The Durham Public Schools Board of Education is reconsidering hiring a contractor to study enrollment trends and boundary adjustments amid concerns about community engagement and the contracting firm.
Enrollment at DPS is declining, in line with national trends as birth rates fall and students move to private and charter schools. Current projections show a continued decline, with overall enrollment falling from just under 30,000 students this year to about 28,000 in 2035; some schools are underenrolled while others are stretched beyond their student capacity.
In response, administrators have proposed closing some aging elementary schools and consolidating them into newer and larger buildings. The board voted in June to put out bids for a contractor that would develop scenarios for adjusting school boundaries to address uneven enrollment, which the district refers to as “rightsizing.”
But after a contentious two-hour discussion- founded in apprehension about closing schools and concerns about the contractor’s company ties- the board tabled the discussion for its November 19 meeting.
From three bidders, administration chose Florida-based contractor MGT Impact Solutions for a price of $474,505, based on the company’s experience doing similar work with other school districts.
Come Thursday, both public commenters and board members were skeptical of MGT’s history working with charter and private schools. MGT’s chief executive officer also founded two charter schools in Florida.
Community members spoke out against the contractor proposal during the public comment session, expressing concerns about MGT’s company ties and fearing the study would lead to closing schools and further contribute to declining enrollment.
Durham Association of Educators President Mika Hunter Twietmeyer acknowledged at the meeting that moving forward in this study does not mean the district is definitely going to close schools, but said it is a step in that direction.
“It is extremely dangerous to hire a firm that has a clear stake in closing schools, when we as a district have not done the work of coming up with our vision for what it is going to take to ensure that every student, every family, and every worker in DPS can thrive,” Hunter Twietmeyer said.
Board members Nadeen Bir and Gabrielle Rivero, who joined the board after it decided to hire a contractor, advocated against proceeding with the contract and said they wanted more community engagement. Rivero said she’d like to see a new request for contractor proposals sent out, with the hopes of getting more bidders to choose from.
But Director of School Planning Devan Mitchell, who gave the presentation, said another search for bidders could take an additional several months. Delaying the approval of a rightsizing study could jeopardize the district’s ability to get a bond referendum to fund facilities projects on the ballot in 2028. The district is facing nearly $1 billion in maintenance needs, and funding from a voter-approved tax increase could help fund repairs and new facilities.
Mitchell also noted that the district created learning environment guidelines through a 10-month effort involving 3,500 community members, making every effort” to include a diversity of voices in the process, Mitchell said. Those guidelines will steer MGT’s work, if they are selected for the study. The scope of work in the study itself also includes a community engagement process after the initial data collection and before the company creates recommendations for the district, she said.
Board member Wendell Tabb said administration did what they were asked, procuring a rightsizing and consolidation study after the board voted for it in June.
“If you don’t want the contract, let’s just say it and give a different direction so that we don’t waste each other’s time,” Tabb said to the board.
Harrell Goff said she wants to get a capital improvement plan ready in time for bond approval, but that she understands the community’s concerns about the contractor. The board members said they received multiple emails with concerns about MGT’s ties to charter and private schools.
“I don’t feel like it’s a waste of time to make sure that we are clear and that community understands where we are at with those values,” Harrell Goff said.
Several board members felt that DPS isn’t ready for a rightsizing and consolidation study at all.
Rivero said she first wants to see data from Growing Together, which was the district’s 2024 redistricting plan, before approving a rightsizing study. Mitchell said the contractor’s scope of work includes collecting data on Growing Together, and Duke University is also currently studying the impact of Growing Together and will have part of its results in December.
Board member Natalie Bent Kitaif expressed concerns about spending nearly half a million dollars on the contractor, and suggested hiring an independent demographer to study enrollment in combination with the ongoing Duke study would cost less. But Deputy Superintendent Nicholas King said the “Durham-style community engagement” already built into the contract is what’s driving up MGT’s price.
The plan approved in June by the board, of which Harrell Goff was a part, was to solicit proposals for “a rightsizing and consolidation study to evaluate enrollment trends, facility utilization, attendance boundaries, and operational efficiencies.”
But on Thursday Harrell Goff said she doesn’t think the board wanted to center rightsizing in its request for contractor proposals and she would have liked the opportunity to choose between contractors. The scope of the project also includes analyses of demographics , building capacity, and magnet programs.
“I don’t know, in hindsight, if we really thought about the weight of all of the different things we were asking for,” Harrell Goff said. “I don’t think we were just asking for rightsizing and consolidation. But that is the thing that rose to the top.”
Harrell Goff was selected as a part of a Community Improvement Plan (CIP) Task Force in August 2025, which was created by the district to hold public engagement sessions and create recommendations for a proposed schools bond.
Board member Millicent Rogers said the board entrusted Harrell Goff to be on that task force and that she was disappointed to hear Harrell Goff was dissatisfied with the contract that administrators brought to the board.
“If you didn’t understand if that is where we were headed—to this contract, to this RFP, to the administration bringing us a contract—then it makes me wonder if my trust was misplaced,” Rogers said.
Rogers said the rightsizing study is necessary, and without formally assessing every facility in the district, the board would be deciding “willy-nilly” what projects end up in the bond.
Superintendent Anthony Lewis spoke in favor of the contract, and acknowledged that rightsizing is a difficult conversation. He said DPS has a history of being reactive but that this study is one way to be proactive.
“We are not being stewards of taxpayers’ dollars if we do not study this current situation that we are in,” Lewis said.
Ultimately, the board directed administration to revise the contract with their concerns: Harrell Goff suggested adding conflict of interest disclosure that would state MGT’s connection to charter and private schools, and board members suggested adding clearer guidelines for community engagement. The district’s attorney also suggested adding phases into the contract, where the board would approve MGT to carry out certain steps of the process at a time. The board will vote on the amended contract at the November 19 meeting.
