Members of the Durham Association of Educators (DAE) rallied ahead of the Durham County commissioners’ meeting on Tuesday to share their “two cents”: Classified workers at Durham Public Schools aren’t making enough to get by.
Demonstrators from the educators’ union dominated a public hearing on the county’s proposed 2026-27 fiscal year budget, pleading with commissioners to allocate enough funding for classified workers to make a living wage before their final June 8 vote.
The DAE successfully lobbied the Durham Public Schools (DPS) Board of Education to include the pay raises in its budget request to the county; The school board ended up asking Durham County for $28.5 million more in funding than it received for the current fiscal year. DPS’s proposed budget included a 12% raise for classified workers—or non-teaching employees—which includes bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers, instructional assistants, and office staff. The raise would push DPS’s minimum wage from $17.15 an hour to $19.22, on par with Durham County’s own minimum wage standard.
But earlier this month, Durham County Manager Claudia Hager unveiled her recommended 2026-27 budget, and it included a nearly $11 million increase in DPS’s funding. Not only was that less than half of what the district asked for, but it also didn’t leave room for classified workers to get a raise, as DPS administrators say the increase would only cover the cost of maintaining current services.
“Gas prices are rising, utilities are rising. Everything around us is rising except for our pay,” Asia Pope, a member of DAE leadership, said during the hearing.
Hager proposed raising Durham property taxes by 2¢ to accommodate what would be an overall 0.67% increase to the county budget, calling the process a “delicate balancing act between limited resources, resident economic stress, and nearly infinite needs,” during her May 11 presentation for the proposed 2026-27 fiscal year budget.
Before the budget hearing on Tuesday, about 30 attendees stood on the steps of the Durham County government building, clad in red DAE T-shirts to, once again, push for the 12% raise—even if that means the county raising property taxes by an additional 2¢ to fund it.
Before entering the meeting, the group heard staff testimonies and repeated chants such as “One job should be enough!” and “Fighting for justice, fighting for our rights, fighting for our students, fighting for our schools!”
The meeting was DPS classified workers’ chance to make their demands heard, face-to-face with the commissioners who would soon begin work sessions to dictate the next year of DPS’s county funding. Around 20 speakers took to the podium urging the county to fund classified staff pay, some sharing anecdotes about working multiple jobs to make ends meet and delaying medical care. Commissioners didn’t address the comments.
“I’m contemplating bankruptcy because I can barely pay my bills. The stress and uncertainty have left me feeling depressed,” teacher assistant Carolyn Eubanks said.
Advocates at the podium also expressed frustration that Durham County missed out on property tax revenue due to corporate housing investors in Durham not paying their fair share.
“Corporations evaded their taxes this year in record numbers by appealing their assessment values or claiming nonprofit status using a state loophole,” DAE President Mika Twietmeyer told INDY.
The continued pressure on the county to bolster funding for public schools is not happening in a vacuum; the state legislature’s 10-months-long budget stalemate has caused fiscal uncertainty to fester. The state budget agreement announced May 12 indicated an average 8% raise for teachers, and an average 3% raise for state employees, which includes classified workers. DAE equated the latter to next to nothing.
Multiple speakers at Tuesday’s meeting told commissioners they understand the state legislature’s underfunding of public schools has put the county in a difficult position, but stood firm in their call to action. Considering the county gave DPS a $20.6 million increase in 2024 (shy of its $27.5 million request), a hefty increase this year would not be unheard of.
Ahead of the rally and meeting, Twietmeyer told the INDY that she hoped commissioners would go home understanding the urgency of investing in classified workers so that they will continue working for DPS.
“We know that there’s people waiting to see what will happen for next school year,” she said. “Classified folks haven’t received a pay increase in Durham in two years, so they’re waiting to see if it’s going to be another third year with no pay increase before they look for alternative employment.”
After the commissioners convene for budget work sessions on May 28, June 1, and June 2, they are scheduled to vote to approve the final 2026-27 fiscal year budget at their June 8 meeting.
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