The Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College Board of Trustees convened a meeting on Monday, April 6, 2026, at 3:00 p.m., in RAMS 112, on the A-B Tech Madison Campus. Dr. Joe Barwick, Chair, presided.
In addition to Dr. Barwick, the following members of the Board participated: Theresa Banks, Libby Kyles, Roger Metcalf, Frances Ramsey, Ben Teague, Glenda Weinert, and Drew West. Judy Lewis participated remotely. Michael Garrison, Himanshu Karvir, Matt Kern, Anthony Penland, Roger Reid, and Robert Uhren, Ex-Officio were absent.
Others present for the meeting included: John Gossett, President; Deborah Bailey, Vice President Continuing Education & Workforce Development; 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; Ashley Leonard, College Attorney; and Carolyn Rice, Secretary to the Board.
Call to Order
At 3:00 p.m., Chair Barwick read the ethics statement. No conflicts were reported. Ms. Rice called the roll; a quorum was present.
Consent Agenda
At 3:02 p.m., Chair Barwick asked for a motion to approve the Consent Agenda.
Dr. Banks moved to approve Consent Agenda items: 1. A. March 2, 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 Items
2. A. Dr. Beth Stewart informed the Board that the Agribusiness Technology Associate Degree program offered at Madison High School no longer aligns with an industry that supports a living wage in Madison County. To better serve the community, the College is shifting away from agriculture to other programs that support the local workforce while earning a living wage. The College seeks to terminate the Agribusiness Technology Associate Degree program effective Fall 2026.
Dr. Banks moved to approve the termination of the Agribusiness Technology Associate Degree program. Dr. Metcalf seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Mr. Teague requested that the General Assembly be made aware that the College is offering alternate programs in place of Agribusiness that better suit the Madison County community.
2. B. Dr. Stewart then asked the Board to approve a new Academic Rigor policy and procedure created by the Faculty Senate. The policy outlines the College’s commitment to high-quality and equitable learning across all transfer programs.
The Board discussed the pros and cons of how and who determines if academic rigor is met, and the importance of rigor in online courses. A committee has been created to build rigor shells for student-used software programs, and they will be responsible for determining how academic rigor is met. The policy gives a definition of what a good course is, as well as a starting point to give us something to measure rigor against. A Director of Learning will be hired to help with rigor guidelines for faculty.
Dr. Weinert moved to approve the new Academic Rigor policy and procedure. Mr. West seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
2. C. Ms. Beth Green asked the Board to close the Madison Campus Bathroom Renovations project. The project was completed last year and included ADA upgrades to the restrooms. Once the system office receives notice that the project is closed, they can release unused funds to use toward another project.
Dr. Banks moved to approve the Madison Campus Bathroom Renovations Project Closeout. Mr. Teague seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
2. D. Ms. Melissa Valko asked the Board for approval to remove overdue student accounts from our books as an asset. The College is required to actively pursue the collection of outstanding student debt for a minimum of 365 days. The debt is then placed with the Department of Revenue for another 365 days, and once the debt is over three years old, the College asks the Board of Trustees for permission to “write off” the debt as an asset on our books. The debt is still a liability to the student, and the College continues to try to collect the owed funds.
Mr. West moved to authorize the Removal of Overdue Student Accounts from the books. Dr. Metcalf seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
2. E. Ms. Valko then informed the Board that due to a transition and the training of a new employee in the Business Office, we got behind in the monthly reconciliations of bank statements, putting the College out of compliance. While the transition impacted the timeliness of monthly reconciliations, all banking activity was monitored daily to ensure the integrity of the accounts and to prevent any overdrafts. An employee and a backup employee are now in place and continue to reconcile bank statements daily instead of just monthly.
Dr. Banks moved to acknowledge the receipt and review of non-compliance with bank reconciliation and its rectification. Mr. West seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
2. F. Mr. Cris Harshman informed the Board that due to the demolition of the St. Joseph’s parking garage, HCA Health Care, Inc., asked the College to amend our parking MOU, by expanding their leased parking area by an additional 154 spaces. Space is available in lot B17 (ATM lot), and would bring the total leased parking spaces by HCA to 566, generating $27,473 per month in rental income.
Either side may back out of the MOU when needed, and the rental income goes into the College’s unrestricted institutional fund.
Mr. West moved to authorize the College to amend the MOU and to lease an additional 154 parking spaces to HCA Health Care, Inc. Dr. Weinert seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Budget Information
3. A. Ms. Green then updated the Board on the status of several Article 46 Funded Projects. We met with the county last week, and they allotted $18.5 million for the following buildings and projects:
- Bailey – HVAC, mechanical systems, and fire sprinklers
- Birch – HVAC and mechanical systems
- Chestnut – new roof
- Comen – HVAC, mechanical systems, and a boiler
- Conference Center – new lighting system
- Dogwood – concrete floor needs levelling
- Elm – HVAC, mechanical systems on each floor
- Ferguson – bathroom updates, new flooring in the auditorium, new seating, fire sprinklers, and electrical
- Haynes – HVAC and mechanical system
- Hemlock – HVAC and mechanical system
- Ivy – HVAC
- Locke – HVAC, mechanical system, and lighting
- Magnolia – HVAC
- Maple – replacing broken waterline with new pipe
- Simpson – complete facelift, HVAC, flooring, bathroom upgrades, and ceiling work
- Sunnicrest – HVAC
- Sycamore – HVAC
Ms. Green shared that close to $10 million of the allotted funds are just for HVAC and mechanical work. We hope to offer employees apprenticeships in HVAC so that we can hire from within to do our own HVAC work in the future.
3. B. Ms. Valko discussed the State and County Budget as of February 28, 2026, with the Board. We received our enrollment reserve allocation from overcollected tuition receipts, and the budget remains on track for the end of the year.
Trustee Business
4. A. Dr. Stewart, also the College’s SACSCOC liaison, informed the Board that they must do seven things to remain compliant with SACSCOC requirements. One is to regularly review the College’s Mission Vision Statement. Dr. Stewart then handed out a survey to the Board showing the Mission Vision Statement along with five questions about the statement. The Board was asked to fill out the survey, the results of which will be discussed during the May 4 Board meeting.
4. B. Another SACSCOC requirement is that the Board defines and regularly evaluates its responsibilities and expectations. Dr. Stewart then asked the Board to approve the Trustee Self-Evaluation Survey instrument located in the Board packet. The survey will be sent electronically, and the results will also be discussed during the May 4 Board meeting.
Dr. Banks moved to approve the survey instrument. Mr. Teague seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
4. C. Ms. Ramsey, Mr. Teague, and Dr. Weinert were appointed to the Presidential Evaluation Committee.
4. D. Dr. Barwick asked the Board to make sure they complete their North Carolina Ethics Commission required Statement of Economic Interest (SEI) by April 15, 2026.
4. E. Commencement is May 16, 2026, and we hope all Trustees can attend.
President’s Report
Dr. Gossett shared the following with the Board:
Thank you to Sherri Davis and Nick Cerda for hosting the Board meeting at the Madison campus! There aren’t any students around because it is spring break.
Good Jobs WNC is taking shape, and Dr. Stewart is leading us in the effort of finding what type of jobs are needed in our region pertaining to healthcare, skilled trades, and advanced manufacturing.
Western NC Aviation (WNCA), our long-time partner, is hoping to purchase land at the Asheville Airport to be used as a larger space for WNCA, including a hangar space for the Colleges’ Aviation Management, Career Pilot Technology, Instrument Rating Certificate, and Private Pilot Certificate programs. We are excited to be included in this potential expansion.
We meet with Buncombe County tomorrow to discuss our budget. We are expecting a 3.1 percent increase in our allotment.
Dr. Gossett will go before the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners on April 16 to present our budget and to give a summary of Article 46 expenditures to date. He will also make a case for extending the appropriations for the College. He will share the results of the County-funded Master Plan and encourage the Commissioners not to let Article 46 sunset.
We hosted the Lumina-sponsored North Carolina/California Community College Exchange on campus last week, where we discussed our responses to natural disasters and lessons learned. A final report will be forthcoming.
A-B Tech’s Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) won the Legacy Leadership Award as our chapter completed 27 items with local, state, and national activities. Congratulations to Mr. Brad Scott, who leads the chapter.
We are still waiting to hear about the Futures Factory Grant.
The North Carolina Community College Pinnacle Awards take place on April 15. Ms. Heather Pack will be honored as the state employee of the year, and Pratt & Whitney will be honored as our business partner of the year.
Staff Report
Mr. Nick Cerda, Associate Director of A-B Tech Madison, shared the following with the Board:
The Madison campus consists of half curriculum and half continuing education courses, and is also a resource for the community.
We offer a Criminal Justice Certificate at Madison High School and certificates in Electrical Wiring, Nurse Aide, and EMT to both high school and regular students.
Nurse Aide is offered three times a year and fills every time.
The Woodfin campus asked us to offer EMT, so we did, and it is going well.
Plumbing was the big push for last fall. We have a trailer with everything in it that is required to teach a plumbing course. The Nurse Aide class uses our plumbing students to practice taking blood pressure readings, and as classes meet in Madison, we collaborate to learn together.
Community offerings include a class on medicinal plants, which has proven to be very popular.
The Drone class is teaching the fire department, police department, and the forest service to identify things happening in the community. We also offer classes on incident command.
We reach out to all students who apply to A-B Tech and live in Madison County to ask if we can help them get started with the college process. Over 40 percent of those students decided to start their college journey at the Madison campus! We offer all the courses needed to complete the first year of college.
The campus hosts a lot of events. The high school GearUp event, which connected students to career opportunities, open houses for middle and high school students, and a career fair are among the recent offerings.
We are excited about AdventHealth coming to our area. This opens opportunities for students to take medication aide, phlebotomy, EKG, welding, HVAC, and/or plumbing courses to support and work for the new hospital.
The Board thanked Mr. Cerda for an excellent presentation and for his excitement for all of the good things happening at A-B Tech Madison!
Closed Session
At 4:27 p.m., Dr. Banks 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. West seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
At 4:57 p.m., Dr. Weinert made a motion to come out of Closed Session. Mr. West 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, May 4, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. at the Asheville Campus.
Adjourn
At 4:58 p.m., Dr. Weinert moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Teague seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
Respectfully submitted,
Carolyn H. Rice
Board Secretary