The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School Board unanimously voted Friday to hire Don Phipps as the next superintendent.
He’s currently the superintendent of Caldwell County Schools and has served in the role since 2018. Phipps was also named the state’s superintendent of the year in 2023.
At a special-called meeting on Friday, Chairperson Deanna Kaplan said the appointment strayed from the board's original plan to hear from a host of candidates brought by the State Board of Education.
"This candidate, a sitting superintendent with a stellar reputation, reached out to the State Board and expressed a desire to serve our district for a period of 15 months," Kaplan said. "This would provide the district ample time to search for its next superintendent and implement the board's goal to restore our district's fiscal health. Dr. Don Phipps became the recommendation for our board."
The district is currently grappling with a $37 million deficit and has had to cut staff, choice transportation and other resources in order to balance the budget after years of financial mismanagement.
Phipps said he'd been hearing about the crisis in the news and wanted to play a role in making the district's future stories more positive.
"Stories about the system's comeback, the healing that's happening in our communities, the trust that's being earned back, and the relationships rebuilt with our valuable partners," Phipps said. "I want to reach out to the employees of our school system, the team members who've been working under incredible pressure — the constant chatter, that has to take a toll on even the strongest of individuals."
Financial stability and mental health were two of the top priorities Phipps said he had for the district during the meeting, and issues he's had experience with.
Before moving into leadership roles, Phipps was a school psychologist with multiple degrees in the field. And in Caldwell County, he said he led a project for two years called "Budget 101."
"That really laid out the basics of school finance," Phipps said. "And I shared that with our board members, leadership in our school system, county commissioners, business leaders, and then we invited teachers and anybody else to go through that."
His term will begin December 1 and continue for 15 months. That's a longer stay than the school board had originally anticipated, but Vice Chair Alex Bohannon says it's a good thing.
"Having one interim for six months, having another interim for another six months, and then hiring a permanent superintendent, that's a lot of transition in a very small amount of time," Bohannon said. "And what we need now more than ever is stability for our staff, for our community and for our students."
Phipps will replace Catty Moore, who is leaving her post at the end of November.