To provide up-to-date and transparent information about the district’s financial condition, this is the September 12 Community Budget Update.
Interim Superintendent Catty Q. Moore provided a budget update during the Tuesday, September 9 Board of Education meeting.
Reduction in Force
WS/FCS has notified 222 staff members that their jobs have been eliminated as part of the district’s reduction in force (RIF), Moore told the board.
This is fewer than the 268 people the district predicted would be impacted in August. This is due to an increase in staff vacancies and some changes to the EC position allotments based on revised enrollment numbers.
Friday will be the last day of work for impacted employees. The changes have caused some staff members to be reassigned to new positions, including assistant principals and EC staff.
Monday, September 15, schools will be closed to students to give staff time to acclimate to new roles and to help leaders districtwide adjust to the changes. Families will hear from principals on Monday about new teachers, administrators or other employees moving to their schools.
Allotment Changes
Additional staffing shifts are also underway due to a decline in enrollment, Moore said.
The NC Department of Public Instruction (DPI) allots funding to school districts based on “average daily membership,” a calculation based on student enrollment and attendance.
Based on last year’s ADM and some changes to Virtual Academy, WS/FCS planned to have 50,549 students. The district’s unofficial 10-day enrollment was 49,224 students, a difference of 1,325 students.
Due to this change, the district would need to make a reduction of about 71 teachers, 12 teaching assistants, 14.5 secretaries, two part-time instructional facilitators, and two part-time social workers. The district is currently working to place those staff members into new assignments, based on available vacant positions.
Audit Changes
Moore reported that the deadline for the district’s Fiscal Year 2024-2025 independent audit will have to be extended to allow for the auditors to consider the findings of a review of the district’s internal fiscal controls requested by the State Board of Education’s (SBE) and the Local Government Commission.
The WS/FCS School Board contracted with Forvis Mazars in June to provide its annual independent audit of FY 2024-2025 finances. The firm has completed some of the necessary work already.
The audit was due to be submitted to the state by the end of the calendar year, however, the SBE asked that it be completed in time for its November 4 meeting.
In a September 5 memo to the district, Forvis Mazars indicated that its contract is not designed to identify all internal control deficiencies. As the SBE hasn’t laid out exactly what will be examined in its review, Forvis Mazars said those findings may be relevant to its work.
The firm recommended it not provide a final report until the other audit is completed. The School Board agreed to amend its contract to allow that to happen. Forvis Mazars will provide an update on its work at the October 28 School Board meeting.
External Audit Committee
At the Tuesday WS/FCS Board of Education Policy Committee meeting, members discussed Moore’s recommendation to create an External Audit Committee.
The Board reviewed a policy for such a group created by the Wake County Board of Education. The External Audit Committee in Wake assisted with hiring an independent audit firm, reviewed the annual audit, and helped to ensure the district made necessary improvements based on audit findings.
Board members discussed a process for collecting applications and vetting and appointing committee members. They determined the proposed committee should have seven voting members, with one being appointed by the Forsyth County Commissioners. Members would have staggered two-or-three-year terms.
The WS/FCS staff will come back to a future Policy Committee with recommended qualifications for the committee members and a draft policy for its consideration.
Find past updates, presentations, and more on the Community Budget Update portal.