$4.5 million to Durham Public Schools staff after salary controversy
Hundreds of Durham Public School employees gathered on Thursday, to voice their concerns about issues like pay and staffing.
This rally comes just ahead of an expected announcement from the school board regarding the ongoing pay dispute that has plagued the district since the beginning of the year.
A budget amendment bridges a funding gap for classified DPS staff, providing $4.5 million to cover their paychecks through January.
After a record-breaking public turnout, the board approved second checks for classified staff, ensuring they receive their full, promised pay for this month.
This decision represents both a victory for public engagement and a reminder of the work that remains to address ongoing challenges.
"This appropriation is now allocated where it will not need to be paid back," Board chair said.
That was one of the demands of people who poured into the meeting room.
Employees are demanding more pay, more transparency and what they call "a seat at the table."
"Our children are worth a million dollars and more," Quentin Headen, at podium said.
Quentin Headen is an instructional assistant and falls under classified staff.
"So far I’ve taken about a 300 dollar pay cut off my salary alone, but I have some coworkers who have taken up to a 1500 dollar pay cut, and they’ve had over 29 years of experience," Headen said.
The group of employees impacted by the salary issue are classified employees, which includes transportation workers, nutrition and building services staff, instructional assistants, and physical and occupational therapists.
Some employees say their salaries were affected by a policy change that will no longer credit them for years of experience worked elsewhere. They say the district is now only paying people for their years of experience within the school district.
Many employees reached out to WRAL News, frustrated the change would place them on a different step on a salary schedule and mean lower pay.
"We got an email last week saying that I had been dropped down three steps and my pay would be reduced. And it was kind of like a slap in the face," said DPS nurse Barbara Lewis. She has more than 20 years of experience in nursing, but she’s only been working for the district since 2013.
Durham schools announce efforts to restore payment issue
Durham Public Schools on Monday announced their efforts to restore trust after a payment issue impacting classified employees like school bus mechanics and cafeteria workers.
After a three-hour closed session, Bettina Umstead, chair of the DPS Board of Education, delivered a statement, saying a payment mistake "adversely impacted the entire DPS family."
"We are sorry for the harm that's been caused," Umstead said. "I want to be clear that we value each and every one of our employees and we are working hard to resolve the situation ... and to earn back your trust."
On Jan. 12, DPS suspended Chief Financial Officer Paul LeSieur with pay after discovering that some employees received overpayments in their July 2023 through December 2023 paychecks due to an error in implementing salary changes for classified staff.
Umstead on Monday announced an outside financial consultant will investigate what happened with some DPS employees' paychecks.
The board's attorneys will also investigate what happened "so the board can take all required actions to properly rectify the issue," Umstead said.
She also said DPS is working to secure funds so employees will be able to keep the full payments they received through Dec. 31 and be paid at same rate for January's paychecks.
This payment issue has also caused transportation problems with school buses as some mechanics and supervisors have not been showing up to work to protest, causing parents of bus riders to arrange their own transportation.
Parents and staff held sit-ins at DPS’ downtown offices in response to the change. Parents say these employees are a crucial part of their kids' education.
"It comes down to a huge equity issue with being able to provide a free and fair education to all of our students," Emily Rhode, a DPS parent, said. "If we’re not supporting the most important piece of that, which is our staff and our teachers, then we’re doing something very wrong."
The Durham Association of Educators held the rally on Thursday at 2107 Hillandale Rd. from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
