Forsyth County Association of Educators

Last night, our County Commission voted 5-2 in favor of a .2 cent tax increase to pay for a $1.3 million increase for additional EC staff. Every dollar secured for our schools above the base budget is hard fought and hard won, and proves our actions, together, do make a difference. While it’s far short of what we need, it will save critical positions.

Thank you to Commissioner Shai Woodbury who courageously put forth a motion at the budget vote on June 4 to fully fund the WS/FCS request for an additional $33 million. Her impassioned call for a budget that invests in the “education, safety, and future of every child in Forsyth County” was met with enthusiastic cheers from the audience and silence from the rest of the commission. Not a single other commissioner seconded her motion or even discussed it.

Commissioner Woodbury showed us what is possible when elected officials actually prioritize what workers and communities need over maintaining the status quo. Instead of waiting and hoping that more elected officials will develop this kind of moral clarity, we are building power to ensure decisions like this in the future reflect the will of the people, rather than inadequate formulas and limited perspectives.

The truth is, the school board's budget should not have been controversial. In fact, even if we funded the whole request, county staff admitted that Forsyth residents would still be paying lower taxes on average than every other major urban county in the state.

Last night was just the first round of this fight. What most of our commissioners still don’t understand is that we didn’t build our union this year just to say we did it. We built our MAJORITY union and we’re continuing to build our teams of leaders and our skills because we are unwilling to stop until every single one of our kids is getting everything they deserve from OUR public schools.

Last night’s vote shows that we have started to make it untenable for our elected officials to do absolutely nothing while our schools crumble. That’s a real foot in the door. Now, we’ve got to build our power to bust the door wide open.

Rest now. Enjoy the summer. It’s time to recharge so we can come back this fall ready to win.

Join us tomorrow, Thursday, June 4 at 5pm at the County Commission Budget Meeting.

Our commissioners looked out on a sea of red last month at their Public Budget Hearing, and we need them to see another sea of red as they take their vote tomorrow. Their vote will determine whether or not our students, particularly our students with special needs, have access to more resources, or even less next year. They get to decide whether we hire more staff, or see yet another round of cuts.

RSVP for full details: www.mobilize.us/ncae/event/959347/

This is a FAMILY FRIENDLY event. Bring the kids and join us for popsicles out front before we all head into the meeting together!

FCAE Family and Community Allies!

We wanted to make sure you all were aware that a group of WSFCS parents and community members has organized a petition regarding the upcoming Board of Education decision affecting the Special Children’s School and the Children’s Center.

Families and advocates are asking the Board of Education to carefully consider the impact these decisions could have on some of our district’s most vulnerable students and the staff who support them every day.

As public school workers, we know how important it is that decisions involving specialized learning environments, student support systems, and exceptional children’s services are approached with transparency, care, and meaningful community input.

If you would like to read more or support the petition created by these parents and community members, you can do so here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeZDk_-6WyEhlL29L3HXMqEXw3Lw6QeR_KKiR3lXo5FKMsHnA/viewform?usp=dialog

Please try to attend Tuesday night’s school board meeting (at 6:30) for the Public Hearing at the Education Building (4801 Bethania Station Road, WS, NC 27105).

Thank you for continuing to stand alongside students, families, and one another as we fight for strong, supportive public schools for every child.

Support our Notice & Petition to the WSFCS Board: Addressing Changes to TSCS and TCC for SY 2027-2028 & Beyond ℹ️ To read a short summary of what our notice & petition to the Board says, click here: English summary Spanish summary 📜 READ FULL PETITION HERE 📜 📧 Send an email to the Board with one of these quick-fill templates Provide your information below to sign this petition to the WSFCS Board...

FCAE Family and Allies in the Community!

One of the things FCAE has said over and over this year is that, when public schools are underfunded and stretched thin, programs don’t disappear all at once.

They disappear piece by piece.

A position here.
A program there.
A budget line quietly reduced until students lose opportunities they may never get back.

Right now, our music programs in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools are facing exactly that kind of moment.

The Reagan High School Boosters Board has created a petition calling on the Board of Education to protect music education across our district before programs are severely limited or eliminated.

And honestly, this fight is bigger than one school.

Music education is not “extra.”
It is not disposable.
And our students deserve access to band, chorus, orchestra, and arts opportunities no matter what school they attend!!

Please sign and share the petition created by the Reagan High School Boosters Board!

Our students deserve schools that nurture creativity, passion, connection, and joy—not just schools forced into survival mode.

Sign the Petition Action items need to save music in WSFCS

We’re here at the County Commission sharing the message of thousands of united voices: “Our children don’t have time to wait to be prioritized by those elected to serve them… An investment in our schools is a direct investment in our children, our county, and the sanctity of local democracy. We urge our County Commissioners to act and act now, to stand with the majority of the public school workforce and step up for our students by approving the $33.5 million necessary to step towards normalcy in the classrooms, cafeterias, and bus lots alike.”

Join us Tuesday, May 19 at 5PM to rally for the budget our students deserve! We’ll deliver our majority petition and make our voices heard at the County Commission Budget Hearing.

Show the County Commission that we are bigger, stronger, and more united than ever before.

Click the link to RSVP: link.ncae.org/fcae-may-19

We’ve come quite a ways, and still there’s a long road ahead of us. Our union has more than doubled in membership, now representing more than half of all school staff in WS/FCS. We’ve taken bigger, stronger actions than ever before. And we know, decision-makers still expect that eventually we’ll pack it up and go home. But we’re not going away. We are just getting started!

Share these wins with your coworkers, and join us Tuesday, May 19 at 5pm to rally for the budget our students deserve at the County Commission Budget Hearing. Find full details and RSVP here: link.ncae.org/fcae-may-19

At the end of one of the toughest years we’ve ever faced, we actually have A LOT to celebrate! Not only did we successfully build a majority strong union, FCAE is now the largest NCAE local in the state. And we’ve already begun to flex our collective power by pressuring our BOE to pass a historic $33 million increase to the budget request. We are still just getting started, but it’s important for us to come together to acknowledge and celebrate our milestones, and reaching majority status is a BIG one.

Join us Friday, May 15 4pm-7pm (drop in!) at Incendiary Brewing Co. for a celebration of all the incredible, hard work that led to this major victory for public school workers!

Click the link to RSVP: https://link.ncae.org/fcae-celebration