Forsyth County commissioners are considering a quarter-cent sales tax on the 2020 primary ballot to help fund education.
Local officials say the supplement schedule for teachers in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools hasn't had any major infusion of dollars for almost 20 years. Forsyth commissioners did approve a small property tax increase this past year, which will produce around $3.7 million for education, but they say it was just a stopgap.
If the measure passes, a bulk of the money generated from the tax would help make teacher supplements more competitive with other districts in the state. Forsyth County Commissioner Don Martin says the goal is to attract and retain teachers.
“It will produce about $13 million or so and while it fluctuates a little bit with the economy, it's very likely to go up some," says Martin. "So we are hoping that it's a fairly stable and in fact probably increasing source of revenue."
He says it's important to note that groceries and gas would be exempt from the sales tax increase. Martin says state law requires specific language for these types of measures, so the word "education" would not appear on the ballot.
Statewide, voters in dozens of counties have ratified a quarter-cent county sales tax, including Durham, Surry and Rockingham Counties.
Forsyth voters rejected a similar measure last November.
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