Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools

Proposed 2016 Bond Referendum

On July 22, the district took its first steps toward what it hopes will be a successful bond referendum in November 2016 to pay for school construction and renovations.

The last large-scale bond referendum for WS/FCS was approved in 2006 and paid for $250 million in construction, renovations and improvements. Those projects were chosen from a list of needs that totaled $422 million. Since 2006, the district has grown by almost 7,000 students, buildings have continued to age, and it has facility needs that must be addressed.

Staff presented four sets of options to the Board of Education for its consideration. These were not recommendations, but a starting point for the Board as it listens to feedback from staff, families and the community about what the next set of projects should be.

                                                                  
Presentation to Board, 7/22/15 (click to view)                                              List of Projects (click to view)

Please share your ideas and thoughts with us! Email WSFCSInfo@wsfcs.k12.nc.us. 

Option 1 comprehensively addresses the district's needs. It would cost about $552 million and pay for new construction and renovations around the district. This work would include looking at adding magnet programs and other options to draw a diverse population to different schools.

Option 2 focuses on providing more space and improving aging schools. It would cost about $334 million.

Option 3 focuses on early education in an effort to help the district's youngest students have a good start in school. It includes 22 pre-kindergarten classrooms, including a pre-kindergarten center. It would cost about $284 million.

Option 4 focuses on middle schools to address capacity needs – which are greatest in grades 6-8 – and broaden programs at this key age. It would add three new middle schools and renovate three existing ones. It would cost about $268 million.

Each option and cost includes several priority projects that staff believe are needed the most. They are:

• A replacement for Konnoak Elementary.
• A replacement for Lowrance Middle on the campus of Paisley IB Magnet.
• Renovations for John F. Kennedy High, a high school that specializes in career and technical education.
• A new site for the high school program at Winston-Salem Preparatory Academy. Moving the program is contingent on keeping the school’s academic and athletic programs intact, and it must be a site that reflects the school’s founding mission for students to do college-level work in high school. It would not share a campus with another WS/FCS school.
• A long-term site for Hanes Magnet School at Cameron Avenue in Winston-Salem Preparatory Academy’s current building. The current site at the former Hill Middle is not a long-term solution, and Cameron Avenue is closer to the school’s former location. A location for Winston-Salem Preparatory Academy would have to be found first.
• Upgrading the media centers in all schools to create innovative learning centers that better reflect the collaborative and creative nature of student learning in the future.
• A new middle school at a site yet to be determined to address overcrowded schools in the middle school grades.
• Maintenance and capital improvements, such as roofs, boilers, chillers and other systems.
• Safety improvements to Mount Tabor’s stadium.

Please share your thoughts and ideas with us about the options. Public forums will be scheduled this fall and again in the winter as the Board finalizes its request to Forsyth County Commissioners next spring.