she has done to move the College from intuition to data-driven decisions.
Closed Session
At 4:06 p.m., Mr. Kern moved that the Trustees enter into closed session pursuant to G.S. 143-318.11under subsection (a) (1) to prevent the disclosure of privileged or confidential personnel information pursuant to G.S. § 115D 27-29, and (a) (3) to discuss matters protected by the attorney-client privilege. Mr. Garrison seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
At 4:24 p.m., Mr. Garrison made a motion to come out of Closed Session. Dr. Banks seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Informational Items
The 2025-2026 Student Success Scorecard and Divisional Updates are included in the Board packet.
The next Board meeting will be on Monday, June 1, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. at the Asheville Campus.
Adjourn
At 4:39 p.m., Dr. Weinert moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Garrison seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
Respectfully submitted,
Carolyn H. Rice
Board Secretary