DPS Moves Forward with Meet-and-Confer Process Plan

In a historic session Thursday night, the Durham Public Schools Board of Education and Durham Association of Educators came together to kick off a process meant to repair broken trust and build a new path forward while the district continues to deal with the classified worker pay crisis.

The board brought in Steve Schewel, former Durham mayor and a former member of the school board, to act as a mediator for a discussion that while it never became heated did grow tense as board members raised questions about DAE’s ability to represent all classified workers and DAE members accused the board of trying to “slow the roll” of the meet-and-confer process.

During the meeting, board members heard a presentation from DAE leaders about their idea for how a meet-and-confer process would work, based on a national model.

Ultimately, the board agreed to move forward with the creation of an ad hoc committee to continue discussions about the process. Next Thursday, Feb. 22, the board will vote on the committee’s membership, which will include two board members (and one board alternate), two district administrators, four representatives from the DAE, and four other school district employees that aren’t members of the DAE.

For that latter group, it seemed clear that district leaders hoped to get buy-in from workers in the school transportation garages and bus yards. Thursday’s agenda had set aside specific time to give mechanics and supervisors an opportunity to air grievances that led to their call-outs last Friday and Monday, which resulted in DPS shutting down schools. However, they left the meeting rather than take that opportunity, suggesting a rift between the educators’ union and transportation workers.

It remains to be seen whether classified transportation staff can be coaxed to the table with DAE and board members. One thing is certain, however, as Board Member Natalie Beyer noted: The district has more or less exhausted its bank of days that schools can close over call-outs. If those keep happening, she said, students will need to make up lost days.

And if the unrest among transportation staff is over the classified pay situation, they must wait until the Feb. 22 meeting for a decision on how March paychecks – and, presumably, the rest of the academic year – will be handled. Then it’s almost immediately on to the annual budget process, where the district sorts out pay for district employees for 2024-25.

DAE members want their proposed meet-and-confer process to give them more of a voice during budget development than they might normally expect from a minute or two of one-way comments at a board meeting.

“I feel a lot of confidence that the board will move this project forward in good faith and that it’s going to be really important that you all are at the table in that same good faith,” Schewel said.

In a statement released after the meeting, School Board Chair Bettina Umstead said: “Tonight was a good first step and we must continue to talk. We recognize the value of inclusivity, collaboration, and effective two-way communication with all of our employees. Our goal is to ensure that all employees are given a voice so that they feel valued and heard as crucial members of our district.”

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