Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education

At a school board meeting on Tuesday, Interim Superintendent Catty Moore identified about $45 million in cost savings for next year’s budget. But she warned that the district may owe federal withholding payments to the IRS, which could mean this year's shortfall is higher than projected.

The new interim superintendent says rebuilding trust and addressing the district’s $42 million shortfall will take “big thinking, sacrifice, and a reset."

On top of the projected shortfall for this fiscal year, the district is actively working to cut $36 million from next year’s budget.

Officials say the district overspent on personnel in its budget last year, due in part to inaccurate financial projections. The district aims to come up with a savings plan in the next two weeks.

The district hired a school finance firm to help make a plan to meet its financial obligations for this year, including payroll.

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has directed the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school board to provide a detailed explanation of how the district is mitigating its budget shortfall by May 15.

WS/FCS officials say they want to establish clear, actionable goals to guide future decisions.

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools is considering eliminating the Virtual Academy’s elementary program, which could save the district nearly $1 million. Under this proposal, the Virtual Academy would serve 6th through 12th graders and become embedded within Winston-Salem Preparatory Academy.

The school board also resolved to request $2.4 million from the county to bring the district's classified pay up to the average market rate for districts including Guilford, Wake and Durham public schools.

More than a dozen people addressed the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of Education Tuesday night asking members to bring back the practice of praying at the start of meetings. The board began offering moments of silence instead back in May.