This story was published in partnership with student reporters at the 9th Street Journal.
Protesters gathered outside the Fuller Building in downtown Durham Wednesday afternoon were considerably energetic for people supposed to be “sick.”
Hundreds of Durham Public Schools staff and teachers, who had called out of work as part of a sick out, plus their supporters, district parents, and students, began marching shortly before 2 p.m.
Less than an hour later, the parade circled the entire block.
DPS closed 12 schools yesterday, anticipating enough absences to render schools unable to operate. The sick out, a protest tactic, comes following the district’s announcement that it will not continue to pay raises to DPS’s classified staff. The district also said it would introduce a policy that would erase years of work experience outside of the district that count toward salary steps. Affected employees, about 1,300 in total, include physical and occupational therapists, instructional assistants, nutritionists, and facilities and transportation staff at schools across the district.
Earlier that morning, at 10 a.m., educators and staff rallied at the DPS Staff Development Center on Hillandale Road to make signs and coordinate more formal plans for the afternoon event.
“This is a battle that has been long overdue,” said Quentin Headen, an instructional assistant at Riverside High School, as he stood on a picnic table and addressed a cheering crowd through a megaphone. Riverside was one of the schools that closed Wednesday. “If you mess with the classified staff, you mess with the 90th percentile of your school. We wanted a seat at the table. That message has now changed. We demand a seat at the table.”
The Durham Association of Educators (DAE), a local affiliate of the North Carolina Association of Educators and the National Education Association, the largest teachers’ union in the country, hosted both the morning and afternoon events. In a statement released Tuesday evening, DAE president Symone Kiddoo says its members have asked the district not to introduce pay cuts, to reverse the policy erasing work experience from being honored in the salary schedule, and to 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.”
Turquoise Parker, the vice president of the DAE and media coordinator at Lakewood Elementary, was at the morning gathering. Parker calls classified staff “the backbone of our school.”
“Our schools cannot run efficiently, or at all, without them,” Parker says. “And to have them there, they have to be compensated and treated just. Not fair, but just. Being at this rally, at every rally, at every board meeting to make sure they are supported is our call. It’s our obligation. We don’t have anything without them.”
Representatives from different schools held up signs with the school’s names to gather folks together and take a tally of how many people showed up. Supporters made signs to carry at the protest later on and wrote notes to be delivered to the school board.
Carlos Pérez, a social studies teacher at Jordan High School, led the crowd in a chant.
“When classified staff is under attack—,” Pérez started.
“Stand up, fight back!,” the crowd responded.
“We can’t wait, we can’t wait!”
“DPS negotiate!”
The group from Riverside marched towards the sidewalk, and another man with a megaphone at the front of the line led the group in a series of chants.
“Respect our years,” the man called. “Respect our voice,” the group responded.
Cars drove down Hillandale Road, slowing down and honking at the line of protestors, announcing solidarity. The group cheered back at the cars and kept walking.
By afternoon, small groups were convening at the Fuller Building downtown where DPS Central Services is located. Supporters came prepared with dozens of Krispy Kreme donuts, hundreds of water bottles, piles of fruit snacks, hand warmers, and other supplies.
Protesters held signs expressing their dismay about the pay situation: “WTF… Where’s the Funds?” read one sign. “Did you let ChatGPT write the budget?” questioned another.
They were out of class but still took attendance, the crowd erupting in cheers as schools’ names rang out through the megaphone.
“YE Smith in the house!”
“Jordan High School—WHOOOO!”
DPS parents have had to be flexible over the past few weeks. Staff members have called out individually in protest, and some bus drivers, who aren’t classified staff, have also gone on strike—out of solidarity but also because they’re uncomfortable driving buses without mechanics, who are classified staff, on the clock.
Without staff at schools, parents have made alternative arrangements for their children. Some folks, like Khalilah Karim, a DPS parent who ran for Durham City Council last fall, brought their children to the protest with them.
“People don’t strike for no reason. That’s usually your last step,” says Karim, who was there with her daughter, a DPS student. “I’m just a parent. I don’t know all the things [the workers] are missing, all the stuff that they need. But I know that my kids love school and love going, and when they don’t get to go, it’s disruptive. And I know this disruption is to make sure that she continues to have the good learning environment that she has by going to Durham public schools.”
Students at the rally say they’ve noticed changes over the past few weeks. Classes are emptier since families are having a harder time getting their children to school.
“You can definitely tell the people who take care of the school haven’t been there, so it’s just getting dirtier,” says Riverside High School senior Emma Woodring-Fisher. “The buses [have] also been a really big change. I’ve had to take my sister to school a few times.”
Vilma Rodriguez works as a custodian at Jordan High School. She has 19 years of experience working for Durham Public Schools. Before that, she cleaned houses. DPS’s change in honoring years of experience eliminated five years of service for Rodriguez.
“It’s been challenging because a number of my coworkers have called out, which means more work for us,” Rodriquez says through a Spanish-language translator. “We’ve even had parents come in and pick up trash and help us out.”
Last week, the district allocated $4.5 million from its fund balance to cover the salaries already paid out from October 2023 through January. But February has bills, too.
“How do I afford to keep my house? How do I afford to keep my car? How do I afford to get to and from work? And how do I fill my refrigerator?” asks Headen, the instructional assistant at Riverside, at the afternoon protest.
It’s a question that hundreds are facing.
The DPS Board of Education will revisit the discussion during a meeting on Friday, February 2.
Photographer Kulsoom Rizavi also contributed to this report.
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