Gloria Whisenhunt has been a member of the Forsyth County Board of Commisioners for almost 30 years as her tenure began last century. Before her current tenure, she was a member of the WSFCS Board of Education, specifically from 1990-1996. The superintendent at that time was Dr. Don Martin, who serves as a county commisioner currently as well.

This is from the Winston-Salem Foundation’s blog Rooted in Race.

Yes, that was the LEANDRO case just dismissed by a partisan state supreme court just this year. Also noteworthy is the blurb about the school choice system that became district policy in 1994 with Whisenhunt as a BOE member and Martin as the super.

In fact, Gloria Whisenhunt still presents herself as a servant focused on public education. This is from her current website.

This past week, Whisenhunt was quoted in the Winston-Salem Journal as not in favor of county increasing its request for funds to help the local public school system that she supposedly advocates for.

“I’m extremely impressed with you today. However, you did throw us under the bus. I don’t think that’s your fault. It’s what the school board had planned for us today,” Whisenhunt said.

She told Phipps that people in the community are still mad at the school district for overspending last year’s budget by about $43 million. Whisenhunt said that she gauges how people feel about issues by what they tell her while she’s shopping at the grocery store and TJ Maxx. 

“That’s where I get the real truth of what people feel. And people are still extremely upset about the money lost from the school district. Even people last year, after we did the budget and had a tax increase, many people said that they weren’t so bothered by the tax increase, ‘But I don’t want one penny of my taxes going to the schools.’ And they haven’t changed their minds.”

“That’s where I get the real truth of what people feel. And people are still extremely upset about the money lost from the school district. Even people last year, after we did the budget and had a tax increase, many people said that they weren’t so bothered by the tax increase, ‘But I don’t want one penny of my taxes going to the schools.’ And they haven’t changed their minds,”

“That’s where I get the real truth of what people feel. And people are still extremely upset about the money lost from the school district. Even people last year, after we did the budget and had a tax increase, many people said that they weren’t so bothered by the tax increase, ‘But I don’t want one penny of my taxes going to the schools.’ And they haven’t changed their minds,”

It’s kind of ironic that Whisenhunt would say that she has been thrown under a bus – presumably a school bus, one that has to operate with higher gas prices and more expensive upkeep. Well, she shouldn’t worry too much about whether it will run her over. Why? Because a lot of them can’t be driven due to costs and too few bus drivers. Just this past week parents in the system received this message from WSFCS:

Maybe Gloria could step in and drive some routes? Maybe she could admit that it costs more to operate schools?

Then there was that blurb about listening to people at T.J. Maxx. There’s only one in Winston-Salem on Robinhood Road in the Mount Tabor district. Maybe that grocery store she is referring to is the Lowe’s in the same shopping Center or the Harris Teeter about a tenth of a mile from the local public high school. Since I live in that same neighborhood, I often drive on the streets that surround that T.J. Maxx and what I seen are dozens of these signs in people’s yards.

Maybe Gloria has one in her front yard? Probably not. But you can get a free one from the Bookmarks store downtown.

Add to those signs appearing the fact that FCAE gained almost 2000 new members this school year alone and that overpouring of support from the community to help our public schools financially this year. Seems to make Whisenhunt’s claim seem hollow.

Remember that she said, “Even people last year, after we did the budget and had a tax increase, many people said that they weren’t so bothered by the tax increase, ‘But I don’t want one penny of my taxes going to the schools.’ And they haven’t changed their minds.” 

I think she’s listening to the echoes of voices from 30 years ago. She certainly is trying to fund public schools in such a way that it cripples their ability to adapt to changing needs.

Do not forget that Whisenhunt is/was a staunch supporter of Phil Berger. A simple Google search of “Gloria Whisenhunt supports Phil Berger” produces this result:

Berger was just defeated in his own primary in a stunning defeat to the local sheriff who happened to be among all of those teachers and public school advocates marching in Raliegh this past May 1st. Furthermore, Berger’s son was one of the justices on the state supreme court who ruled against the LEANDRO decision.

So, yeah. I think Whisenhunt is not really in tune with the community. She is representative a certain minority of the community.

In that same WS Journal article, it states,

But just a little over a year ago, Whisenhunt actually placed the blame on that “overspending” on just one person.

So, why such the ire coming from her toward our public schools that makes her mistake underfunding for overspending?

Ego?

Pride?

Spite?

A cult-like belief in the benefits of trickle-down economics championed by Ronald Reagan that have already been proven false?

Maybe all of them?

But she’s wrong. Very wrong.