Politics

Why did NC lawmakers strip Warren Wilson College from Helene recovery bill?

Damian Fernandez, the president of Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, addresses students in September 2024, after Tropical Storm Helene devastated the surrounding community.

By KATE DENNING, Carolina Public Press, Published: July 26, 2025

In the most recent Helene recovery package from the state allocated $500 million to help address remaining damage to Western North Carolina, more than $4 million went to small private colleges and universities in the area.

Even so, Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, which says it sustained $12 million in damages, yet was not on the receiving end of any financial aid from the state.

The Swannanoa Valley in eastern Buncombe County experienced devastating flooding from Helene when the river crested at 26.1 feet, the highest point since 1916. Warren Wilson Provost and Dean of the Faculty Jay Roberts said 60 campus buildings experienced either roof or flood damage. FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers helped remove 70,000 cubic yards of debris at the school. The campus did not have drinking or running water for weeks, he said.

Warren Wilson President Damián J. Fernández issued a statement voicing his disappointment with the legislation’s exclusion of the college. He asked lawmakers to reconsider providing support when the legislature reconvenes later this month. 

Montreat College, located just 12 miles east of Warren Wilson, also experienced significant damage. Its gymnasium was the most impacted, and the college estimated it would take up to eight months to restore. Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk described its damage as moderate to Carolina Public Press in October. Three of its buildings were damaged by fallen trees, including a residence hall. 

But Montreat and Lees-McRae each received $1.5 million in the latest relief package. In addition, Mars Hill University received $500,000. Brevard College, Gardner-Webb University and Lenoir-Rhyne University each received $250,000. 

And despite initially being allocated $1.5 million when the House appropriations committee introduced the bill in May, Warren Wilson ultimately received nothing in the final version. 

State representatives in the area are saying the change-up was a political move. 

When the package was on the floor for a vote June 26, where it ultimately passed unanimously, state Rep. Lindsey Prather, D-Buncombe, pointed out Warren Wilson’s lack of funding. Prather represents the 115th district, where Warren Wilson is located.

“I’m confused and I’m disappointed and I’m very frustrated,” Prather said on the floor. “It certainly feels like the institutions in Buncombe — which as a whole, received the most amount of damage — are being carved out of this bill. I hope that this isn’t politicization of recovery. It’s hard not to read it that way.”

In addition to the lack of funding to Warren Wilson, Prather said an aspect of the funding allocated to the larger public universities also struck her as odd. 

Western Carolina University and Appalachian State University both received $2 million, whereas UNC-Asheville, also located in Buncombe County, had to share its $2 million with the North Carolina Arboretum. The arboretum is an affiliate of the UNC System, but is not directly under UNC-Asheville or any individual institution. 

Seeing as Montreat, a conservative religious college that is also located in Buncombe County, Prather told CPP these disparities make it seem as though institutions that are perceived as more progressive are being treated unfairly. 

While Warren Wilson is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church and a member of the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities, Roberts said he would describe the school as one with a historic religious affiliation rather than a religious college. 

Warren Wilson was one of eight private colleges and universities included in the original bill proposed by the House. Johnson C. Smith University, an HBCU in Charlotte, was also initially positioned to receive $500,000 then later removed. While Charlotte did not get the brunt of the storm, JCSU reported it had to close a residence hall due to water damage from Helene, leading the university to relocate more than 200 students. 

When the legislation made its way to the Senate, all higher education institutions were stripped from the bill entirely. It wasn’t until the bill landed in the conference committee, a temporary joint committee created for the House and Senate to work out the bodies’ differences on a piece of legislation, that the six private schools and three UNC System schools made the final cut. 

The conference committee was composed of four Republican representatives and four Republican senators. None of them responded to multiple requests for comment from CPP. Prather said the makeup of the committee was disappointing but not surprising based on the current leadership in the legislature.

“Republican leaders in the legislature were the first to say that we all need to pull together for Western North Carolina and we can’t politicize this, we all need to support our brothers and sisters,” she said. “And then they go and form a conference committee with only Republicans, including some Republicans that don’t live in Western North Carolina.”

State Rep. Eric Ager, D-Buncombe, represented Warren Wilson in past iterations of the state’s districts. Now the college falls under Prather’s jurisdiction, but it wasn’t easy for her to get there. Ager believes it’s Prather’s election that made Republicans strip Warren Wilson from the recovery package.

When North Carolina was redistricted in 2023, Republicans used what Ager called a “donut strategy,” leaving Asheville as its own district in the middle and drawing two districts that lean more conservative, the 114th and 115th, around the city. Despite the 115th district appearing to be a Republican stronghold, Prather won the seat by a thin margin in 2024. 

It’s hard to see any other reason why Warren Wilson was left out of Helene funding than politics, Ager said. 

“That’s the only reason I can think of that makes Warren Wilson different, because the reality of it is they suffered a lot more damage than the other schools that were on the list,” he said.

Warren Wilson leaders were surprised by the college’s exclusion because the school’s communication and relationships with lawmakers were positive throughout the storm and recovery efforts, Roberts said. They don’t want to speculate on why Warren Wilson was cut, and they’re still working to get answers several weeks later.

The college is attempting to be sensitive in the way it lifts up concerns about being excluded, Roberts said. He hopes all Americans understand that natural disasters are not political events.

“Natural disasters are when every American — regardless of where they come from, what their political affiliation is — gets support because we come together as a country during times like this,” he said. 

“I think that should be an understood, baseline expectation for everyone in whatever region of the country you come from, and that’s certainly our expectation here.”

While the storm had a great impact on Warren Wilson, Roberts emphasized the impact Warren Wilson has on the state — 40% of their students are from North Carolina, another 40% are Pell Grant eligible and the college’s presence contributes $50 million to North Carolina’s economy, he said.

Ager and Prather both said they hope proposed funding for Warren Wilson will be revisited, though they aren’t sure it would be a successful endeavor.

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Kate Denning is a Carolina Public Press intern whose reporting focuses on education issues. She is a 2025 graduate of North Carolina State University. Email kdenning@carolinapublicpress.org to contact her.