DPS Drivers Urge: Don't Blame Us for Transportation Snarl

A rocky week for Durham Public Schools student transportation is wrapping up, with the district reporting that 60 out of 150 school bus drivers called out on Friday. But it’s still up in the air what next week might hold in store.

“We have no directive currently regarding Monday’s transportation needs,” said Crystal Kimpson Roberts, director of strategic communications for DPS.

Some bus drivers called out in solidarity with mechanics and other classified district personnel who learned last week that DPS intended to recalibrate pay schedules that had been approved and implemented in October 2023. The change would affect about 1,300 employees, including teaching assistants and physical therapists.

The transportation crunch started Wednesday morning, when the district reported a shortage of school bus drivers. But in a video from Thursday’s meeting between employees and administrators, one bus driver took issue with describing the situation as a shortage:

“They said that we had a bus shortage. No,” she said. “We did not have a bus shortage. We came to work. Fifty employees, outside of Southwest Transportation. Hillside. The gate was locked. We were locked out. We could not get on a bus until nine o’clock.”

Someone they didn’t know showed up to unlock the gate, she said. Drivers went inside and found: No supervisor. No manager. No mechanic.

“It was not our fault your kids did not get picked up yesterday,” she told the crowd. “It was not our fault your kids did not get picked up today. It was not our fault. We did not have a procedure or protocol to go by during that time. We still don’t have a procedure or protocol.”

Drivers who came to work felt uncomfortable driving their buses without having mechanics to come to the rescue if something went wrong, she said.

“That’s the reason we did not move the bus,” she said. “Do not keep throwing us under the bus. We are dedicated bus drivers.”

Roberts told Southpoint Access that the district was on a two-hour delay Wednesday, and that district records indicate the gate was opened at 7:34 a.m.

“The protocols and procedures did not change that day, except for the delayed time,” she said.

She confirmed that bus drivers aren’t the only staff that seem to have called out in solidarity with the affected classified employees. Some cafeteria workers also called out, leaving other staff, including school administrators, to work in the lunchroom.

The classified pay situation isn’t the first bump in the road for transportation workers at DPS. In 2022, bus drivers and substitute teachers were among the hourly employees to see a technical glitch delay payroll.

The current crisis came about after the district conducted a salary study for classified staff in 2023, assessing what it would cost to provide a raise based on considering an employee’s prior experience in the private sector or out-of-state public school versus just considering experience within North Carolina public schools. The experience would determine their salary level, or “step” in the compensation schedule. At the time, district officials hailed the new compensation schedule as a great tool for staff recruitment and retention.

Last week, administrators said an error had resulted in overpayments to 1,300 classified employees.

“The district chose to provide the raise based on the consideration of only in-state experience, which would recalibrate employees’ steps as well – still providing a raise but the impact is that employees previously-considered experience would no longer be considered as a change in practice,” said Symone Kiddoo, president of the Durham Association of Educators (DAE). “The district named an error in the processing of those new salaries and it placed people in steps and salary ranges of their previously-considered private/out-of-state experience. We were not present and can’t attest to the error; that is what is being reported out by the district.”

In a post on the DAE’s Facebook page, Kiddoo said that the union is hoping to persuade Superintendent Pascal Mubenga to “say no to clawbacks” that would require employees to pay money back to the district.

“It is our position that employees’ wages were changed in October and they were paid accordingly,” the post states. “We also therefore believe that the financial challenges the district now finds itself in are not the fault of classified staff, and any budget shortfall should be addressed by means that do not harm staff, students, and families.”

The DAE is not yet calling for a walkout, crediting pressure applied during the past few days. She indicated that “we want to reserve the escalation if our talks start to stall.”

Kiddoo urged union members, co-workers, parents and families, and community members to attend the Board of Education rally on Jan. 25 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at DPS headquarters in downtown Durham. The union plans to deliver a petition with all of its budget positions.

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