Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools to request $20M from county commissioners next week

The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education approved a budget request to the county for $20 million this week. 

Much of the district’s local budget request is intended to make up for lost federal COVID-19 funding.  

Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ESSER funds, expire this year. That money has helped support additional nurses, social workers, technology and Pre-K. 

It will take about $6.7 million in local funds from the county just to maintain those items previously funded by ESSER. Roughly the same amount is being allocated to employee retention, including teacher supplements. 

WS/FCS Board Member Sabrina Coone said many of the board’s priorities made it into the budget.

“We worked really hard to advocate for many of the things that are on this list," Coone said. "I think we all collectively worked hard to fight for the social workers, to fight for the supplements, and the master degree supplement, for Pre-K.”

In addition to approving the local budget request to the county, the board also voted to use the reserve in Article 46, which is the Forsyth County quarter-cent sales tax, to further increase teacher supplements. 

Some board members shared concerns about the sustainability of that plan, because if tax revenues fall, supplements could be less than what employees are expecting. 

But local educator Lee Childress spoke in support of taking that chance, and says other teachers feel the same.

“The consensus was, we need to spend the funds, but educate, educate, educate our teachers about what Article 46 is, and that it can fluctuate each year," Childress said. 

Now that the board has approved the local budget request, they’ll take it to the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners on May 9. 

Amy Diaz covers education for WFDD in partnership with Report For America. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.