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Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools have released the latest update on the budget, including details on meetings with the N.C. State Auditor’s Office.

Weekly update to state

The WS/FCS Board of Education sent its weekly update to the North Carolina State Board of Education and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Staff members from WS/FCS met with the N.C. Auditor’s Office this week, and details are in the weekly update.

The letter, signed by WS/FCS Chair Deanna Kaplan, goes into details about the process of working with the N.C. State Auditor’s Office, including the work towards creating a public-facing dashboard with all relevant data, information and updates on the budget. The letter also notes that once the auditor’s office has received all relevant information, it will likely provide conclusions from the auditing process and provide recommendations related to WS/FCS practices, procedures, oversight and more.

Withholding review

WS/FCS has been in contact with the federal government to review discrepancies with federal withholding payments and reports sent to the IRS. There may be funds owed for the withholding due and for interest penalties. WS/FCS has requested all IRS documents and statements so that leaders can be confident that they have all the information needed to determine next steps and financial impact.

Additional steps

WS/FCS continues to pay down debts with funds available from revenue streams. As of last week, the district had developed a $44.8 million savings plan, which included reduction of out-of-zone transportation, reduction of school staff sizes and the previously-announced reductions of 81 Central Office positions, travel, utility costs, cell phones and take-home cars.

A personnel report on the agenda for Tuesday’s board of education meeting lists 117 staff positions that will either be terminated or eliminated through resignation.