Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools employees will have to start paying for their own dental insurance, another cost-cutting measure the school district has taken to shore up its finances.
The school board voted 7-2 at its meeting Tuesday to strip employees of a longtime benefit that interim Superintendent Catty Moore said was rare among school districts.
School board members Robert Barr and Sabrina Coone voted against the measure, which will take effect on Jan. 1.
Moore said the measure will save the school district $1.2 million for the current fiscal year and $2.5 million annually beginning July 2026.
In response to a question from board member Leah Crowley, Moore said $2.5 million amounts to about 33 positions.
“I do look at this as a trade-off,” Crowley said. “It’s got to go one way or the other. So, it’s either lose positions or lose employer-funded dental insurance.”
Under the new plan, most employees will pay $35 a month for individual coverage and $105 for family coverage, according to the school district.
The change will impact current and retired employees.
Moore first mentioned the possibility of ending the benefit in August. It was among several areas that an outside financial group, HIL Consultants, tagged as worthy of review.
Jenny Easter, the president of the Forsyth County Association of Educators, called on board members to reject the cut.
“Let this be one thing we do not have to lose this year,” Easter said.
Speaking for the school district’s retirees, Colleen Lanier, a former middle school teacher, said the dental coverage has kept employees in the school district.
“We’re on fixed incomes. This is something we didn’t plan on,” she said.
The school district is under pressure to find ways to pay its bills, particularly the $15 million it owes vendors and the more than $3 million it owes the state.
The school board will learn in October whether the recent layoffs and job eliminations provided enough budget room to pay off those debts. If not, the board will face another round of difficult decisions.
The school district has no way to raise funds and no taxing authority, so it will have to cut costs absent an appropriation or loan from the state or county government. That could mean more layoffs, a possible reduction to the local salary supplements or more furloughs.
State lawmaker Donny Lambeth said Monday that the General Assembly will not be able to help the school district until the short session next spring. He floated the possibility of a loan between $15 million and $20 million.
“These are not options we want to put forward,” Moore said. “But they are options. I’m obligated to put them forward because we must have revenue to contemplate a repayment plan.”
lodonnell@wsjournal.com
336-727-7420
@lisaodonnellWSJ
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