{"id":11447,"date":"2024-02-06T20:50:18","date_gmt":"2024-02-06T20:50:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=11447"},"modified":"2024-02-06T20:51:17","modified_gmt":"2024-02-06T20:51:17","slug":"hold-yourself-accountable-workers-urge-as-school-board-delays-pay-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/02\/06\/hold-yourself-accountable-workers-urge-as-school-board-delays-pay-decision\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Hold yourself accountable,’ workers plea as school board delays pay decision"},"content":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s 4:15 on Friday afternoon, and a crowd of Durham Public School workers and families are playing Heads Up! to pass the time. \u201cAnyone need a snack?\u201d a woman in a #WeAreDPS T-shirt calls out, waving Ritz peanut butter crackers above her head. The Durham Public Schools Board of Education meeting started at 3 p.m., but the board has scheduled a closed session for the first hour and a half.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Today\u2019s meeting is to figure out a salary plan for DPS classified workers \u2014 teaching assistants, cafeteria workers, or almost everyone who isn\u2019t a teacher\u00a0\u2014 in the month of February. In October 2023, DPS announced raises for all classified workers only to realize in January that their budget couldn\u2019t live up to their promise. DPS notified staff that the district couldn\u2019t continue paying the raised salaries in an email on Jan. 12, the Friday before MLK weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI thought it was a bad joke,\u201d said Rob Griffin, the lead plumber at DPS.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The effect of the error on classified workers was enormous. \u201cThere\u2019s people who have bought cars, houses, quit jobs because they didn\u2019t need a third job anymore,\u201d Griffin said. \u201cThere\u2019s people who have left their spouses.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n DPS pulled $4.5 million from its fund balance \u2014 or savings account \u2014 to cover the new salaries through the end of January. Now, the question to be answered at this \u201cspecial meeting:\u201d What will happen this month?<\/span><\/p>\n In a PowerPoint, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Alvera Lesane lays out two options.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One is to implement a salary plan based on \u201csteps,\u201d or the years of experience an employee has, but only in the public sector and within the state of North Carolina. This would mean a large decrease in credited experience for many employees, which would negatively affect their pay. The plan would include a state-funded 4% raise over workers\u2019 2022-23 salary, but it\u2019s unclear if the raise would be applied to all workers evenly. This option was the plan proposed in the Jan. 12 email. The plan would cost approximately $91.2 million, according to Lesane.<\/span><\/p>\n The second option is to implement an overall 11% raise for classified workers over their 2022-23 compensation. Only 7% of this raise would be locally funded, with the other 4% coming from the state. Salaries would still be based on steps, but would recognize out-of-state experience. However, \u201csome employees would receive less compensation than stated in the January 2024 letter,\u201d according to the presentation. This plan would cost slightly less at $90.2 million, Lesane says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Both options are within the current budget, according to Lesane. By contrast, continuing to pay classified employees at the October rates would cost an extra $700,000 per month, according to DPS\u2019 new acting CFO Cierra Ojijo.<\/span><\/p>\n Before opening up the floor to audience remarks, board chair Bettina Umstead reads a statement. She explains that some of the raises granted in October were \u201cvery large,\u201d citing that 500 employees received raises of more than 25% compared to the previous school year. But, the workers aren\u2019t having it. \u201cYeah,\u201d a woman yells, \u201cAnd?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n DPS workers are far from overpaid, Griffin says. \u201cEverybody\u2019s already paid below industry standard,\u201d he explains. Susan Beierholm, a DPS transportation worker, says that she hasn\u2019t seen a raise since she started nine years ago. Griffin, in his 10 years, hasn\u2019t either. \u201cIf we don\u2019t fight now,\u201d Beierholm says, \u201cwe\u2019re never gonna see one again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The floor opens up for discussion, and an onslaught of emotional testimonies ensues. A school nurse explains that nursing degrees can require out-of-state experience to complete, making state-only experience steps unfair. A DPS parent points out that both plans foster division among employees by \u201crewarding one group to harm another.\u201d A former maintenance worker calls out the cost of the board\u2019s three-day beach trip last summer. \u201cYou\u2019ve gotta pay what you promise,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s as simple as that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Tammy Philips, an area manager for DPS transportation services, said that underpaid and under-resourced DPS staff are \u201casked to squeeze blood out of a turnip every single day and make things work.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHold yourself accountable,\u201d she urges board members. \u201cSqueeze that turnip. Make it work.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After the discussion, the board stays silent for a moment. \u201cWe\u2026 have\u2026 been struggling,\u201d board member Jessica Carda-Auten begins. \u201cNo you haven\u2019t!\u201d shouts an audience member. \u201cYour rent is paid!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Over the course of the next two hours, the board members debate how to move forward. The two options presented are confusing, and they ask question after question to try to understand them. But, there\u2019s a deadline \u2014 payroll needs to be sorted out by Feb. 6 at noon \u2014 and there\u2019s no clear path forward.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n On one hand, they need to make a decision that the school system can afford in the long term. And they need to do so quickly, so that workers can plan ahead. But, now that raises are within reach, workers are unlikely to settle for less.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Although the focus of this meeting is only the month of February, with plans to work out a more equitable solution for March, there\u2019s no guarantee today\u2019s decision won\u2019t stick. And many workers have lost faith in DPS. \u201cI work for a school district that can\u2019t even spell \u2018plumber\u2019 right,\u201d Griffin says, pulling out his badge, which reads LEAD PLUMMER. \u201cObviously they cannot do mathematics.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Throughout the meeting, frustration echoes through the crowd. Signs reading \u201cDPS vs EVERYBODY\u201d dot the room. \u201cShe just fucking lied!\u201d a woman whispers in response to a board member\u2019s comment. When board members say they will fix the issue later, it\u2019s just not good enough for some listeners. \u201cHow do we trust?\u201d asks a PTA parent in response.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But that\u2019s exactly what the board does. After a motion to pass the second option fails 5-2 and a motion to pass the first option dies on the floor, the board members appear hopeless. \u201cHow do we proceed?\u201d Umstead asks. Reluctantly, the board passes a motion 4-3 to table the discussion until Feb. 8, pushing back the payroll deadline.<\/span><\/p>\n For the workers who spent five hours of their Friday evening to finally get answers, this only makes them feel more \u201cbetrayed,\u201d Griffin says. \u201cDevalued.\u201d The brunette woman in front of me looks tired. \u201cI see you,\u201d board member Jovonia Lewis offers to the crowd in sympathy. The woman in front of me simply shakes her head.<\/span><\/p>\n Editor’s note: Additional reporting for this story was contributed by Nina Moske.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s 4:15 on Friday afternoon, and a crowd of Durham Public School workers and families are playing Heads Up! to pass the time. \u201cAnyone need…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[124],"class_list":["post-11447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-schools","tag-durham-public-schools","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n