The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of Education designated September 15 as a district transition day during their regular meeting on Tuesday night.
Friday, September 12, will be the last day of work for employees whose positions were eliminated following the reduction in force. All instructional staff and support personnel at all schools will be required to take this day as a teacher workday. This time will be banked towards potential inclement weather make-up time. Students will not attend school on September 15.
The decision was made following conversations with principals about how to ease the transition to new staffing situations after the reduction in force. Principals broadly preferred having a day for staff to plan for student transitions, review individualized education programs, collaborate on co-teaching models, and make any other adjustments needed to adapt to sudden changes in staffing. The district will provide resources and guidance to schools to help facilitate transition activities.
“There’s going to be a lot of transition,” said Wiley Middle School Principal Colin Tribby, who addressed the board in favor of the transition day. “Particularly when you talk about EC (Exceptional Children’s Program), there’s a lot of need for folks who are coming in, possibly new to the building, to be looking over those IEPs, working with those teams, some of which may be smaller, and to welcome anybody new who’s coming on board to make sure they know what they need to do.”
The board also formally selected Balfour Beatty as their construction manager at risk (CMAR) for the new Ashley Elementary School. CMARs are third parties who oversee construction projects from design to construction close-out and ensure the price of the project does not exceed the agreed-upon bid. Because a CMAR is liable for budgetary excesses, employing one will reduce the district’s risk of incurring unexpected costs late in the development process.
Balfour Beatty’s estimated fee is $46,204. It is funded with 2/3 bonds provided by the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners. This funding was already allocated and could not have been reallocated to address other budgetary issues.
Finally, the board chose Summit Search Solutions, Inc. to facilitate its search for the next superintendent. The project fee is $45,000 plus potential extra costs for advertisements and postings, background checks on candidates, and travel expenses. The process will be partially funded by a $40,000 grant from the Winston-Salem Foundation.
The Board of Education will meet again on Tuesday, September 9 at 6:30 pm.