What is going on with Durham’s school employees? Closed-door meeting and rally planned
READ MORE
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.
Expand All
Three days this past week, some Durham Public Schools employees skipped work, throwing the district into chaos and sending the remaining employees and families scrambling to get students to school.
Some parents are waiting in longer-than-usual drop-off and pickup lines, and some students are missing school altogether.
Here’s what we know about the situation.
Why are Durham school buses not running?
A district representative emailed parents Wednesday blaming this past week’s understaffing on an “unfortunate error” in the payroll system.
The dispute was triggered by changes to salary structures that affect pay for some staff, according to reporting by The News & Observer’s newsgathering partner ABC11.
DPS pays its employees according to their experience. The highly structured salary system sets monthly wages, which can climb by hundreds or thousands of dollars as years of experience accumulate.
Employees told ABC11 they learned over the holiday weekend they will no longer get credit for any years of work done outside Durham Public Schools.
The structural changes mean employees won’t get the full raises they expected after a 2023 salary study.
In the study, consultants had recommended “employees be converted to the proposed schedule at the current longevity years with Durham Public Schools” but also that “Durham Public Schools give private sector experience credit based on actual years of verified service for comparable job duties.”
Administrators were adamant as the pay study was discussed over 2023 that no employees would have their pay lowered, but it’s unclear if that promise was kept.
The district declined to discuss details Friday, saying there was an active investigation underway by their attorneys at Tharrington Smith
“Due to the sensitive and critical nature of this matter, we are not able to provide any further public statements to the media,” an emailed statement read.
Inconsistent checks since October
Beyond the reclassifications, there were a series of bumps in the rollout of raises, which resulted in overpayments since the start of this school year, ABC11 reported.
It’s unclear if the district will attempt to claw back any of that pay. It’s one of the things the Board of Education will discuss in its meetings.
Paychecks were expected to vary as the district doled out approved raises in October paychecks, retroactive raises in November paychecks and $500 bonuses in December paychecks. New benefits selections affected December and January paychecks.
Board of Education Chair Bettina Umstead implored the administration in October to remind people repeatedly that the numbers on their paychecks would fluctuate.
“I think as many times as we can say that,” Umstead said, “will be really helpful.”
“We’re not going to have consistent checks for a while,” Board of Education member Natalie Beyer warned the same month. “I feel like we can’t overcommunicate that.”
What to expect Monday
District spokesperson Crystal Roberts said Friday that the chief operating officer was meeting with staff to determine what’s on the horizon for next week and would circle back at the end of the day.
“We don’t have any reason to believe it won’t be a normal school day Monday,” Roberts said.
The Board of Education is meeting behind closed doors at 8 a.m. Monday to “review the salary overpayment issue.”
Members of the public will not be allowed inside the meeting, though the board plans to release a statement afterward, according to a public notice.
How many people are impacted?
The district said about 1,300 workers are impacted by the pay grade reclassifications.
Those skipping work include bus drivers, supervisors, mechanics, cafeteria workers, instructional assistants, groundskeepers and physical therapists, all of whom are considered “classified staff,” according to WUNC.
Teachers were not affected. Nor were bus drivers, though some chose not to drive their routes in solidarity with other transportation staff.
“School employees are very upset, and they should be,” Durham Association of Educators President Symone Kiddoo said in a video statement released Thursday. “The disrespect has been felt by all staff, not just the classified workers whose pay was affected.”
Kiddoo added that the changes sent employees into a “financial panic” and said the union was negotiating with Superintendent Pascal Mubenga.
The union is not calling for a walk-out, yet.
“If pushed to it, we will not hesitate to show the district how much they depend on our labor,” Kiddoo said.
Rallying outside the Board of Education meeting
Workers aired their grievances in a Thursday morning town hall organized by district administrators, but some residents are calling for a separate community meeting so they can better understand the predicament.
“The meeting should provide transparent information about the current situation and propose actionable solutions for resolving these issues promptly,” Donald Hughes wrote in a petition signed by more than 200 people.
Two events on Thursday, Jan. 25 are expected to draw crowds:
- 5:30 p.m.: Rally held by the Durham Association of Educators
- 6:30 p.m.: Board of Education meeting
A chaotic week
It was meant to be a banner week for Durham Public Schools.
But after the Monday holiday, things quickly went awry. Cold air blew in Tuesday night and prompted a two-hour weather delay Wednesday morning.
That same day, a press conference was scheduled to announce a $29.5 million Bloomburg Philanthropies grant for an early college serving high school students interested in health careers. It’s a landmark partnership between the public school system, Duke Health and Durham Technical Community College.
But confusion over the bus-driver shortage quickly overshadowed the announcement.
A surprise two-day power outage caused by Duke Energy began Wednesday afternoon and closed seven schools Thursday.
Wednesday through Friday, the school system sent parents messages warning of bus delays and asking parents to take their students to and from school.
“Please know that we are working extremely hard so that we may resume normal bus operations,” the messages stated.
This story was originally published January 20, 2024 at 7:00 AM.
