All Durham public schools closed to students Friday due to ‘overwhelming’ absences
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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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Durham Public Schools has canceled all classes Friday due to an “overwhelming number of staff absences,” the district announced Thursday night.
“Our entire transportation support staff has called out for tomorrow,” DPS spokesperson Crystal Roberts said by email.
She added in another message that the personnel are responsible for daily bus inspections. The inspections are required by law before buses can transport students.
Friday will be a teacher workday. Athletics and after-school extracurricular activities will operate as normal.
Board Chair Bettina Umstead acknowledged that families rely on transportation but said the lack of staff created a safety issue.
“We know that buses have to be inspected by those support personnel every day before they’re allowed to drive, so we felt like it was the right decision to close schools,” Umstead said.
In a Facebook post shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday, the Durham Association of Educators said it did not call for a Day of Protest on Friday.
“We do not know why district administration has decided to close schools for students tomorrow,” the post stated. “Along with the rest of the Durham community, we eagerly await clarity from central office on exactly why this decision was made.”
Closing follows resignation of superintendent
The decision to close school was announced as the school board debated how to handle classified workers’ pay this school year.
Members agreed to extend raises promised last year through February, but remained undecided beyond that.
Late Wednesday evening, Superintendent Pascal Mubenga resigned. He is the second administrator to lose his job after a botched budget led DPS to withdraw raises from 1,300 classified staff, including cafeteria workers, instructional assistants, physical therapists. custodians and more.
Immediately after Mubenga’s resignation was announced, the school board released a report containing new details about the debacle.
Educators have been protesting for weeks. Strikes have scrambled bus routes and closed a total of 19 schools over two days after staff called in sick to picket outside the DPS administration building.
This story was originally published February 8, 2024 at 6:34 PM.
