Good News, Bad News Night at DPS Board of Education

Good news (for many): Durham Public Schools classified workers keep their higher paychecks for at least one more month.

Bad news (for some): The Board of Education tabled further discussion about the future of those checks until Feb. 22.

Good news (for most): DPS announced an interim superintendent to take over after the departure of Pascal Mubenga. The district is bringing in Catty Quiroz Moore, former superintendent of the Wake County Public School System and current member of the N.C. State Board of Education.

Bad news (for everyone): The district canceled school Friday, Feb. 9, turning it instead into a teacher workday. Administrators reported that school bus mechanics all called out, meaning no inspections to ensure safe transportation.

Phones started chiming and buzzing throughout the Minnie Forte-Brown Staff Development Center on Thursday evening with the district shutdown announcement even before board members got around to agreeing unanimously to hold the line on pay for classified workers for another month.

The closure due to staff shortage seemed to come as a surprise to most employees in attendance, especially after the Durham Association of Educators had assured the community that it didn’t have any more protest days planned this week. Bus mechanics, it seems, didn’t get that memo.

Without mechanics to inspect the buses, it didn’t make sense to put school vehicles on the road.

“The cancellation of classes tomorrow is due to the call-out of all transportation support personnel who are responsible for daily bus inspections, which are required by law before students can be transported,” said Crystal Kimpson Roberts, director of strategic communications for DPS.

The board then heard presentations about four options for handling pay for classified workers going forward:

• Follow the HIL compensation study, using state experience.
• Eliminate the HIL study and give an 11% pay increase across the board.
• Eliminate the study and give a 15% increase.
• Eliminate the study, give a 15% increase, and pay an additional month at the rate paid since October based on years of experience.

After some discussion, though, and a motion to pass the fourth option failed, the board ultimately punted for a couple of weeks to allow time for the new comptroller, Kerry Crutchfield, to analyze the school district’s finances.

“We will do the most we can,” said Board Member Natalie Beyer, “but I have unreadiness about making a decision beyond February tonight.”

Beyer cited concerns about 113 employees funded by federal ESSR money whose support runs out later this year and the possibility of job cuts due to DPS school populations diminishing.

“There’s an alarming amount of uncertainty when we look at long-term sustainability,” she said.

Regarding the appointment of Moore as the new interim superintendent, Board Chair Bettina Umstead said in a statement: “We are extremely fortunate to have someone with Catty’s knowledge and experience step into this role and help us lead Durham’s public schools. She is the right person for this job, and we look forward to working with her to support our students and staff.”

A formal search for a permanent replacement starts this month.

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