On May 17, 2022, for the first time since 1931, Asheville city voters will cast a ballot that includes candidates for the school board.
The district was one of only two in the entire state of North Carolina with an appointed board -- until now.
News 13 wanted to know what led to the change and what impact it could bring.
Lara Lustig has kids in the Asheville City Schools district and like many parents was unaware that the school board was done much differently than other systems.
But when budget cuts starting effecting her children, she decided to learn more.
"That's when I found out that we were one of the only appointed boards and that was really unusual," Lustig said.
For decades, Asheville City Council has chosen each of the five school board members. But soon, that will change, and Lustig said she believes it's time.
Once those people were appointed they had no one to answer to because the city council has no authority over the board," Lustig said. "So these people are just in this position with no one checking in on them.
The switch to an elected school board seems to have suddenly gained momentum on Facebook, in the midst of the pandemic.
Honor Moor created the Asheville City Schools District Wide Parent Group and was amazed at the response and involvement from both parents and staff.
He says that's where the idea resurfaced to get the board from an appointed one to an elected one.
"I individually started contacting our city council members and they seemed very open to potentially making this happen," Moor said.
She says it took countless hours and lots of work, but parents, teachers and elected officials all seemed to agree that this was the right step.
"I think our district-wide parent group was able to communicate the concerns going on at the ground level," Moor said.
Mayor Esther Manheimer was quick to support the plan. She says an appointed board made decisions difficult for everyone involved.
I think it was very frustrating for folks, including council, because we would appoint the school board but we didn't have any oversight," Mayor Manheimer said. "We weren't even the pass through for the budget or anything of substance having to do with the school system.
She said she remembers city council debating a switch to an elected school board back in the 90's.
One challenge with the move -- a bill would have to pass in the state legislature. But, Manheimer says there was another concern back then as well.
"What I observed as the deepest opposition to this was around race and whether or not an elected school board would truly represent the racial make up of the district," Manheimer said.
She said she hopes that concern will not be a factor since there is so much more diversity throughout the city's leadership now.
She also said she believes this time around, parents had reached a boiling point and were finally ready for a switch. The school system is facing a budget deficit, schools have faced cuts and more and more teachers seem to be leaving.
So last year, council sent a resolution to state lawmakers asking for them to take up the issue. Senator Chuck Edwards (R-District 48) was one of the sponsors of the bill that passed last fall.
"I think it certainly lends to more transparency," Sen. Edwards said.
He says this is needed now to fix what he calls a deteriorating school system. News 13 asked Edwards if he thought an appointed board for so many years has led to some of the issues within Asheville City Schools.
"I do," he said. "And the reason is, it seemed to me that appointed board was more of a rubber stamp."
Current school board member Peyton O'Conner said she sees things a bit differently. She was appointed last year and believes the board has already started making strides to increase transparency.
She said she's welcoming the change and is optimistic about the future of Asheville City Schools.
"I hope we continue to open up information that's public within the school system so parents can verify that we're making the right decisions," O'Conner said.
The school board will also be expanding from five to seven members. Three current school board members, including O'Conner, will hold their positions until 2024.
The top eight candidates in the primary will move on to the general election in November. Then, the top four will get a position on the board.