Some media outlets are reporting that the State Bureau of Investigation is poised to launch a criminal probe into Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools.
According to Chad Flowers, an SBI spokesperson, the department is not investigating the school district right now.
He says Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill called SBI more than a month ago asking them to look into the school district’s multimillion-dollar deficit.
But by then, the State Auditor’s office was already working on its own investigation of the district’s finances. WFDD reached out to the DA’s office but did not receive a response.
Flowers says the SBI would only begin investigating the school district if criminal wrongdoing was found in that audit and the district attorney requested an investigation. That hasn’t happened.
Interim Superintendent Catty Moore says the district has been working with state auditors on their investigation since April.
She expects the report to include findings about the incorrect practices that led to the district’s $46 million deficit and recommendations for improvement. She also believes it is nearly complete.
