Traveling incognito on vacation, a Supreme Court justice, played by actor Frank Morgan, accidentally gets involved with unraveling and exposing the crooked politics of a small American town in the shockingly prophetic 1943 movie, “A Stranger in Town”.
At the movie’s conclusion, the judge admonishes complacent citizens stating,
Like all of you here, I am a citizen of this country. That is no little honor. Men have fought revolutions, have died, to be called citizens, and as citizens we carry a burning responsibility. It means that when we elect men to public office, we cannot do it as lightly as we flip a coin. It means that after we’ve elected them, we can’t sit back and say, ‘Our job is done. What they do now doesn’t concern us.’ That philosophy of indifference is what the enemies of decent government want. If we allow them to have their way, [allow them] to grow strong and vicious, then the heroic struggle which welded thousands of lovely towns like this into a great nation means nothing. Then we’re not citizens. We’re traitors. The great liberties by which we live have been bought with blood. The kind of government we want, ‘government of the people and by the people and for the people,’ could mean any kind of government. It is our duty to make it mean only one kind — uncorrupted, free, united.
The same speech could be applied today: American citizens must be vigilant in overseeing local governments, lest they abuse their positions, particularly in the way of financial matters. An example was shown in a recent article concerning the enormous Forsyth County North Carolina property tax increases, which could be tied to a $46 million deficit in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School system (WS/FCS). This brings to mind the old saying that “owning a boat is like having a hole in the water that you pour money down.” This seems to apply to the WS/FCS. The state auditor found that the WS/FCS paid more than $75 million in bonuses in 2022 and 2023, and $332 million in a suspense account.
Currently there are 7,500 WS/FCS employees, but the 2023 records show 10,056 people employed with an average salary of $37,233 and a median salary of $33,063. Paying out $75 million in bonuses could mean that each employee received between $7,500 and $10,000 in bonuses. Further research revealed deep pockets into which the money poured.
Let’s start with WS/FCS Superintendent Tricia McManus (a registered Democrat) whose annual salary of $256,005 was 588% higher than the average salary, and 674% higher than the median salary of WS/FCS. What in the world did she do to have such an enormous salary? Did she buy the pencils? McManus took the job in 2020. “Since 2020, the salary has increased $162,748, a total rise of 174.5 percent.” That is amazing.
Who knows of anyone who gets that kind of pay raise?
What did she do? Well, one thing she did was conveniently retire in June of 2025, at the time the tax assessor’s office decided to increase property taxes to attempt to cover the debt, which was also when the chief tax assessor also retired—like rats fleeing a sinking ship.
Another interesting employee is Dr. Fabby Williams (also a registered Democrat). Williams’s annual salary is $181,839, which is 388% higher than the average, and 450% higher than the median salary in WS/FCS. Since 2021 his salary “increased by $135,641, a total rise of 293.6 percent.”
Next we have Dionne T. Jenkins (registered Democrat) who in 2023 had an annual salary of $167,920, which is 351% higher than the average and 408% higher than the median WS/FCS salary. “Since 2015, the salary has increased by $94,320, a total rise of 128.2 percent.”
Then there’s Chief Financial Officer Thomas E. Kranz (voter registration unknown), a CPA, who in 2023 had an annual salary of $165,421, which was 344% higher than the average and 400% higher than the median WS/FCS salary. His salary increased $91,095 from 2022 to 2023, which is a 122.6 percent rise. He resigned April 8, 2025 after the state audit showed the district overspent its budget by $16 million during the 2023–2024 school year. The same year WS/FCS received $20 million from the lottery, with the district spending $10 million above budget for payroll, yet having a “declining student enrollment.”
Then there is Fredricca L. Stokes (registered democrat) who in 2023 had an annual salary of $165,390, which is 344% higher than the average and 400% higher than the median salary in WS/FCS. “Since 2021, the salary has increased by $100,992, a total rise of 156.8 percent.”
Kevin S. Sherrill (voter registration unknown) is next in line with a 2023 annual salary of $165,187, which is 344% higher than the average and 400% higher than the median WS/FCS salary. From 2022 to 2023 his salary rose $13,527 and since 2015 “the salary increased by $90,709, a total rise of 126.3 percent.”
Then we have Ashley L. Richards (voter registration unknown) whose 2023 annual salary was $162,551, which is 337% higher than the average and 392% higher than the median. From 2022 to 2023 her salary increased $21,254. “Since 2015, the salary has increased by $90,709, a total rise of 126.3 percent.”
Next we have Melissa Jill Hall-Freeman (no political party affiliation) whose 2023 salary was $160,694, 332% higher than the average and 386% higher than the median WS/FCS salary. From 2022 to 2023 her salary increased “by $119,479…which is a 289.9 percent rise.” Maybe she was the one buying the pencils?
This list of names with exorbitant salaries well over $100,000 each, goes on and on, yet none of these are active teachers.
Facing a $46 million deficit, the high paid school board members decided to cut 344 jobs, like,
- 36 Assistant Principal positions ($2,797,694.88)
- 9 Assistant Principal positions from trade-ins ($750,648.03)
- 11 Central Administration positions ($1,104,325.40)
- 6 District-Based Licensed Staff ($445,846.62)
- 33 District-Based Non-Instructional Support Positions ($1,662,677.41)
- 52 School-Based Non-Instructional Support positions ($433,500)
- 37.75 Testing Coordinator positions ($1,336,500.72)
- 61.9 Exceptional Children Teacher ($3,081,725.32)
- 97 Exceptional Children Teacher Assistants ($3,307,036.16)
Cutting 344 jobs, they are actually cutting 275 people, 58% “of whom work directly with the most vulnerable student population of exceptional children,” who are the children that need the extra time and help.
Unfortunately, these cuts only amount to about $18.3 million.
However, if you got rid of the 8 people and positions discussed at the start of this article, the county could save another $1,425,007 yearly, plus their next year’s pay raises and bonuses. There were more staff with $160,000+ salaries that could be reevaluated. Did the board discuss these money savings? Should the board take a 2/3 pay cut, resulting in their salaries still being double the average?
Unfortunately, the hands of the deep-pocket Democrats are in the wallets of the taxpaying citizens.
God-fearing honest citizens must listen to the warnings of the-stranger-in-town judge and get involved, deciding they want a government that is not only “of the people and by the people and for the people,” but also “uncorrupted, free, [and] united.”
More articles by Richard Blakley can be found at Blakley on the Write.
Image generated by AI.