Durham Public Schools to reopen to students Tuesday after Monday closure
Durham Public Schools was closed again for students Monday.
"Durham Public Schools will be closed for students on Monday, February 12 due to absences within our transportation department that will prevent us from operating buses [Monday]," the school district said.
Monday afternoon, the district said it would operate on its normal schedule on Tuesday. Monday's closure was the fourth time in the last month classes were canceled due to employees calling out.
The district added the absences do not include bus drivers but mechanics and transportation staff, who are necessary to allow the buses to operate.
There are 45 transportation support workers and 150 buses in DPS.
DPS afterschool programs did not operate on Monday; however, athletics and other afterschool extracurricular activities did operate normally.
The board of education will hold a special meeting on Thursday to meet with educators and discuss a structure for the board to hear from employees.
Monday was a workday for all employees. Change Paths Durham, Bagging it for Kids, and multiple organizations from Duke worked to make sure students didn't go hungry.
"There's a need and we're trying to fill it," said Skylar Edgerton, seventh grade teacher at Brogden Middle School. "Kids need food, people gotta eat."
Edgerton and fellow teacher Haley Davidson said while they do have concerns about learning loss, they believe students will benefit when all educators and support staff are able to focus on the children.
"If they're not getting what they need, then I can take a few days of my kids being out of the room to make sure they have a consistent transportation system for the rest of the year and going forward," Edgerton said.
Now, some parents, like Andrea Morelos, are worried about the loss of valuable learning time.
"Ultimately, in the long run, you have the end-of-year testing, the EOGs," Morelos said. "So I don't know how many days we're going to miss, but they really start cracking down in these months to prepare you for that."
It will be the fourth time schools have closed in half as many weeks.
"We want to see our kids, and we want them to get the education that they deserve," Avery Thomas, classified worker, said.
She supports employees' fight for clear and better pay but says the impact of these closures could come back around.
"In the long run, if schools keep being closed like this, the school year may be extended because students have to be in school a set number of days," Thomas said.
The Durham Association of Educators has said their group did not call for today's or Friday's protests.
Schools in Durham also closed on Friday after transportation staff called out. According to the school district, 75% of Durham Public Schools’ students are bus riders.
Staff and educators at schools in the district have staged sick-outs, rallies, protests and walk-ins since the school district revealed they overpaid staff between July and December and, in further adjusting salaries, would no longer recognize experience from out of state.
The fallout resulted in the resignations of Durham Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Pascal Mubenga and CFO Paul LeSieur.
Former Wake County Public School System Superintendent Catty Moore will fill the superintendent position in an interim capacity until the school district finds a permanent replacement.
