Forsyth County commissioners have approved a new budget that includes a property tax increase and additional funding for local schools. But the district will still receive far less than it requested.
Commissioners signed off on a plan that raises property taxes by about 1.9 cents and provides new funding for infrastructure upgrades.
The budget also includes an extra $1.3 million for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools — but that’s about $32 million less than what the educators who packed the room were hoping for.
Jenny Easter, the president of the Forsyth County Association of Educators, says the funding is welcome, but she’s still worried about staffing next year. Broader staffing concerns remain after the district’s financial crisis.
"We lost over 1,000 staff this past year. I can't imagine how many we lost at the end of this year. So I think it's going to be interesting to see how we move forward with less resources," she said.
Board Chair Don Martin says the money is specifically earmarked for Exceptional Children’s staffing.
“So I think this is a good way to begin to address some of the very problems that had come up, both in our hearing as well as, I’ve had a couple of emails that talked about that particular issue. I wasn’t convinced we had a solution to it, but now I think there’s a space for that.”
Commissioner Shai Woodbury was the only member of the board to support the district’s full request.
The budget takes effect July 1.