Winston-Salem/Forsyth school board deadlocks on chair election; motion to delay vote fails

The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education held its annual organizational meeting and was unable to elect a new chair after multiple ballots produced 4–5 splits for the leading nominees, leaving existing leadership in place.

Board officers opened nominations for chair; Alex Bohannon and Susan Miller were nominated. Repeated roll/hand votes for each nominee ended with four votes in favor and five opposed, producing no majority winner. A subsequent motion to bring the chair and vice-chair vote back next month was put to the board and failed on a 5–4 vote.

The stalemate drew heated remarks from board members. An attendee speaking during the nominations criticized the board’s leadership and communication, saying, “This board has lacked consistent effective leadership … the board learned of the state treasurer's involvement in the district's finances through social media nearly 2 weeks after the letter had been received,” and called for greater accountability and timely communication.

In public comment, Patty Gillenwater urged recusal by the chair and said the board’s conduct harmed the district and the new superintendent: “This is not the way to behave,” she said, urging the board to act in a way that preserves community confidence.

The board’s decision not to change leadership at the meeting means the current chair and vice chair will continue until the board takes further direction. The board announced its next regular meeting for Jan. 27, when members may revisit organizational business.

What happens next: No new chair was elected at the meeting. Board members said they would continue the conversation and may place the item on a future agenda for another vote.