Good morning, readers.
Durham Public Schools announced over the weekend that the Board of Education will convene a special meeting this morning to “review the salary overpayment issue.” The board will meet in closed session and there will be no public discussion, but it will release a statement regarding the matter following the meeting.
To catch you up quickly, earlier this month, DPS superintendent Pascal Mubenga notified 1,300 staff members that the district assigned them incorrect pay steps and they would be reassigned, removing years of relevant work experience and corresponding wages. But following a district pay study, staff members had already been notified of the pay raises in writing in October of last year and had already begun receiving the extra money—cumulatively hundreds to thousands of dollars each month—in their paychecks from July through December.
In response to the announcement, DPS parents and staff members who were impacted—including instructional assistants, physical and occupational therapists, sign language interpreters, facilities staff, and others—held a sit-in on January 16 at DPS’s offices in downtown Durham to demand that the board and Mubenga “listen to the needs of disabled students,” according to an email from the sit-in organizers.
“DPS’s actions this week opened the gates to a massive exodus of staff, leaving our disabled students at risk not just in terms of safety, but also access to the civil rights granted to them…,” the email stated.
Additionally, DPS announced last Wednesday evening that it was facing a shortage of bus drivers and that parents would need to arrange their own transportation to and from school Thursday. Though bus drivers weren’t impacted by the pay reclassifications, many decided to strike in solidarity; the bus drivers’ strike continued Friday and could continue today. Some schools also reported absences among cafeteria and custodial staff.
DPS suspended its chief financial officer, Paul LeSieur, without pay last week. The district said in a statement Thursday that it is “engaged in an active investigation regarding the implementation of the salary study.” It’s not clear if the district will try to recoup any of the money it has paid out already.
Have a good Monday, everyone.
—Jane
Durham
Here’s how East Durham residents can file a complaint with the NC Utilities Commission over Duke Energy’s blackout last week.
Between the blackout and bus drivers’ strike, last week was a tumultuous one for Durham Public Schools.
Wake
President Biden visited North Raleigh last week to tout Bidenomics and his administration’s investment in broadband internet. More here.
Op-ed: Wake County is modeling lifesaving animal sheltering in North Carolina, the state with the third highest kill rate in the nation.
Former NC Treasurer Janet Cowell, a Democrat and President and CEO of the Dix Park Conservancy, announced she is running for Mayor of Raleigh this year.
At an event Sunday, Raleigh residents spoke out against a proposed rezoning along the city’s first Bus Raid Transit corridor along New Bern Avenue. The rezoning would add more dense development to file miles of property located along the corridor. More here.
Orange
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools chose not to comply with some parts of the state’s Parents’ Bill of Rights law.
At its meeting Thursday, UNC’s Board of Trustees discussed the new School of Civic Life and Leadership, the search for a new chancellor, and student wellness.
North Carolina
Democrats in North Carolina Council of State and state Supreme Court races this election cycle participated in a virtual candidate forum ahead of the March 5 primary, also known as Super Tuesday.
Today’s weather
Sunny and cold with a high of 49 degrees.
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.