Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools is considering scaling back Pre-K classrooms next year due to declining funding.
District officials say they’re anticipating more than $3 million in reductions from federal Title 1 dollars and state exceptional children funding next year.
They’re also expecting a loss of 41 NC Pre-K program slots, on top of Head Start funding not being renewed.
Because of all this, Chief Academic Officer Paula Wilkins told school board members at a recent meeting that they need to look at consolidating classrooms.
“Where we can, we want to provide Pre-K services," Wilkins said. "But we have to do it in a way we can manage it and make it fiscally responsible.”
She says this is a hard conversation that many other districts are having right now. But Winston-Salem/Forsyth County’s situation is compounded by decisions to expand Pre-K several years ago using a funding source that sunsetted in 2022.
The district is proposing moving from 82 classrooms to 68 next year, though no decisions have been finalized.