Report: Bad calculations, lack of communication blamed for Durham school salary issues
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Durham Public Schools Salary Dispute
Budget problems in Durham Public Schools have caused disruptions, including halted bus routes and schools closings as staff members call in sick to protest. The protests come as the school district reported it had budgeted incorrectly and could not pay raises for 1,300 classified staff members, including bus mechanics, cafeteria workers and physical therapists. Here is ongoing coverage from The News & Observer.
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The disruptions and ongoing salary dispute in Durham Public Schools are attributed to faulty calculations and a “failure of communication” from top leaders in the district’s administration, according to a report released Wednesday night.
After DPS board chair Bettina Umstead announced Wednesday that Superintendent Pascal Mubenga had resigned, she revealed the main findings of an investigation that had been launched to learn the cause of the salary issues.
The investigation, conducted by Tharrington Smith law firm, includes the following:
- The finance director knew the “true cost” of employee raises in February 2023 and made the decision to change the way steps of experience are awarded without telling the administration or school board.
- Mubenga learned about the “multi-million dollar budget shortfall” in November from the finance director.
- Mubenga told two board members in December and informed the “full board” in mid-January, right before 1,300 classified staff members were emailed about pay cuts.
“As a result, this situation has created unnecessary disruptions for our staff and students,” Umstead said Wednesday in a prepared statement.
The salaries were not addressed Wednesday night, and another school board meeting is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
5 takeaway from DPS salary investigation
The report reveals a series of miscommunications and decisions that have thrown employees into limbo about how much they’ll get paid.
There have been protests and strikes that resulted in 12 schools closing on Jan. 30 followed by seven different schools closed on Monday as staff called in sick.
Here are some of the key points from the report:
▪ In January, HIL Consultants was paid “$78,500 plus expenses” for a study that recommended increasing pay for employees, including cafeteria workers, bus mechanics, interpreters, custodians, and instructional assistants for exceptional children.
They estimated it would cost $10.8 million, a number that later would prove not to fully reflect the total costs.
▪ In February 2023, Finance Director Paul LeSieur knew the “true cost” of proposed changes to salaries for classified staff would exceed $21 million, but did not share that with the school board, the report said.
LeSieur made the decision to recalculate salaries by only counting classified staff’s years of state experience, not the years of private sector and out-of-state experience that DPS employees have traditionally been given credit for.
That recalculation “returned an estimate of slightly over $13 million from all funding sources, including approximately $4 million from local (county) funds,” the report states.
LeSieur then built the budget around the lower cost estimates and submitted it to the county.
“That variability was never communicated to the School Board and budget proposals consistently showed the cost as approximately $10 million,” Umstead said in a prepared statement.
LeSieur was suspended with pay on Jan. 12 and submitted his resignation Jan. 26.
▪ In October, emails and video messages informed staff they would keep their “steps” for all years of experience.
But, the cost estimate being used was based on state experience only.
“There was a lack of collaboration and clear communication between Finance and Human Resources leadership throughout the year as the new salary schedules were developed and implemented,” the report states.
▪ Mubenga learned of the “multi-million dollar budget shortfall” from LeSieur on Nov. 8.
On Dec. 18, Mubenga told two board members — Umstead and Natalie Beyer that there “might be a significant problem with the budget and salary payments.” But he told them he did not yet know the firm number and was still working with HIL consultants.
“He told them he would bring the Board more details and multiple options for fixing the problem after the holidays,” the report states.
By the end of December, the district had overspent by $3.6 million.
HIL Consultants sent the superintendent a written report Jan. 4 that stated their $10.8 million cost estimate was based only on state experience.
▪ On Jan. 9, Mubenga contacted the board’s attorney. On Jan. 11, he informed the full board of the problem.
“The problem, as reported by the Superintendent both to the attorneys and to the Board, was that the Finance department had used the wrong data set to implement the new salary schedules. We now know that this was not an accurate description of the problem,” the report states.
To keep the district afloat, the administration emailed 1,300 school staff in mid-January, cutting their promised raises by eliminating all non-state experience.
The report said the board has hired an independent comptroller to complete a thorough review of the district’s finances.
What is the school board doing?
The board remains undecided on what will happen with pay going forward.
“When we first initiated these changes to our salary schedule, our goal was clear — to increase pay for our classified employees,” Umstead said Wednesday in a statement.
“We remain committed to achieving that goal and continue working diligently to provide all classified employees with clarity and certainty around their pay moving forward.”
The board set aside $4.5 million of its fund balance to allow employees to keep the promised salaries from October through Jan. 31, which school board member Natalie Beyer said was a concerning decision “without good supporting documentation.”
Interim Finance Director Cierra Ojijo has said it will cost an additional $700,000 a month beyond what’s been budgeted to keep the October salaries in place.
The district’s reserve fund now sits at $6.4 million, below the $12.7 million that Human Resources Director Alvera Lesane said is recommended.
The Durham Association of Educators has issued the following demands:
- Restore steps and have no pay cuts for February.
- Publicly explain why January checks did not look like people expected.
- For the board to schedule a work session with the union to give them the ability to “meet and confer,” a workaround for the state’s ban on unions of public employees collectively bargaining.
Wednesday night, Umstead said a meeting has been scheduled with the Durham Association of Educators.
Educators have told The News & Observer that Durham’s longstanding policy of awarding salary steps for years of experience in the private sector or outside of North Carolina was key to recruiting employees. But now, the prospect of eliminating that provision has decimated morale.
Thursday’s meeting begins at 5 p.m. with a closed session, followed by a meeting open to the public at 5:30 p.m. The meeting will be at 2107 Hillandale Road to accommodate the expected crowd.
This story was originally published February 7, 2024 at 11:04 PM with the headline "Report: Bad calculations, lack of communication blamed for Durham school salary issues."
