WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools board approved $1,800 in annual supplemental pay for certified employees. This comes after the district accidentally approved $16 million more than what was budgeted for supplemental increases due to a miscalculation.
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools educators voiced their concerns at Tuesday’s board meeting after it announced it made a calculation error regarding supplemental pay.
What You Need To Know
The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools board approved $1,800 in an annual supplemental increase for certified employees
The school board accidentally approved $16 million more than what was budgeted for supplemental increases due to a miscalculation
The district’s finance and human resources teams apologized for the mistake
Forsyth County Association of Educators says the situation is disappointing, especially for those who had already budgeted their pay increase
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools announced last week that it accidentally approved $16 million toward supplemental pay increases for staff. The finance and human resources teams issued an apology for the mistake. The board originally approved an annual supplemental pay increase of $3,860 for certified employees in December.
“It’s going to lower people’s morale, because they had an expectation of a little higher supplement pay, and a supplement for some people is a car payment, some people it’s a house payment, you can pay off bills with, so some people have already budgeted themselves on what they thought they would get and the things that they thought they could do with that money,” said Val Young, president of Forsyth County Association of Educators.
“The initial proposal will include a minimum average annual supplement increase of $1,800. This will vary depending on where employees fall on the supplemental pay schedule. The beginning teacher annual supplement would be a minimum of $6,400. This payment is not as high as what was previously approved, this supplement increase will be greater than in years past,” superintendent Tricia McManus said in a statement released Friday.
Teachers expressed their concern as they wonder if supplemental pay will be decreased or given at all. Many of them highlighted the heightened workload and compensation for lack of educators in the classroom throughout the pandemic.
“We await the fulfillment of the promise,” Young said.
The new supplemental pay increase of $1,800 is the largest in three years. This will go into effect immediately, retroactive from the beginning of this academic year.