The Durham Public Schools (DPS) Board will discuss
classified staff salaries at a meeting on Tuesday evening.
The salary schedules for that group caused major
controversy last year after a study was incorrectly implemented.
The district used some short-term solutions, but
tonight they’ll look at a long-term fix.
This issue has roots in late 2023,
when DPS implemented a new payment plan for classified staff that could not be
fully funded.
The district passed a flat 11% raise last February
as an interim fix.
Last September, the board announced a supplemental
increase in pay for certain employees.
Durham Public Schools CFO Jeremy Teetor explains at Tuesday’s meeting that DPS leaders will discuss how to calculate the minimum livable wage
for classified staff employees.
“We’ve had some time to be thoughtful and
deliberate, do some work internally about where we might move forward from here,”
Teetor said.
The district is weighing three options for that
minimum: using Durham County’s number, the city’s number, or an option from a
study done by MIT.
“We’ll then start to pull forward some cost
comparison for the board and help them to evaluate that for the 26-27 budget
cycle,” Teetor said.
The county option is the cheapest at about $19.22
an hour, and the MIT living wage for Durham is the most expensive, at $25.55 an
hour.
The city option is in the middle at $21.90, but it
is subject to change.
“We looked at what they’re doing now, applied the
average of the past three years’ increase to that to sort of forecast what would
we be looking at next year, so using a $23 mark there,” Teetor said.
According to the presentation posted on the board’s
website, the county option would increase the minimum wage and aligns with
local funding agency.
The city option would involve asking the county to
fund a minimum wage that exceeds their own.
The presentation says the MIT option is a significant
increase to minimum wage, but that it may be too much at one time and may be cost-prohibitive. It would also involve asking the county to fund a minimum wage
that exceeds their own.
Teetor said these changes could benefit the lowest
earners and help with recruitment.
“Particularly for new employees who are looking to
come to Durham Public Schools, it’s a much more favorable salary schedule,” he
explained.
According to the presentation, the district’s next steps include seeking Meet and Confer feedback on Oct. 16 and then discussing again at the board level on Oct. 21.
The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m.