Curriculum Committee
The Curriculum Committee advanced an addendum memorandum for their dual-enrollment partnership with Forsyth Technical Community College during the Board of Education’s work session on Tuesday night.
The partnership launched in 2012 as a way to provide tuition-free college courses for the district’s high school students. Last school year, 1,570 students participated in the program, more than double the number from five years ago. Participating students have also improved their grades during that timeframe, with 88.53% of students at the Early College of Forsyth consistently earning As, Bs, and Cs last year.
The addendum memorandum provides for another year of the partnership, as well as expanded program offerings like Upward Bound, which supports prospective first-generation college students, and five-year enrollment for students at Early College and Middle College of Forsyth. The committee advanced the addendum memorandum to a full meeting and praised the partnership for its effectiveness in helping students prepare for college.
“As a mama whose child is moving into college tomorrow and who participated in this, I’m very thankful that we have offered it to our folks,” said Board Member Sabrina Coone.
The Curriculum Committee also approved a subcontract for the NC Pre-K Program and discussed updates to policy surrounding challenges to instructional materials. More details are available in this week’s agenda.
Finance Committee
Later in the meeting, the Finance Committee approved the application for this year’s Title I funding.
WS/FCS has 49 schools that are designated as Title I for the 2026-27 school year. The designation reflects poverty levels in a school’s community by accounting for what percentage of its students receive free meals through various programs. These schools receive additional funding to both improve their overall instructional abilities and directly support academic achievement for low-income students.
The district is applying for over $22 million in Title I funding this year. Nearly $18 million of that will be allocated directly to schools based on need, with the remaining funds going towards district-level initiatives and required equitable services for Title I students attending private schools. A thorough breakdown of Title I reservations and set asides can be found here.
The Finance Committee also discussed a potential buyout for a lease on print shop equipment and updates on the OSA corrective action plan. This month’s budget-to-actuals report can be found here.
Buildings & Grounds Committee
During the Buildings & Grounds Committee meeting, board members heard updates on construction of the new Ashley Academy.
After hearing from General Contractor Balfour Beatty in May about the first stage of project estimation services, board members asked staff to review the school’s design for potential square footage reductions to better match the project’s budget. The plans have been revised down from 113,000 square feet to 103,000 square feet since then, making it about the same size as the new Brunson Elementary School.
Even with this reduction, there’s still an anticipated project budget shortfall of about $446 per square foot. Staff hope to find additional cost-cutting options as they continue to discuss plans with board members and community members before plans are finalized. The current floor plan can be viewed here.
The Buildings & Grounds Committee also continued to discuss its decision matrix for future capital projects and heard updates on the relocation plan for The Special Children’s School, but no action was taken on these items.
Policy Committee
The Policy Committee was originally slated to discuss converting its online policy manual over to the NCSBA model policies. However, this discussion was tabled due to time constraints. The board members will discuss it further during their next board workshop.
The Board of Education will hold their next full meeting on Tuesday, August 25.