Forsyth County Board of Commissioners

Commissioners did say they were willing to establish a payment plan for the school district to meet its more than $5 million in unpaid obligations to the county for school resource officers, nurses, fuel and lease payments.

The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education opted not to ask the county for more money to cover the $13 million in cuts the district needs to make to avoid a deficit. But at the budget hearing, teachers took matters into their own hands.

County Manager Shontell Robinson says federal funding is critical to many departments, including social services and environmental protection. The public health department has already been impacted, losing access to nearly $1 million set aside for COVID relief.

Last year, the board voted to experiment with a new schedule that allowed for an evening meeting once a quarter. The first one of those was held late last week, and the public came out in droves to push for more of them.

Forsyth County Commissioners discuss critical decisions about funding for everything from the school system to emergency services during budget workshops. But the meetings aren't broadcast to the public.

The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners has approved its list of priorities for the next three to five years. One of them is developing a sustainable funding formula for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools.

The board now holds meetings at 2 p.m. – preventing many working people from participating. The new schedule will include a quarterly 6 p.m. meeting.

The majority of the candidates, predominantly consisting of Democrats, said they were against private school vouchers. The only candidate at the forum who disagreed was Michele Morrow, the Republican homeschooler running for State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools requested $20 million from county commissioners this year. But the county’s proposed budget only fulfills about a third of the request — $6.7 million.

The largest spending increase for the county under the proposed budget is for schools, with a $6.7 million year-over-year bump.