Durham Public Schools is seeking $24.7 million from the county for its 2026-27 budget, an increase from this year. However, some district teachers and staff are already pushing back, saying the increase is not enough.
The superintendent’s proposed budget calls for a 5% increase in classified staff pay, as well as supplements for transportation safety assistants and salary adjustments for occupational and physical therapists.
District teachers and staff, including members of the Durham Association of Educators, showed up in full force at a budget hearing on Thursday to voice their concerns.
“Please let the classified staff really be a priority…,” said Quentin Headen, an instructional assistant at Riverside High School. “5% is not enough. It’s not enough.”
Headen and other speakers described their struggles making ends meet with current wages.
Headen said his annual salary after tax is $28,000, despite having worked in the district for 12 years. He has narrowly avoided foreclosure on his property three years in a row, he said.
Several custodians from Sherwood Githens Middle School described long work hours and paltry compensation. One custodian, Maria Lopez, said that she is responsible for cleaning 22 rooms and the school library in one eight-hour shift.
“The pay is not enough for how hard we have to work,” she said through a translator. “We don’t earn enough to be able to cover our own expenses.”
At a time of continued charter school growth, however, money is tight for the district. The budget proposal allocates over $4 million towards charter school expenditures, which the district is required to support. Increasing utilities and insurance rates will cost the district over $4.7 million. The budget also includes $3.7 million in capital outlay to cover technology and classroom equipment.
“We all sit sober on the fact that this [county funding] rests on property taxes for our community and the tension that will bring,” school board member Natalie Beyer said.
Superintendent Lewis thanked those who attended the budget hearing for raising their concerns with the board.
“I hope this board and the community [have] seen our ways of…increasing engagement, from surveys to budget town halls to additional hearings…,” Lewis said. “I hope you truly understand that we are working feverishly to ensure that we are able to show our commitment to our classified workers.”
The next draft of the district’s budget proposal will be presented at a work session on March 12.
Tanya Wan
