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Resident urges Forsyth County commissioners not to bail out school system; community dance fundraiser announced
Summary
During public comment at the Aug. 14 meeting, resident Chris McCann urged commissioners not to allocate additional county funds to the school system amid a reported shortfall and referenced a 39-page report; another speaker, Joanna Kelly, announced a Sept. 21 community dance benefiting three local nonprofits.
At the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners meeting on Aug. 14, resident Chris McCann urged commissioners not to allocate additional county funds to the local school system amid a reported shortfall, and a second speaker announced a community dance fundraiser for three local nonprofits.
Chris McCann, who identified his address as 205 Cool Springs Road in Winston-Salem, said he had not had an opportunity to read a 39-page report released shortly before the meeting but described the financial problem as broader than the county. McCann said the issue “is a state problem, not a county problem” and warned that “If we bail these people out today, they'll be back asking you for a bailout again in the future.” He urged the board to withhold additional funding, saying the school system had “already demonstrated the inability to manage the money that they had.”
Another public speaker, Joanna Kelly of 2800 Regency Drive in Winston-Salem, announced a community event: a “day disco” on Sunday, Sept. 21 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Millennium Center in Winston-Salem. Kelly said the event will raise funds for three local nonprofits she works with: Into the Wild (an adventure recovery program for women recovering from substance use disorder), Triad Restorative Justice, and A Bed and a Book, which provides beds and books to children in the Triad. Kelly described herself as a grant writer and nonprofit consultant.
The clerk reported there were eight or nine speaker cards submitted for the public comment portion of the meeting; the transcript excerpt provided these two comments. McCann told commissioners he believed the state allocates “about 40% of their budget to education” (K–12) and emphasized accountability from elected officeholders. He said he had not read the 39-page report mentioned at the meeting.
These remarks were delivered during the public comment period; no formal county action on the school financing question was recorded in the provided excerpt. The county's formal minutes and any staff reports or board agenda items would be the appropriate records to track whether the board took subsequent steps.
