Forsyth educators call for more funding for public schools in county budget to prevent major cuts

More than a dozen educators called for more funding for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools at the county commissioners’ budget public hearing Monday evening.

Due to a major financial projection error, along with declining enrollment and state allotments, the district recently had to make about $23 million in cuts to avoid a deficit next year, and they have another $13 million to go.

The school board opted not to ask the county for more money to prevent further loss of positions and programs. But at the budget hearing, teachers took matters into their own hands. 

“We know that they are not coming to ask you for it. So we will fight for what we deserve," said Forsyth County Association of Educators President Jenny Easter, with a room full of public school workers standing behind her in support of the request for more funding. 

“Those numbers decide whether a student gets a counselor, a bus arrives on time, or a teacher stays in the profession," Easter said. "We're not asking for luxuries. We're demanding the minimum it takes to keep our schools running and our people respected.”

The county’s proposed budget includes just over $180 million for the school system — nearly a 2% increase from last year.

The district is actively working on a plan to make millions of dollars in cuts in order to make that amount work. 

Derek Setser, a teacher at Ward Elementary, talked about the repercussions of further cuts to the school system. 

“We are talking about increased class sizes and over-stretched educators. We are talking about fewer resources for multilingual learners and students with exceptional needs," he said. "The gutting of enrichment and support services that keep the most vulnerable kids engaged and safe.

Amanda Johnson-Anthony, an Exceptional Children (EC) teacher, said it felt like public school workers were the ones facing the consequences for the district’s budgeting error. 

“That's not fair," she said. "And the impact that this has on the students in the buildings — they're losing some of their favorite teachers, some of their favorite bus drivers, some of their favorite, just, people that they see every day."

Several EC educators spoke about the growing population of students with special needs, and the lack of funding, resources and staff in their department to serve them. Harry Morley says with additional budget cuts, they stand to lose even more. 

“This population, this community deserves the best teachers we can provide, and the only way we can supply that is by giving us the funding that we need," he said. 

The county commissioners will host three more budget workshops before voting on a final plan on June 5.

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