Durham schools to close; Chapel Hill considering teacher requests to lobby lawmakers

The Durham Board of Education voted 6-1 Wednesday to close schools on May 16 as more than 1,000 are expected to take the day off to lobby for better pay.

Posted 11:17 a.m. May 2, 2018 — Updated 3:15 p.m. Jul 13, 2018

Claudia Rupcich, WRAL reporter

and

Janine Bowen, WRAL.com editor

DURHAM, N.C. — With more than 1,000 teachers having requested the day off May 16, the Durham Board of Education voted 6-1 Wednesday night to close schools that day to allow educators to lobby for better pay.

Teachers are expected to call out of work that day and head to Raleigh to urge lawmakers to raise pay and increase resources for students. More than 1,000 Durham teachers plan to attend the March for Students and Rally for Respect, which will start with a march in downtown Raleigh to the legislative building as the lawmakers go back into session.

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board is expected to hear from teachers making the same request Thursday night at a scheduled meeting. According to a district spokesman, about 110 teachers have requested the day off, or an avaerage of 5 or 6 teachers per school.

Teachers plan to meet with House and Senate members to also push for school safety improvements and repairs to crumbling buildings.

"For us as educators, it's personal," said Bryan Proffitt, of the Durham Association of Educators. "We want (lawmakers) to look in our faces and we want them to answer these questions. There's elections in November. We want to have folks going on record right now, in May — what is their position, and what are they going to do to make sure that our kids' lives get better."

Durham board members on Wednesday night weighed multiple options, including dismissing early so students would still be able to attend class and teachers would have the afternoon free to attend the rally. Ultimately, board members decided that it would be too difficult to operate with 1,028 teachers requesting off.

"The numbers just don't add up to me to where we could open May 16," school board member Xavier Cason said.

District officials said May 16 will remain an optional work day for staff, and students scheduled to take the International Baccalaureate exams, which are administered on one day only, will be bussed to North Carolina Central University to take the test. All Advanced Placement exams scheduled for May 16 will be rescheduled for May 23.

"We are in a state of emergency and would not move on a decision to act in this way if it were not a crucial movement," one board member said.

Dozens of churches and volunteers are organizing a plan to provide meals to all students who rely on free and reduced-price lunch so that they will continue to receive food when school closes.

"I do think our children will indeed learn a lesson in civic participation," Vice Chair Steve Unruhe said.

Teacher protests have swept the nation in recent weeks with strikes in West Virginia and Arizona as teachers ask for more support from state lawmakers.

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