To provide up-to-date and transparent information about the district’s financial condition, this is the October 24 Community Budget Update.
Debt Payment Options
This week, Board of Education members discussed options for debt repayment at their retreat.
Interim Superintendent Catty Q. Moore has presented several strategies to free up funds to start paying off the district’s $37 million in debt from last fiscal year. Tuesday, she said HIL Consultants expect to save the district $3.5 million through “position control” – a process of moving the staff onto state or federal funding streams, saving local dollars. She recommended those savings be used to pay outstanding debts.
Moore also recommended the district repurpose $2.3 million in supply dollars to create a budget reserve to cover potential overages in the Exceptional Children’s program or transportation costs, or provide summertime employment for athletic directors, assistant principals, or counselors.
Private funding from the All in for Our Schools campaign would cover the supply needs.
Board members said they are not interested in cutting local salary supplements for certified staff, one of the cost-saving options Moore had considered.
Moore said she would also take the option of expanding furloughs to all staff off the table. She plans to discuss the option to furlough principals with those leaders in early November.
The debt repayment options will be finalized when the board adopts its final Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget next week.
Community Support
Private donors have committed more than $2.65 million for WS/FCS in the last month.
On Monday, Winston-Salem Foundation and Education Foundation announced that nearly $1.48 million in private donations have been raised for the All in for Our School campaign.
Of the funds raised, $600K will go towards the Student Success Fund and $850K is designated for the Education Foundation’s Classroom Supplies Fund. The remaining $22K was used by Bookmarks’ effort to purchase 2,046 books for schools.
The Winston-Salem Foundation also created a new fund – the WS/FCS Futures Fund – that will specifically go toward paying district debt. The foundation will seed the fund with $500K. The recently announced $400K contribution from the Twin City Foundation will also go to this fund.
“In order to put our focus and energies back on securing a bright future for public education here in Forsyth County, we must work quickly and collectively to eliminate this heavy burden of debt,” said LaTida Smith, president of The Winston-Salem Foundation.
The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation announced Thursday it will donate $250K to the debt fund, $50K to the Student Success Fund, and $50K to the Classroom Supplies Fund.
“Public education is the foundation of North Carolina’s future,” said Joy Vermillion Heinsohn, Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation executive director. “Now is the moment to unite behind our schools so that every child has the resources and opportunities to succeed.”
Community members can donate to the campaign at allinforourschools.org.
Audit Committee
Board members gave a second review of the proposed policy to create an external audit committee during their retreat.
Under the proposed policy, the committee would be an advisory group that would support the district and the board in identifying an independent auditor for the board’s annual audit and ensuring any findings are resolved.
School board members favored expanding the number of committee members appointed by the Forsyth County Commissioners and eliminating the superintendent’s appointment. They also discussed creating a joint nominating committee, made up of commissioners and school board members, to recommend candidates to serve on the audit committee.
Moore said it is important to make it clear in the policy that the committee is advisory to the school board.
Coming Up
In addition to adopting the final budget, next Tuesday the Board of Education will also consider other key fiscal issues.
Board members will consider expanding custodial services with a new SSC contract that would erase the district’s outstanding debt to the contractor. This decision also impacts whether custodial staff remain with the district or would be offered jobs with the contractor. The proposed contract allows some custodians to remain WS/FCS employees and ensures all current custodians can remain at their current location as SSC employees.
The board’s independent auditing firm, Forvis Mazars, will provide an update regarding the Fiscal Year 2024-25 audit.
Board members will consider closing Cook Literacy Model School. While the decision does not have an immediate financial impact, it would affect operating or construction budgets in future fiscal years.