DPS teachers, staff may gain salary increases if education budget is approved

Durham Public Schools teachers and staff could have higher salaries in the next fiscal year under a proposed budget for the district.

The proposed 2022-23 school budget requests a $12.9 million increase in county funding, totaling almost $151.5 million for operating costs for the public school system. With the potential increase and years of experience factored in, most teachers could receive an additional $1,135 annually.

The district’s budget and finance office explained to the Durham school board March 24 that an increase in funds is needed to bring a locally funded supplement for teacher salaries from $5,675 to $6,500.

The proposed budget also includes new spending to staff the new Lyons Farm Elementary and hire more technology personnel to support the district’s one-to-one student technology initiative, which provides Chromebooks to every student in the district.

“Salary and benefits account for 82.7%, basically five-sixths of our entire budget,” said board member Frederick Ravin. “Hopefully that resonates with people ... A lot of times people always emphasize that the schools have so much money, but the operational budget is limited if you compare that to the actual capital that’s debt-funded.”

Supplement Increases

During a presentation at last week’s school board meeting, board member Natalie Beyer supported the transparency of showing district spending, provided by the district’s Budget Development and Data Analytics office.

“I appreciate the slide that showed the teacher salary increases and I think that is this board’s first priority: to show that we lead in the state salary local supplements,” Beyer said.

The Durham Association of Educators has petitioned for more financial support for the district. The group advocated for combined retention bonuses being paid out in November and February for a total of $4,538.50 over the 2021-22 school year to address a staffing shortage.

Board member Alexandra Valladares also acknowledged that the district has lost support staff positions in recent years.

“We talk about the under staffing that we have and the needs of students,” Valladares said. “I definitely want us to prioritize having more funding and ensuring that we’re very mindful of classified staff and instructional assistants.”

Alex Modestou, executive director of the budget office, said the school district used to receive one state-funded instructional assistant for every 30 students. Now, the ratio is one per 42 students.

County leaders will take action on the education budget in early June, ahead of the new fiscal year that begins July 1. The Durham County commissioners have voted to increase the funding for public schools for the last five years.

Budget Summary

If approved, DPS will have a $678 million total operating budget. The district will get $234 million from the state, $151 million from the county and $38 million in federal dollars, according to Modesto.

The school system will also receive $112 million in federal COVID relief funds; $109 million in capital funds; $19 million for a child nutrition fund and $13 million in grants.

State funding for K-12 public education is based on student enrollment, and fewer students means less money. North Carolina uses 20-day and 40-day average daily membership (ADM) numbers to determine how many students are enrolled in school districts across the state.

This year, Durham reported a loss of 272 students for the 2021-22 school year.

“Right now, we’re talking about less than 1% of enrollment. But we do not want to see any decline in enrollment given the changing landscape with COVID-19,” said Mathew Palmer, the director of strategic planning initiatives, previously.

A public hearing on the budget proposal will be held in April. The school board will then approve or revise the proposal and forward it to the Durham County Board of Commissioners for consideration in May.

This story was originally published March 29, 2022 at 10:13 AM.