Discussion on New Residential Boundaries
The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of Education reviewed revisions to residential boundaries during their Buildings and Grounds Committee meeting on Monday.
The district got a $948,688 Fostering Diverse Schools Grant that must be used for revising residential boundaries. The current residential zones have been in place for nearly 30 years, and population shifts have made those zones less efficient and less diverse. Rezoning is expected to relieve overcrowding at some schools, boost enrollment at others, reduce bus route distances, make feeder patterns more consistent, and save the district money.
The maps presented on Monday would save an average of 1.19 miles per bus route, reduce feeder splits by 31%, and improve socioeconomic diversity by 5.1% by rezoning 11.7% of student addresses. This is without requiring any student to leave a school they already attend.
The district has heard feedback from over 18,200 community members while developing new maps and will continue to hear more feedback throughout the implementation process. At earliest, new maps will be used for the 2027-28 school year.
After seeing proposed new maps in committee, the board members directed staff to move forward in developing a new boundary implementation plan and a district policy that requires boundary reviews every five years. The proposed maps can be viewed here. The board will officially adopt new boundaries as part of an implementation plan.
Special Recognitions
During their regular meeting, the board recognized recipients of the Fall 2025 WS/FCS Education Foundation grant cycle, as well as principals whose schools were in the top 50% of growth last school year. All In for Our Schools announced that they have raised $5.8 million from 330 donors over the past two months to address the district’s financial needs.
Action Items
After holding public hearings earlier in the evening, the board approved the renaming of two facilities – “Wilson Weight Room” for the weight room at Reynolds High School and “Lambeth Family Field” for the field at Deaton-Thompson Stadium. The board also approved a request for authorization from the Forsyth County Commissioners to utilize excess privately raised funds to pay ESS debt.
Community Budget Update
Interim Superintendent Catty Moore gave her final budget update to the board members, more information on which will be in this Friday’s Community Budget Update. Previous updates can be viewed here.
The board’s next meeting will be on Tuesday, December 9.