WRAL Investigates how Durham Public Schools' salary dispute started; pressure mounts for superintendent to resign

WRAL Investigates has learned from sources that politicians and political groups are attempting to exert their influence in that process -- either reiterating their support of Mubenga, or expressing concern about how the issue could impact DPS and the city's reputations.

On Monday, WRAL Investigates requested a one-on-one interview with Mubenga. A DPS spokesperson said the district would consider the request.

Mubenga's contract was extended in November 2023. It extended his deal with DPS through June 2027.

Under the terms of the contract, the school board has two options for getting rid of Mubenga:

"The purpose of the meeting is an open and closed session to discuss attorney-client privileged and personnel matters," it states.

It is not clear what the specific topic of Wednesday's meeting will be.

7 Durham schools closed Monday as employees continue to protest

The pay issue came into the public spotlight last month, and, since then, there has been little transparency from school officials about what prompted it. WRAL Investigates watched hours of old meetings, dating back more than a year, to try to better understand it.

In an October 2023 meeting, during which the board gave final approval for the new payment plan, school board members were clearly confused about what they were being asked to vote on.

"So, what are we changing?" asked school board member Natalie Beyer.

"What are we saying yes to, and what are we not doing?" asked member Jessica Carda-Auten.

Board members expressed concern about the lack of specifics and a lack of documentation provided to them by staff to explain the full details of the plan. Mubenga offered reassurance and some pressure.

"If you delay this, "[staff are] not going to see any raise until probably November," Mubenga said. "If we really want our employees to get paid, the sooner the better."

The motion ultimately passed, with only one board member, Millicent Rogers, voting against it.

"I think that I have some concerns in approving something that is 'about,' 'gonna,' 'are,' 'almost,' 'customized' and we can’t see it explicitly here," she said in the meeting. "That causes me some pause.

"I don’t want to stop people from getting their pay increases by not approving that at this time. I just want to name that there, so we can wrestle with that as a board because I’m concerned."

WRAL Investigates reached out to Board Chair Bettina Umstead and DPS spokesperson Crystal Roberts by email, asking if they could explain what went wrong. Did the board approve something that just wasn't feasible in the budget? Or did DPS accounting staff pay out something more than what the board approved?

In an email response, Roberts said the school system would "issue a timeline outlining the answers to these and other questions soon."

Q&A: What is going on with Durham Public Schools?

As questions continue about what prompted the issue, two investigations are underway to explore that - one by the school system internally, and another by a third party. DPS has not provided a specific timeline for when those reports will be released.

Last week, the DPS Board of Education declined to adopt two possible pay options for staff. They will meet again Thursday to continue discussion.

On Monday night, the Durham City Council also discussed the ongoing DPS pay issue.

"Formally, the city does not have any jurisdiction over our schools, any financial or ... jurisdiction over there," Mayor Leonardo Williams said.

Durham County oversees the school district.

Williams said there is really nothing the city can do to remedy the pay issues.

"For those who say, 'Hey, what's the city going to do?' There's nothing that we can formally do as a city, but just trying to hope this gets back or gets fixed as soon as possible," Williams said.

Durham City Council Member Nate Baker also spoke on the issue.

"We need to acknowledge that this was an administrative error, but also in the context of a state government that is defunding our public schools, and the necessity to continue to invest in our workers, our public workers in order to out-compete charter schools," Baker said.

Williams said it was a "complex matter."

"As a former educator, once an educator always an educator, I know what it feels like," Williams said. "I know when systems can make errors.

"I also know that systems are run by humans, and ... mistakes can be made."