Durham County School Board seeks help from county commissioners to tackle pay issues
Many people are wondering how much money Durham County leaders will allocate to Durham Public Schools given the district's problems paying employees.
The school board is looking for help from county commissioners to decide next year’s budget.
It is just the latest effort to solve a problem that's been affecting employees for months.
School board members met Thursday at the the old Durham County courthouse to meet with commissioners. It was their first joint meeting since November.
Durham County Budget Director Keith Lane said the county is in a difficult position.
"Our expenditure growth continues to be significant, but our revenue growth has slowed significantly, and that is a problem," Lane said.
As of Thursday, the proposed 2024-25 budget is already $33 million more than the current year, even without any increased funding for the district.
However, the county's revenue increased by only about $19 million, leaving the county in a deficit before even considering more money for schools.
Durham Public Schools Interim Superintendent Catty Moore presented preliminary budget priorities, which include the hot-button issue of pay raises for classified staff. She said the county budget is indicative of post-pandemic changes.
"It's not any surprise to me that we need to continue to balance what it takes to have an excellent public school system and excellent services in our community with what our available revenues are," Moore said.
Durham County commissioners called on the state to do more to fund public schools, calling the current situation unsustainable.
"We are spending more and more of the county budget, local funds, local taxpayer funding, for things that the state should be paying for," Durham County Commissioner Wendy Jacobs said.
""If the state is going to renege on its constitutional duty, the school district has nowhere else to turn but us," Durham County Commissioner Heidi Carter said. "We have to remember that."
Hundreds of employees protested in January over pay issues.
The school board on Thursday talked about its needs for next year’s budget. Pay for classified employees is at the top of that list.
DPS is still waiting on a recommendation for a salary schedule model.
Board Vice Chair Emily Chàvez said there is already a mandated 3% salary increase for classified staff next school year. That increase is coming from the state.
Now, the question is how much can the county add to that amount?
"I think the conversation is obviously critical and we want to continue to have trust between the board and the county commission," Chàvez said. "And we also want to see our salaries increase across the county."
Once the school district receives the salary schedule model, the superintendent will present a new budget. Moore is set to do that on April 11.
