At Tuesday night’s school board meeting, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools interim superintendent presented a wide-ranging budget update.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. —
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools is continuing to chip away at its multimillion-dollar budget deficit and projected shortfalls. However, the deficit could grow, and cost-saving measures could have significant implications for school staff.
At Tuesday night’s board of education meeting, interim superintendent Catty Moore provided a budget update, sharing what has been done, what still needs to be done and what remains unknown.
Speaking about this year’s budget deficit, Moore said the district will pay all its vendors by the end of the fiscal year, which ends on June 30. This is with the exception of three vendors whose contracts total $16 million. The district is exploring payment plan options for these vendors. As of Tuesday, one of those vendors has been wired about $800,000.
Moore says one of the biggest budget issues remaining now is at least $18 million in state overages for this year. She did not recommend that the board request that money from Forsyth County Commissioners. However, she floated the idea of the board requesting flexibility from commissioners with capital outlay funds and bond interest earnings.
Looking at next year’s budget, Moore says the district plans to save $44 million. This includes school principals looking at reducing and moving staff for a budget savings of more than $8 million. Moore says all but one school has completed this work, and the board will soon be provided with a list of what has been done. She added that these changes will need to be monitored.
"As early as November, we gather feedback from those that were impacted by some of these changes to help, and begin to identify budget priorities for the next year,” she said.
"I met with principals recently—that association that you have of principals and assistant principals—and I told them, I said, ‘I expect you to demand that the reductions made at school be reinstated,’" Moore continued.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, about a dozen speakers expressed concerns about the elimination of media coordinator positions at several schools. Several current and recently eliminated media coordinators said cutting these positions would have a negative impact on student literacy and urged the board to reconsider these eliminations.
Prior to Tuesday’s meeting, educators and community members expressed concern about the district’s most recent personnel report, which shows the district losing 117 staff members, including 53 teacher terminations.
Moore said these positions are not part of budget reduction efforts. She stated that the terminated staff were operating under alternative licenses and did not meet specific requirements before those licenses expired. She says this happens in many districts every year, and staff who meet licensure requirements after June 30 may be eligible for rehire.
The district is continuing to work with the IRS on federal withholding issues. Moore says all payments were submitted, although some may have been late, which could have resulted in late fees. Additionally, some reports corresponding to payments were not submitted. Moore says the district is in contact with an IRS revenue agent. Currently, it’s unclear whether or how much this could contribute to the deficit.
The district is also working with the State Auditor’s Office, which is conducting an investigative audit and creating a final report. Moore said it’s not known when this report will be done, but anticipates it will detail the following:
"I don't think it'll be a flattering report,” Moore said.
"It will be important for us to look at it from the lens of, ‘How did we get here? How do we never come here again?" she said.
The board adopted an interim budget resolution, which will enable it to operate even though the state legislature has not yet finalized its budget.
Board members also approved a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a search firm to help the district begin its search for a permanent superintendent.
The board will meet next during a special meeting in early July.
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