Reduction in Force
The Board of Education met Tuesday, August 19, to discuss a Reduction in Force (RIF) to save $18.2 million and balance the current year’s budget.
The Board approved Interim Superintendent Catty Q. Moore’s recommended RIF, which includes the eliminated of approximately 344 positions, reduced months of employment for about 289 employees, demotions of 51 employees, and furloughs for about 1,200 employees.
“We either don’t pay our bills, or we don’t pay our people,” Moore told the board. “That is where we are right now. That is why this reduction is coming forward.”
The cuts will not reduce last year’s $46.1 million deficit.
Since the board adopted its interim budget in June, the district has identified a need for an additional $19.3–$25.3 million in savings, due to receiving less state funding, having fewer federal carryover funds, and using some reserve funds to pay down last year’s deficit. Without further reductions, the district will have difficulty meeting its financial obligations in September, Moore said.
Moore said she had to consider staff reductions because payroll and benefits make up 85 percent of the district budget
“I am required to provide the board with a balanced budget to adopt this fall,” said Moore. “I cannot provide a balanced budget for the board to adopt without making reductions.”
WS/FCS worked with HIL Consultants to evaluate available state funding for positions and compared staffing levels to similarly sized districts to determine where it might be overstaffed.
The position cuts include Central Office employees, Testing Coordinators, Exceptional Children (EC) teachers and assistants, and alternatively licensed teachers.
The Board of Education requested that the district work to retain experienced and fully licensed teachers. Fifty-one employees whose positions were eliminated – including assistant principals and some district staff – will be reassigned to 10-month teaching positions. This qualifies as a demotion.
Some at schools and Central Office roles will be reduced to 10 months of employment. All Central Office staff – except bus drivers, EC itinerant teachers, speech pathologists, physical therapists, and occupational therapists – will take furlough days (days off work without pay). The number of furlough days will be based on annual salary, with the highest-paid staff receiving 12 days without pay.
Exceptional Children Program Changes
The changes to the EC program were made to better align with the caseload ratios recommended by the NC Department of Public Instruction (DPI). WS/FCS currently provides more EC teachers and assistants than DPI requires and will continue to provide services beyond what the state funds, even after the reductions.
For example, for EC students, DPI sets a maximum caseload of one K–5 EC teaching assistant for every 12 students. WS/FCS’s current ratio is one teaching assistant for every four students. Under the RIF, that would change to one assistant for every eight students.
At the middle school level, the state ratio is one teacher for every 50 students. At WS/FCS, the current ratio is one teacher for every 25 students; under the reduction, that would shift to one teacher for every 35 students.
Currently, 16.5 percent of students in the district have disabilities. The state funds only 13 percent, leaving WS/FCS with at least a $7.4 million unfunded mandate.
NC Audit Report Overview
Moore also reviewed findings from an investigative audit conducted by the NC Auditor’s Office regarding the district’s Fiscal Year 2024–2025 deficit and outlined steps staff will take to ensure similar issues do not occur in the future.
One issue raised by the auditor was the district’s use of bonuses. Moore explained that the district has historically used bonuses as a recruitment and retention tool. Bonuses have been awarded for teacher and principal performance, bus driver attendance, and year-end appreciation for all staff.
During the pandemic, employees across the district received a wide range of both locally funded and state-mandated bonuses to serve as economic stimulus and to address staffing shortages. These bonuses were largely funded by federal pandemic-relief dollars, which required DPI approval, or by state dollars.
Moore noted that the districts will provide only state-mandated bonuses this fiscal year.
Superintendent Search Firm
Earlier in the day, at a Board of Education workshop, members interviewed two firms that submitted proposals to manage the superintendent search.
The board later voted 5–3, with Chair Kaplan recusing herself, to retain the services of Summit Search Solutions Inc. to recruit candidates and assist the board in selecting the next WS/FCS superintendent. The cost of the services will be $45,000, with a new superintendent scheduled to be announced as early as November 2025. Read the proposal from Summit here.