Durham School Board Plans Friday Special Meeting

The classified pay situation in Durham Public Schools might be the topic of a Board of Education special meeting planned for Friday at 3 p.m.

It’s scheduled at the administration building on Cleveland Street in downtown Durham.

In an email to district families Tuesday night ahead of planned staffing shortages that may lead to the closures of 11 schools on Wednesday, Bettina Umstead, the board chair, said that members will review and discuss proposals for new classified salary schedules during the meeting.

It would be no surprise for the pay issue to lead the discussion. Board members at last week’s meeting indicated they wanted to come back this week to begin formulating a sustainable solution to try to remedy ill will that has been engendered with employees and the community alike in recent weeks.

“Until we feel more respected by this district, we can’t start to rebuild trust,” states a post added to the Durham Association of Educators Facebook page earlier today.