NC Schools Superintendent Mo Green discusses academic gains during a meeting of the State Board of Education, Sept. 3, 2025. (Screengrab: NCDPI video stream)
Only a few months ago, the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school district was asking the state to waive interest on its debt. But on Tuesday, the district announced it has fully repaid the $11.3 million it owed the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, closing a chapter in a financial crisis that left the school system tens of millions of dollars in deficit and under state scrutiny.
The payment, which came sooner than expected, settles the state’s portion of a $46.1 million budget deficit that led to layoffs and a rare intervention from the State Board of Education.
“On October 28, NCDPI received the full payment of the approximately 3.4 million dollars still owed by WS/FC schools to the State for the school system overdrafts of state money during the 2024-2025 academic year. This is a very positive development,” DPI said in a statement to NC Newsline.
A state audit report released in August found that district leaders used temporary federal COVID-19 funds to cover permanent salaries, approved purchase orders without money in the budget to cover them and delayed routine account reconciliations.
On Tuesday, officials reported that the final $3.4 million payment to the state last month came from a community fundraising effort led by the Winston-Salem Foundation’s Futures Fund.
“The Futures Fund is collecting donations directly for the purpose of paying out the district’s debt,” said Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School Board Chair Deanna Kaplan. “The fundraising is ongoing, and I just want to thank so much the community and all of the partners for all of their efforts and coming together for our school district.”
State Board of Education Chair Eric Davis praised the effort as evidence of growing public confidence. “The progress made on this and the support demonstrated from the community for our students in Forsyth County is phenomenal, and we congratulate you and every one of those who participated in this groundswell of support.”
District officials told a state board committee that they are now focused on paying the balance still owed to contractors.
A $4.25 million debt to a custodial company has been restructured and will be paid over 10 years under a new contract approved last month, the committee heard. The district also owes $6.1 million to a staffing firm and roughly $1.6 million to Forsyth County, along with an additional $2 million it borrowed from its own child nutrition fund.
Officials said the district has already paid down more than $22 million and plans to set aside $3.5 million for debt payments this fiscal year and $4.2 million next year, aiming to finish paying off its short-term debts by 2027.
Under an agreement with Forsyth County, every private dollar raised to reduce the debt results in an equal amount of county debt being forgiven. So far, the matching program has already cleared more than $3.4 million.
In September, the state board ordered a full review of the district’s finances, and last month it hired Mauldin & Jenkins to audit internal controls. The district is also forming a new citizen audit committee made up of Forsyth County residents with finance expertise to help monitor progress.
Hence then, the article about winston salem forsyth schools pay off 11 3 million debt sooner than expected with community help was published today ( ) and is available on NC news line ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Winston-Salem/Forsyth Schools pay off $11.3 million debt sooner than expected with community help )
Also on site :
- I Came Home Early From a Destination Wedding. What I Found In My House Could Tear My Family Apart.
- Search and rescue underway for missing person in Maria Ygnacio Creek
- Flash Flood Warning issued January 3 at 9:00AM PST until January 3 at 12:00PM PST by NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard CA