The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of Education approved plans for local teacher salary supplements for the 2026 fiscal year during its special called meeting on Tuesday night.
The local supplements have two parts. One is the local teacher supplement, which is funded by the county and varies based on an employee’s number of years of work experience. The other is the Article 46 Supplement, a flat-rate supplement that is funded by a quarter-cent on the county sales tax. This has been a flat, $300 monthly amount provided to eligible licensed employees like teachers, and other certified instructional staff, such as counselors, instructional facilitators, and media coordinators.
The district expected to need to reduce the amount of the Article 46 Supplement by $25 in anticipation of lower sales tax revenue. However, Forsyth County updated the district on Tuesday and reported better than expected sales tax collection. This allowed the district to keep the supplement at $300 per month.
“This is good news and it’s something we should celebrate,” Board Member Steve Wood said.
The approved local supplement plan will set the Article 46 monthly rate at $300 and maintain last year’s local teacher supplements from local appropriations based on experience level. Article 46 funding for the 2023 senior certified staff supplement adjustment will also stay the same. Experience credit for state salary or local supplements will have to wait until the state approves a budget or mini-budget.
The board also heard an update on AI usage guidelines for both students and staff to leverage new technologies in responsible, future-focused ways. At the end of the meeting, the board members approved a funding request from the county worth approximately $8.5 million to put towards the fiscal year 2024-2025 budget shortfall, an updated list of 2024-26 bond projects, and a new memorandum of agreement with Forsyth Technical Community College.
The Board of Education will hold their next regular meeting on Tuesday, August 12 at 6:30 pm.