Durham School Leaders Pondering Masters Pay and Transportation Woes

School improvement plans, transportation service problems, and masters pay are among the topics on the agenda for the Nov. 7 work session of the Durham Public Schools Board of Education.

The consent agenda – items likely to be approved without discussion – include:

• Delegates and agenda for the upcoming North Carolina School Boards Association conference. Primary voting delegates for the Nov. 18 conference in Greensboro are Millicent Rogers, Natalie Beyer, Emily Chavez, and Wendell Tabb. Alternates: Jessica Carda Auten and Bettina Umstead. Among the agenda topics: giving more local control to determine school calendars; improving school accountability models; managing retention and recruitment strategies; expanding support for students with disabilities; developing capital to support new construction or repairs; and prohibiting charter and private schools from participating in the same 1A state tournament as public district schools.
• Contract for fire alarm upgrades at Githens Middle School. Troy Hutchins Construction LLC seeks $688,730 to replace the school’s system. Work is expected to start before June 30, 2025, with substantial completion before Aug. 29.
• Change order for construction related to the Durham School of the Arts project. The maximum price is expected to be about $166 million, with substantial completion anticipated Oct. 1, 2027.
• Lottery fund request for playground equipment updates at various schools, including equipment replacement and resurfacing at Creekside Elementary School and resurfacing of the pre-K playground at Parkwood Elementary.
• Consultancy and license contracts, including Microsoft O365, E-Rate, and Frontline service renewal.

Board of Education discussions:

• Reviewing tools used for assessing Superintendent Dr. Anthony Lewis.
• Reviewing the district’s policy on naming facilities.

Later in the agenda, the board is expected to discuss masters pay – compensation for educators with advanced degrees, as well as plans from the transportation team to mitigate service gaps for the rest of this school year, and what can be found in school improvement plans for fiscal years 2024-2026.

The meeting is expected to start about 5:30 p.m. at Durham Public Schools headquarters on Cleveland Street in downtown Durham.