To provide up-to-date and transparent information about the district’s financial condition, this is the June 27 Community Budget Update. Look for the next update mid-July.
Interim Superintendent Catty Moore provided a budget update at this week’s Board of Education meeting. Below are some key issues.
School Position Changes
Principals have identified position reductions and have begun to notify impacted employees. Schools were asked to do this to better align the staff levels with state-provided funding, which is based on student enrollment. One reason why WS/FCS has been overspending is because it has been staffed beyond what the state funds.
Moore said once the reductions are completed, the district will share which positions have been impacted. She said the district will monitor the impact of this and other budget cuts, and work with principals to determine what should be reinstated in the future.
IRS Withholding Review
WS/FCS has been in contact with the federal government to review discrepancies with federal withholding payments and reports sent to the IRS. Moore said the initial review indicates that withholding payments were made. However, some payments may have been made late or without required accompanying reports, causing penalties and interest to accrue.
Further information is needed from the IRS before the district can determine the next steps.
NC Auditor’s Review
District staff met with officials from the NC Auditor's Office recently as part of an ongoing investigative audit the state is conducting. Moore said the state has been given full access to district financial records. The Auditor’s Office will issue a report when it completes its work.
Moore said the report is likely to conclude that the district had insufficient or inconsistently followed financial processes and a lack of oversight to prevent exceeding the budget.
On July 1, WS/FCS will switch to a new enterprise resource planning system that will manage budgets, accounts payable, and other financial needs of the district. Moore said the system will prevent many of the financial missteps and mismanagement that have occurred in previous years.
Fiscal Year 25-26 Budget
This week, the Board of Education approved a continuing budget resolution, which allows the district to continue operating while it waits for the state budget to be adopted. This is a standard process that happens any year the NC General Assembly has not adopted a new budget by the end of the fiscal year.
Bus Transportation Changes Underway
Email and text messages recently went out to families about the changes to bus transportation for next school year.
WS/FCS will no longer offer bus transportation for students to attend schools or have a bus stop outside their residential zones. Students that attend their residential school, but have requested a stop outside of the residential zone, will be assigned a bus stop close to their home address. See this article on our website for next steps if this applies to your family.
Find past updates, presentations and more on our Community Budget Update portal.