Which Durham schools will close Monday amid staff strikes? See the full list here
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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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Dissatisfied with the Durham Board of Education’s lack of action Friday regarding pay for more than 1,000 classified staff members, the Durham Association of Educators plans to hold another strike Monday that will close seven schools.
The association informed the school board of its decision in a Saturday letter to board members. In a statement posted to Facebook Sunday afternoon, the Durham Association of Educators wrote that “an overwhelming majority” of staff at the seven schools were participating in the strike.
Those schools will in fact be closed because of “staffing challenges” on Monday, DPS spokeswoman Crystal Roberts said in an emailed statement.
The schools include:
Bethesda Elementary
Carrington Middle
Durham School of the Arts
E.K. Powe Elementary
Little River K-8 School
Morehead Montessori
Sandy Ridge Elementary
“Please know that our students remain our top priority although tomorrow’s closure will keep us from learning together. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding,” Roberts wrote.
Fight over pay promises, transparency
A similar strike Wednesday resulted in closures at 12 Durham public schools.
The association and the school system are at odds over pay for about 1,300 classified staff members who were initially promised raises at the beginning of this school year following a salary study from HIL Consultants. Staff started receiving those bigger paychecks in October, after the state budget was passed, only for school system leaders to realize the raises cost millions more than they projected.
To fix the problem, the school board shifted how it calculates experience to only account for an employee’s time spent working in the public sector, a move that infuriated many.
Paychecks have fluctuated significantly in recent months as a result.
“District employees have lost trust in the DPS administration, and remain frustrated by the lack of transparency with the district’s finances. What DPS can afford to pay its employees going forward remains a mystery. It was evident during Friday’s Board meeting that the majority of the Board agrees,” the Durham Association of Educators wrote in its Saturday letter.
Classified workers impacted in the situation include bus mechanics, cafeteria workers, electricians, groundskeepers, interpreters and instructional assistants for exceptional children, The News & Observer has previously reported.
It’s also unclear how exactly the district got into this situation.
Paul LeSieur, the district’s former financial director, resigned last month as the scope of the problem became more clear. The district has said its attorneys at law firm Tharrington Smith are investigating the situation.
During Friday’s meeting, the board passed a motion saying the final investigative report should indicate when LeSieur, Superintendent Pascal Mubenga and board members were first aware of the budget problems.
The board also voted Friday to terminate its existing contracts with HIL Group and to hire a comptroller who will report directly to the board.
School board to meet again this week
Friday’s five-hour meeting was the first in what the board has promised will be a series of regular meetings to solve the pay issue.
In its Saturday letter, the Association of Educators said the board’s decision to hold an upcoming work session with association members to discuss the situation represented progress.
“We look forward to the discussion and the Board passing a policy that codifies transparency, collaboration, and respect for employee agency and voice. However, the Board did not take action on the other two demands, and classified workers remain uncertain of their futures,” the Association of Educators letter said.
Those other demands include publicly explaining why paychecks fluctuated in January and restoring how the district accounts for experience, as well as committing to not slash pay in February.
The board put forth two proposals during Friday’s meeting, The N&O previously reported, both of which met resistance from employees.
Those included:
- Using the salaries classified staff were told they’d be receiving in January. This would result in about 1,300 employees receiving less than they were told they’d be getting in October, The N&O reported, while everyone would still receive a state-funded raise of 4% from last school year. It would cost the district $91.2 million annually.
- Giving all employees an 11% raise. This would mean disregarding the findings of a salary study the board commissioned last year that determined pay for classified staff was lagging. It would also mean giving employees credit for experience in the public and private sector. But some employees would make less money than they were told in both October and January. It would cost the district $90.1 million annually.
A vote on the second option, which was supported by Board Chair Bettina Umstead, failed 5-2 during Friday’s meeting.
Under both scenarios, the school board wouldn’t need to ask county officials for more money to pay staff.
On Jan. 25, the board voted to dip into its rainy day fund for $4.5 million to pay for the previously promised raises from last June through the end of January. That leaves $6.4 million in the rainy day fund, below the recommended $12.7 million, The N&O previously reported.
The board’s next meeting to discuss the pay issue is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
This story was originally published February 4, 2024 at 2:31 PM.
