Good morning, readers.
As we’ve highlighted lately, it’s municipal budget season.
In Durham, that means eyes are back on the public schools and educators rallying for more pay.
Last month, DPS sign language interpreters made some noise at a school board meeting, supported by dozens of Durham Association of Educators (DAE) members and others. Like other staff members, some sign language interpreters are considering leaving the district for better paying jobs.
At the same meeting, DAE supporters called on the board to recognize the association as a union and include it in future conversations.
And last week, some of the same folks showed up to the Durham County Commissioners’ budget session.
Over two and a half hours, nearly every speaker asked the commissioners to fully fund the DPS school board’s budget request of $27.4 million.
Durham County Manager Kimberly Sowell has proposed an increase of $13 million in funding for local schools, $14 million short of what the school system requested. The proposed budget would result in a 3.25 cent tax rate increase, raising the countywide tax rate to 78.47 cents per $100 of property valuation.
In asking for higher wages, some teachers spoke about the difficulty of working extra jobs in addition to teaching.
“It’s the hardest for my students, having them ask me if I’m going to their game after school or their band concert, and having to say, ‘No, I have to go to my second job’ and watching their faces drop,” said Haley Davidson, a science teacher at Brogden Middle. “[Our students] are wildly aware of the situation their teachers are in.”
We’ll be back with more budget news from around the Triangle this month.
Have a good Tuesday.
—Chase
Durham
Destination Durham published a 20-year master plan and the public is invited to weigh in on it at the Durham County Library on June 8.
Wake
Wake County’s Board of Commissioners adopted a $2.08 billion fiscal budget. The budget raises the property tax rate by .3 cents to 51.35 cents per $100 valuation. It also includes $58.3 million, a nine percent increase, for Wake County Public Schools, investments in public safety and mental health care, and investment in the county’s Child Welfare Program.
In a new report, NC State says an insulation sealant is the source of toxic PCBs in Poe Hall.
Orange
Chapel Hill kicked off Pride Month this weekend with a Pride Promenade.
A party for UNC fraternity members who secured a U.S. flag during the pro-Palestine protests this spring is scheduled for Labor Day.
North Carolina
Cornel West and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have submitted signatures needed to appear on the presidential ballot in North Carolina this fall.
Today’s weather
Sunny with a high of 87 degrees, a chance of showers.
If you’d like to advertise your business to the Daily’s 30,000-plus subscribers, please contact [email protected]
Love the INDY? Support it by joining the INDY Press Club.
You must be logged in to post a comment.