Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools officials say a state-imposed financial review may cause the district’s regular audit to be late.
The State Board of Education recently voted to hire an independent auditor to review the district’s internal controls amid its ongoing budget crisis.
At a school board meeting Tuesday, WS/FCS Interim Superintendent Catty Moore said this is causing a hiccup for the district’s regular financial audit — a report expected to contain critical information about what led to the $46-million deficit last year.
WS/FCS auditor, Forvis Mazars, says it won’t be able to finalize its report until the additional review required by the state is complete.
“What they're saying is, 'We don't know what this next audit is supposed to cover, but it's very possible that that next audit will include information or findings that we should consider in our final report,'" Moore said.
Moore said the holdup will likely cause the district to miss the state’s deadline to submit its audit again. The delay last year was one of the reasons the district failed to identify and correct its overspending sooner.
Officials also discussed a decline in enrollment this year.
Moore said the unofficial 10-day number was about 1,300 students lower than they’d projected.
Based on that figure, the district will need to make reductions in several areas, including 71 teachers and 11 teacher assistants.
Schools are in the process of reconciling those changes now with a goal of moving staff who lose their positions into other available vacancies.
