{"id":12192,"date":"2024-05-31T14:50:26","date_gmt":"2024-05-31T14:50:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=12192"},"modified":"2024-05-31T14:50:26","modified_gmt":"2024-05-31T14:50:26","slug":"we-need-your-help-speakers-urge-more-county-funding-for-durham-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/05\/31\/we-need-your-help-speakers-urge-more-county-funding-for-durham-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"‘We need your help’: Speakers urge more county funding for Durham schools"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Durham County commissioners\u2019 chambers on Tuesday evening was a sea of red.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nearly everyone in the audience wore a Durham Association of Educators T-shirt with the bull logo and white lettering. Rustling posters, some printed and others handmade, urged support for the schools, with messages such as \u201cDurham\u2019s schools need Durham\u2019s help\u201d and \u201cFund the schools, Durham students deserve better.\u201d Those entering late joined the row of people standing in the back; there was no more space to sit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For the next two and a half hours, nearly all the 55 speakers \u2014 current and former DPS educators, parents, interpreters, occupational therapists, and cafeteria workers \u2014 shared one plea: fully fund the DPS school board\u2019s budget request of $27.4 million.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Durham County Manager Kimberly Sowell has proposed a more modest 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe need your help. We need to fully fund our public schools. We are overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated,\u201d Quenton Headen, instructional assistant at Riverside High School, said to cheers and applause. \u201cI come to you with my heart pouring out, asking and pleading with you to please save our school system.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Speakers named a wide range of reasons to expand the school system budget. Deteriorating buildings. The need for pay raises. Support staff and teachers quitting at alarming rates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Several school system employees expressed frustration about working part-time jobs to support themselves. Haley Davidson, a science teacher at Brogden Middle, explained how her two part- time jobs outside of school impact her students.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s 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, \u2018No, I have to go to my second job\u2019 and watching their faces drop,\u201d Davidson said. \u201c[Our students] are wildly aware of the situation their teachers are in.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Other teachers and classified staff said their salaries are not enough to make a living, and that colleagues have left for other counties that pay better.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese high-quality educators found their way in Durham and I wanted to do the same but it gets harder and harder,\u201d said Ananda Ghosh, Durham resident, DPS graduate, and 10-year DPS educator.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Insufficient salaries have encouraged turnover, several speakers said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m tired of seeing my co-workers burnout and leave,\u201d said Daniel Kemp, a teacher at Riverside High School. \u201cThe constant turnover creates a challenging environment for both staff and students.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Elizabeth Jones, a DPS parent and teacher, added, \u201cI know families whose children haven\u2019t been taught by a certified teacher for two years.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Parents have health and safety concerns, too. \u201cSome of our classrooms are better suited for growing mold than growing children,\u201d one parent said. \u201cMy son\u2019s school was without a functioning HVAC for over a month in 90 degree weather,\u201d said another.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A few speakers condemned the school system\u2019s budget allocation, questioning the decision to build a costly new Durham School of the Arts campus, instead of renovating the current one.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Durham homeowners emphasized that they would gladly accept a raise in taxes in order to fully fund the schools. \u201cI am begging you to raise my taxes,\u201d said Katherine Goldstein, homeowner and DPS parent of three.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the bluest county in North Carolina,\u201d Goldstein added. \u201cWe have voted for many of you due to your stated commitment to our public schools.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While the majority of the public hearing consisted of school system budget requests, three representatives from the sheriff\u2019s office also requested increased funding for protective vests.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The county commissioners have scheduled several budget work sessions and are expected to vote on final budget approval on June 10.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Durham County commissioners\u2019 chambers on Tuesday evening was a sea of red.\u00a0 Nearly everyone in the audience wore a Durham Association of Educators T-shirt…<\/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":[16,1],"tags":[124,269],"class_list":["post-12192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-schools","category-uncategorized","tag-durham-public-schools","tag-the-9th-street-journal","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n'We need your help': Speakers urge more county funding for Durham schools - 9th Street Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2024\/05\/31\/we-need-your-help-speakers-urge-more-county-funding-for-durham-schools\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"'We need your help': Speakers urge more county funding for Durham schools - 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