Twin City Development Foundation pledges $400,000 as district seeks debt relief; county sets conditional forgiveness terms

At the Oct. 14 Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools meeting, Robert Clark, board chair of the Twin City Development Foundation, announced the foundation had approved a $400,000 emergency contribution to the district to be distributed in two equal installments and earmarked for debt repayment.

Clark read a statement that said the board “approved a $400,000 emergency contribution to the Winston Salem Forsyth County School System” and that the funding would be distributed in two equal installments, one this month and the other in January 2026, “and is earmarked specifically for debt repayment.” He presented a copy of his letter and a list of the foundation’s board members to the board chair.

At the same meeting, interim Superintendent Caddy Moore gave the board an extended budget update reporting the district’s current debt picture and recent actions by county officials. Moore said the district’s estimated final deficit stands at about $37.4 million and summarized vendor debts that must be addressed in the district’s required debt-repayment plan to the State Board of Education.

County action and conditions

Forsyth County commissioners on Oct. 9 adopted a resolution offering conditional forgiveness of up to $5,026,000 of the district’s debt to the county. Moore said the resolution ties county forgiveness to private donations and vendor-payments in the following way:

- Donations designated to pay DPI debt and vendor debt would trigger forgiveness of county debt dollar-for-dollar up to the county’s $5,026,000 liability. - The first $3.4 million of qualifying donated funds would be prioritized to clear the DPI debt; if donations exceed that amount the county would continue to forgive county debt up to its total exposure. Moore said the county expects discussions with the district and the county manager on operationalizing donations.

Moore warned that many community donors will route gifts through local foundations rather than directly to the district, and that operationalizing forgiveness will require verification of those payments. The county’s resolution included a Dec. 31, 2025 deadline for forgiveness tied to donations; the resolution also allows the county to consider extensions if needed.

Debt amounts and interest

Moore reported vendor balances that figure into the repayment plan: roughly $6.1 million owed to ESS (which has engaged counsel and begun applying interest and fees), about $4.25 million owed to SSC, and a county exposure of about $5.026 million for SROs and nurses. She said DPI interest on the district’s debt will begin accruing Oct. 31 and that repayment to DPI is to begin no later than Jan. 2026. The district is scheduled to present a debt-repayment plan to the State Board of Education’s business operations committee on Nov. 4.

District repayment options discussed

Moore outlined several approaches the district is pursuing to secure 2025–26 funds for debt repayment, including:

- Reallocating positions from local to state and federal allotments to maximize outside funding and free local dollars (Moore estimated this work could free up to about $3.5 million for debt repayment in the current fiscal year).

- Repurposing unreleased local non-instructional allotments (the district withheld about 50% of some school allocations this year, representing roughly $2.3 million) and coordinating community fundraising (the All In for Our Schools effort) to cover part of that gap.

- Further local reductions such as reducing local supplements or expanding furloughs (Moore provided estimates for 10–15% supplement reductions or a three‑day systemwide furlough and the associated savings scenarios).

- Borrowing as a last resort (Moore noted borrowing would require repayment and interest and should be weighed carefully).

Moore told the board she aimed to present a final recommendation for debt repayment in the Oct. 28 budget resolution; she also said the district will need to include 2026–27 debt-repayment scenarios in next year’s budget development.

Provenance: first and last transcript excerpts below support this reporting.