Hey, hey
gonna be a
showdown
The Chronicle
Volume45,Number5 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. THURSDAY, October 4, 2018
Gospel Fest draws large crowd
Photos by Alphonso Abbott Jr.
Minister Mike featuring FOCUS had the crowd on their feet, dancing, clapping, and enjoying an authen
tic quartet sound on Sept. 30 at Gospel Fest.
BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY
THE CHRONICLE
The first day of Gospel Fest drew a large and diverse
crowd at the Dixie Classic Fair this past Sunday, Sept.
30. The variety of acts included something for people of
all ages.
The presentation is known for its soul warming vari-
Members of the audience celebrate the gospel
music that saturated the air on Sept. 30 at Gospel
Fest.
ety of gospel music and performances. It is presented by
The Chronicle.
The performers included: St. Paul Church Mass
Choir, Radical Reverence, Divine Innocence, Heavenly
Chordz Productionz, Jeremiah Salter & Nu Elevation
Worship, Karlton Jones and Minister Mike featuring
FOCUS.
See Gospel Fest on A6
Photo by Todd Luck
Teacher Tripp Jeffers asks the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of
Education for a plan on supplements during its meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 25.
Teachers demand
school board
action on
supplements
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County
Board of Education assured teachers that
it was working to increase supplements
during its meeting last week, after a viral
video put a spotlight on the issue.
During its meeting on Tuesday, Sept.
25, the board passed a budget with a one-
time $300 teacher bonus. The bonus costs
nearly $2.6 million with nearly $2.3 mil
lion coming from fund balance and
$305,750 from budget savings.
This did little to placate the disap
pointment among teachers in the audience
that the budget didn’t contain action on
teacher supplements. The state funds
teachers’ base pay and sets that amount
uniformly among counties. County-fund
ed supplements are what set teacher pay
apart between school districts, making
some more competitive than others.
Forsyth County is the fourth largest school
system in the state but has dropped from
See Teachers on A2
Commissioners to
vote on giving part
of proposed sales
tax to schools
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
At the request of the Board of Education, the county
commissioners plan to vote today, Oct. 4, on allocating
part of the quarter cent county sales tax to local schools.
The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of
Education is under pressure to find a way to increase
teacher pay supplements after a viral video showed a con
versation between Superintendent Beverly Emory and
county commissioners, where they told her the school
board can “just ask” if it needed more money for supple
ments from the county’s budget. This didn’t happen.
According to Emory and the school board, they have been
working on other ways to increase supplements.
This has included a conversation with the county about
the quarter-cent sales tax that it’s placing on the November
ballot. The tax is supposed to cover the debt service from
building a new Hall of Justice.
The tax, which does not apply to groceries or gas, is
expected to pull in $3-4 million annually beyond what it
takes to cover the debt. Emory and County Manager
Dudley Watts discussed devoting almost 40 percent of that
excess revenue to the school system. Last week, the
school board told Emory to ask county commissioners to
make that official so it could be used for supplements. She
sent an email to Watts with the request and it was dis
cussed in the commissioners’ briefing last week.
It was well received by the commissioners. All firmly
said they supported the idea, except Commissioner
Richard Linville who wanted to see more concrete details
before he voted on it. Even Commissioner Everette
Witherspoon, who opposed the tax because he says it’s
See Sales tax on A2
Martin
Witherspoon
Larger
than life
Lany Leon Hamlin
portrait unveiled at
The Benton
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
A portrait of National Black Theatre Festival (NBTF)
founder Larry Leon Hamlin now towers over visitors to
the Benton Convention Center.
The 12-foot-tall portrait was unveiled during a cere
mony Friday, Sept. 28, and is a permanent part of the art
that hangs on the walls of the busy convention center.
Hamlin, who passed away in 2007, founded the North
Carolina Black Repertory Company, the first professional
African-American theater company in North Carolina. In
See Hamlin on A2
WILSOH
NcU/