Teachers Worried About Pay as Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Face $16 Million Budget Gap

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Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools must submit a detailed strategy to address its $16 million budget deficit to the North Carolina State Board of Education, as stated in a letter from the state dated May 1. This directive was issued to the school board in Forsyth County, NC (WGHP).

The WS/FCS Board of Education convened on Tuesday evening. Following remarks from over a dozen anxious teachers worried about their paychecks, outgoing Superintendent Tricia McManus provided a concise statement regarding when they had engaged the financial consulting firm to address the issues at hand.

Speakers from the local and state teachers' unions took turns addressing the board while remaining standing. They demanded assurances that they would receive their salaries following the announcement by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction during its May 1st meeting. The department had declared the district to be "in financial distress" and warned of potentially failing to meet payroll payments as part of what could become the worst-case scenario.

Even though the district issued a statement affirming its commitment to meeting payroll, concerns swept through the educational community. This led to fervent appeals made directly to the school board by individuals demanding concrete plans. Compounding this unease was the fact that educators mentioned learning of the letters from both the NCDoPI and the state auditor’s office via media coverage rather than official communication channels.

Regarding the district's efforts, they claim to have already saved $21.5 million for the upcoming fiscal year; however, they haven’t yet detailed how these savings are being achieved.

McManus states that Thomas Kranz, the previous Chief Financial Officer who departed from the district on May 9 before his planned resignation at the end of the academic year, contacted HIL Consultants in April.

They started working on April 29.

"They entered the premises and began collecting documents and information for their purposes, initiating the process. Two days afterward, during a state board meeting, we were informed that hiring technical support was among our requirements," McManus stated.

Following the state’s suggestion, they employed HIL at a cost of $48,000. This official action took place on Tuesday evening, leading to an inquiry from the vice-chair of the WS/FCS Board of Education.

McManus mentioned that she needed to make a decision because all contracts exceeding $25,000 require approval from the entire board.

"After receiving the letter... I consulted our legal team along with the chair and vice-chair, 'Given my approval limit of $25,000, would it be possible for us to initiate work with them since we're discussing activities within this fiscal year that ends on June 30?' " McManus stated.

HIL Consultants consists of ex-CFOs who have worked in North Carolina, and the company is relaying its discoveries to the state authorities.

McManus, who also serves as the chair of the WSFCS Board of Education, stated that the district would be capable of covering the $48,000 contract using funds saved by the firm.

FOX8 has officially asked WS/FCS for the complete report to be submitted to the NCBoE by Thursday, as mentioned in the letter dated May 1st.

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