WS/FCS presents $20M budget request to county commissioners

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools officials presented an additional $20 million budget request to the county on Thursday. The funds would support social workers, teacher supplements and more. 

A portion of the district’s request is intended to make up for the loss of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ESSER funds, which expire this year.  

Superintendent Tricia McManus said it would take about $6.6 million to maintain those ESSER-funded positions that helped student performance.

“We hired actually 30 more social workers through ESSER. And that has been very helpful when you look at those attendance numbers," McManus said. "Chronic absenteeism is starting to decrease. Kids with no absentee issues is starting to increase.”

McManus also outlined how the district’s needs have changed over the years, even before the COVID-19 pandemic. 

According to data from the last decade, there’s been an increase in exceptional education students and multilingual learners, and more than 75% of the student population is now considered economically disadvantaged. 

“All of this is just to show you over time, where our investments need to go, and it's making sure that we are actually meeting the needs of our students, of all of our learners," McManus said. 

The district’s request also includes raises for classified staff, teacher supplements and master’s degree pay, which used to be funded by the state but isn’t anymore.

The Forsyth County Commissioners spoke in support of some of these plans, but seemed unsure that they could approve the request in full. 

To cut costs, Commissioner Malishai Woodbury suggested only giving master’s pay to teachers at schools with the highest need. 

“And it may not be exactly how you want it," she said. "But we may be able to say in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County, we do offer master pay, but it is based on you know, a merit kind of scenario, because it's hard to fund it just right out.”

District officials said they would come back with additional information to continue these conversations. A public hearing on the county budget will be held on June 10.

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