All classes canceled Friday at Durham Public Schools, interim superintendent appointed
All classes have been canceled Friday at Durham Public Schools after the entire transportation support staff called out of work.
Since more than 70% of DPS students are bus riders, it was impossible to still have classes. However, teachers will still be at work Friday.
School board members met Thursday night and appointed Catty Moore – the former superintendent for the Wake County Public School System – to serve as interim superintendent. This comes after former superintendent Pascal Mubenga resigned Wednesday.
"I have appreciated Durham Public Schools for its excellent traditions of achievement and equity, and I am honored to step into this role," Moore said. "I am excited to lead alongside our dedicated educators, staff and community partners. I know that together we will navigate this transition with grace and remain focused on our mission to educate students."
We also learned that February pay checks will not be cut. There’s still a lot of unanswered questions, though.
The board postponed their decision again about the ongoing pay issue.
A new option was introduced, but the board was split. It would get rid of the HIL study, credit staff for outside experience and give them a 15% raise from the previous year.
Moore assumes her role effective immediately after Wednesday's resignation of Dr. Pascal Mubenga.
“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," said Durham Public Schools Board of Education Chair Bettina Umstead. "She is the right person for this job, and we look forward to working with her to support our students and staff.”
Moore previously served as the superintendent for Wake County Public School System from 2018-2023 and is currently a member of the NC State Board of Education. She has worked in public education for more than 35 years as a teacher, principal, and school system administrator. During her 15-year career as a leader in the Wake County Public Schools, Moore played a substantial role in passing policy promoting equity, while also negotiating several bonds and funding increases for the school system.
The school board will launch a formal search for a new superintendent later in February.
Durham Public Schools closed Friday for students due to anticipated staff absences
All Durham Public Schools will be closed on Friday for students, the district announced.
"The entire transportation support staff has called out for [Friday]," a DPS spokesperson said. "By law, the buses must be inspected daily before they can transport students.
"More than 70% of our students rely on school bus transportation."
The district said Friday will be a teacher workday, so teachers will still come in to work. Athletics and after-school extracurricular activities will operate as normal on Friday.
Durham Public Schools classified employees' February paychecks will remain the same as October
The Durham County Board of Education voted Thursday to keep DPS classified staff members' February paychecks the same as October 2023.
The board decided Thursday that it would discuss long-term payment options for classified staff on Feb. 22.
Dr. Nicholas King, who was acting superintendent prior to Moore's appointment, said board members should bring their ideas forward by Tuesday to give the administration time to work on it.
The board discussed the following long-term plans for classified employees:
- Option 1: Stick with the plan from January: All classified staff would be given at least a 4% raise from the state. However, they would not get credit for out-of-state or private practice experience, which could adversely affect their pay.
- Option 2: An 11% raise: The raise would be 7% from the district and 4% from the state. It would also restore the 2022-2023 salary steps.
- Option 3: Eliminate third-party compensation study conducted by HIL Consultants and provide employees with 15% raise compared to last year's salary. This option restores salary steps that would credit employees for experience worked outside of the state.
- Option 4: Eliminate third-party compensation study conducted by HIL Consultants and provide employees with 15% raise compared to last year's salary. This option restores salary steps that would credit employees for experience worked outside of the state. Also, add on month of pay suggested by the study for February's checks.
Later this month, the board could also consider other long-term payment options.
Katie McGonnell serves as both a DPS parent and teacher. In recent weeks, her children's schools have faced closures. She’s eager for a solution, both for staff and for families.
"I trusted everyone in the district to handle things appropriately going forward. and they've let me down yet again," McGonnell said.
Who is considered a 'classified' employee?
DPS Employees are either classified or certified.
Classified employees were impacted, but certified employees were not.
Bus drivers are classified employees but were not impacted due to a different past pay study for them.
Classified employees include:
- Instructional assistance
- Physical/occupational therapists
- Transportation workers (bus mechanics, supervisors, drivers)
- Building services
- Grounds crews
- Cafeteria workers
- Custodial staff
- Administrative assistants
- Nurses
Certified employees include:
- Teachers
- Speech language pathologists
The district’s salary dispute led to Wednesday’s resignation of Mubenga. He is owed $297,759 in severance pay.
Click or tap here to read Mubenga's resignation agreement.
“I’m not going to blame any person,” Mubenga said. “So, it happens.”
WRAL News spoke with Mubenga moments after his resignation became public.
“My apologies to the Durham community,” he said. “Our kids, our families, they deserve better.”
A report released by the district outlines the timeline of employees’ payment issues:
Timeline of DPS pay disputes
- Jan. 12, 2024: DPS sends memo to staff informing them of the salary dispute.
- Jan. 11, 2024: Former DPS Superintendent Pascal Mubenga informs all school board members of the salary issue.
- December 2023: Mubenga notifies two school board members, Board Chair Bettina Umstead and Board Member Natalie Beyer, of the salary issue. Mubenga said they would take care of the salary issue after the holiday season.
- Nov. 8, 2023: Former DPS CFO Paul LeSieur informs Mubenga that implementing new salaries for classified staff would put the district $12 million over budget.
- October 2023: LeSieur tells the school board that the salary implementation will cost about $10 million.
- February 2023: LeSieur asked to run the numbers on the cost and got an estimate of $21 million. He had the consultant redo the cost estimate, only counting state years of service, and they came up with a cost of about $13 million.
- January 2023: HIL Consultants presented the study results to the school board, saying implementation will cost about $10.8 million.
- Fall 2022: DPS hires HIL Consultants for $78,500 to engage in a salary study.
Durham Association of Educators releases statement
On Thursday, the Durham Association of Educators [DAE] – which represents about half of all classified Durham Public Schools employees – released a statement about a planned work session with the Board of Education on Feb. 15.
“[It] would finally give our union a seat at the table,” the statement reads. “This was the first real step towards Durham overcoming one of the last vestiges of Jim Crow law in our state— the ban on collective bargaining by public sector workers— and it was the direct result of our members taking historic action to organize our collective power!”
The DAE’s statement also mentioned Mubenga’s resignation.
“Although we understand why Dr. Mubenga resigned – and district administration clearly must answer for keeping the Board of Education and the Durham community in the dark regarding the district’s financial situation – this was never one of our demands,” the statement reads. “This pay debacle was never about one person, it is about the lack of transparency between DPS workers and administration, and the lack of worker voice at the decision making table.”
The DAE said it hopes classified workers’ “February paychecks are whole and correspond to what classified staff were promised in October.”
Note on interim superintendent's name
Catty Moore long went by the name “Cathy.” In the fall of 2022, she told the Wake County School Board that "Catty" is her given Hispanic name, and the name "Cathy" contradicts some federal identification documents. School system websites and other records now refer to her as “Catty.”
Moore, whose maiden name is Quiroz, was born in Ecuador before moving to the United State as a child.
