Founding and Early history

The first school west of the blue ridge mountains in Western North Carolina was built in Asheville in 1790 by Scotch-Irish settlers, and it was located around the area of present-day Biltmore avenue. Most of the early schools in the Asheville area were rudimentary subscription schools that only operated three to four months per year, and charged tuition for their services. Although they did provide education, the short school year and cost-prohibitive tuition limited the effectiveness of these institutions. This began to change, however, in 1887 when voters passed a referendum to allow a property and poll tax increase to pay for the construction and operation of public schools in Asheville. Although the bill eventually passed, it initially faced much opposition from wealthy landowners in the area, who were largely opposed to paying increased property taxes to fund education for the poorer classes. The first public school was opened on present day Orange Street in 1887, and offered grades first through ninth.^[2] The first superintendent was Mr. Philander P. Claxton.^[3]

The new school system initially faced many issues with overcrowding and finances, and was blighted by these troubles for much of its early history. However, it continued to expand and improve and by 1928 was reportedly recognized by the state superintendent of public education as the number one ranked school district in the state.^[3]

In January 2021 the school system voted in favor of renaming Vance Elementary School to Lucy S. Herring Elementary School. The move came following the George Floyd Protests in the summer of 2020. The school was named after Zebulon Vance, a Confederate era governor of North Carolina. Lucy S. Herring was an African-American Asheville City Schools educator. A task force for the City of Asheville and Buncombe County also voted to remove the Vance Monument in the city.^[4]