DPS Closes 12 Schools Wednesday as Educators Call Out of Work to Attend Protests

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Durham Public Schools will close 12 schools in the district Wednesday as educators and staff plan to attend protests, including a Durham Association of Educators (DAE) protest, according to a statement from DPS sent to families Tuesday evening.

A release from DAE president, Symone Kiddoo, also sent Tuesday evening, states that the DAE protest is scheduled to take place at the DPS Fuller Building at 511 Cleveland Street in downtown Durham from 2 to 4 p.m. Another protest is planned for 10 a.m. at the Staff Development Center at 2107 Hillandale Road.

It’s not clear what percent of staff in each school is taking part in the protests, but the prospect of the number being high raised questions about whether staffing will be adequate to safely supervise students.

The protests follow an error that led to more than 1,300 classified staff being informed earlier this month that they will not continue to receive raises they had been promised in writing last year and that had already been paid for several months. Affected employees included physical and occupational therapists, instructional assistants, nutritionists, and facilities and transportation staff at schools across the district.

The district has hired an outside consultant to investigate what happened, in addition to its own attorneys who are looking into the matter. 

The DAE is a local affiliate of the North Carolina Association of Educators and the National Education Association, the largest teachers’ union in the country. The group’s statement says that its members have asked the district to not introduce pay cuts, to reverse a policy that would erase years of work experience outside of the district that count toward salary steps, and commit to holding regular meetings with group members “to discuss how to create excellent working conditions and most of all, the learning conditions that our students deserve.” 

Kiddoo wrote that DPS was right in initially increasing salaries for “long-underpaid staff” but said that “trust has been broken” now that the administration is backtracking. 

“There are a lot of employment options in Durham, and our schools need to offer competitive salaries,” Kiddoo wrote. “We only want the best working with our students and you have to pay to attract quality people. … We all want our kids to go to schools with the best educators, the best staff, and all the resources our kids need to be successful.”

Tomorrow’s events are what’s known as a “sick out,” a protest tactic designed to draw attention to what DAE describes as “a recruitment and retention crisis that will only get worse” if DPS doesn’t find a way to pay the salaries it promised its staff, according to the DAE’s letter.

The schools that will be impacted Wednesday include: 

Riverside High School 

The Whitted School 

Lyons Farm Elementary 

Lakewood Elementary

Northern High School 

Githens Middle School 

Spring Valley Elementary 

Jordan High School 

Forest View Elementary 

YE Smith Elementary 

Hillside High School

Lucas Middle School

At a meeting last week, DPS officials promised classified workers they would not have to pay back any money they’ve already received and that they’ll be paid their promised higher salaries through January. But it’s unclear what will happen after that. 

DPS’s former CFO Paul LeSieur, who has 13 years of experience with the district,  submitted his resignation last Friday. Cierra Ojijo, DPS’s senior executive director of financial services, will serve as interim CFO beginning on January 31. 

Read the DAE’s letter below: 

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