Highlights about Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

The Durham Public Schools Board of Education weighs how to fund raises for its lowest-paid staff, match new county dollars, and plan billions in building needs while right-sizing a shrinking district. The board also tightens rules on restraint, seclusion, and suspensions for young students and students with disabilities, adding new safeguards and reporting requirements.

The Durham County Board of Commissioners affirms support for Pride and hears LGBTQ+ leaders call for apology, restored funding, and deeper partnership, even as the board confronts gun violence, school staffing crises, and a hard-fought tax increase to balance a billion-dollar budget. Commissioners debate raises for school and county workers, weigh residents’ concerns about affordability, highlight key investments in EMS, family drug treatment court, and early childhood, and look ahead to potential city–county merger talks.

The Durham City Council weighs a controversial $17 million police technology contract, approves incentives for the Coco Fro redevelopment in East Durham, and hears sharp public testimony on limited free parking, Vision Zero, eviction diversion, contaminated parks, worker pay, and immigration legal services as it crafts a tight new budget.

The Orange County Board of Commissioners hears a resident’s warning about Black families being left out of budget decisions, gets a plain‑language breakdown of proposed property tax levy limits, and debates a $100,000 commitment to long‑term supportive housing at Weaver’s Grove before approving it on a 4–3 vote amid concerns over affordability timelines and accountability.