[NEWS ROUNDUP] DPS Classified Pay Situation

I’m sharing links to coverage at other local outlets to try to present a more comprehensive picture of what’s been going on with the Durham Public Schools classified worker pay situation. For a journalist working part-time on a startup news site, I admit this feels counterintuitive. But here’s a simple fact: I am doing this part-time, and there are some excellent journalists covering the DPS beat on a full-time basis.

So, going forward, expect to see Southpoint Access offering posts like this with links to content produced by other outlets. I’ll also credit the journalist and the outlet. Find something interesting that I should include in a news roundup? Feel free to email southpointaccessnews@gmail.com. NOTE: I won’t link to sites that block content with paywalls, however.

• Durham Families Say Support Staff Are Crucial for Students with Disabilities (Liz Schlemmer, WUNC)
• How We Got Here: A Timeline of DPS’ Ongoing Challenges (Josh Chapin, ABC11)
• DPS Will Cover Salary Payments Already Made to Classified Employees, but Questions Remain (Justin Laidlaw, Indy Week)
• 12 Schools Closed After Durham Public Schools Employees Protest a Looming Pay Cut (Zachary Eanes, Axios)

The DPS Board of Education next meets on Friday, Feb. 2, at 3 p.m. in Room M-1 at the Minnie Forte-Brown Staff Development Center on Hillandale Road.

Board members are expected to discuss a couple of options for handling classified worker pay going forward, but neither of them is likely to satisfy.

“We know the Board of Education plans to consider options Friday for what to do with the classified pay scale,” said Symone Kiddoo, president of the Durham Association of Educators. “The information for those options came out Wednesday. Two days does not give DPS staff enough time to review and provide feedback. The slides don’t even communicate how much each option costs and why some are considered feasible and others aren’t.

“In order to increase transparency, accountability, and collaboration, we continue to emphasize loudly and clearly that we (DPS workers) need and deserve a voice at the table, through our union, to address the pay scale moving forward.”

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