Raises, Living Wage Debate, and Lyons Farm Crowding
The Durham Public Schools Board of Education debates new salary schedules for teachers and classified staff, balancing urgency around raises with a push toward a higher living wage and future review in committee, then turns to overcrowding at Lyons Farm Elementary by approving modular classrooms and tying them to forthcoming boundary discussions. 52mins
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Original Meeting
Tuesday, July 21st, 2026
8796.0
#DPSCommunity | DPS Board of Education Special Called Meeting | 7/21/26
Video Notes
#DPSCommunity | DPS Board of Education Special Called Meeting | 7/21/26
In This Video
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Chief Finance Officer Teeter reported that the district received nearly $10.9 million in continuation funding tied to state-driven salary and benefit impacts and emphasized that expanded funding requests were primarily focused on classified employee compensation based on extensive staff and public input.
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Chief Finance Officer Teetor explained that county expansion funds of $2.65 million were committed toward raising classified employee pay with a district match to reach a minimum wage of $18.22 per hour, alongside $1 million in capital outlay for technology upgrades and the development of further compensation materials.
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Board Member Gabrielle Rivero raised concerns about avoiding past budget and payroll problems, prompting Board Member Rogers, Chief Finance Officer Teetor, and Superintendent Dr. Anthony Lewis to describe safeguards, upgraded systems, and testing intended to prevent future pay errors and funding issues.
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Board Member Millicent Rogers explained opposition to delaying approval of the salary schedules, citing unscheduled Finance Committee meetings, scheduling conflicts before the August work session, and a preference for the full board—not just a committee—to address questions and concerns about the plan.
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Board Member Rivero explained hesitancy to approve the new salary schedules immediately, calling for the Finance Committee to take more time to analyze recent state and county funding changes, explore alternatives to the proposed $18.22 hourly rate, and return with a fully vetted recommendation to the board.
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Board Member Nadeen Bir supported aligning pay with the district’s living wage policy while warning about salary compression and backing a Finance Committee review that would delay raises but not paychecks, as Board Member Tabb voiced concern that another committee process could prolong long‑running problems with staff not seeing timely pay increases.
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Board Members Bent Kitaif and Rogers, Vice Chair Xavier Cason, Superintendent Lewis, and Chief Finance Officer Teetor discussed balancing community calls to slow down and review new pay scales with a desire to implement July raises immediately, including ideas for back pay and exploring whether funds could support a higher minimum wage than $18.22 per hour.
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Board Member Rogers questioned whether the district’s pay goal should be the $19.22 living wage or the county’s minimum employee wage under board policy and suggested requesting updated figures from the county manager, while Board Member Bir noted that the required July 1 wage update had not yet been provided.
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Board Member Rogers asked whether Durham Public Schools could limit some classified staff to the state’s 3% raise and how that would affect long‑term pay compression, and Chief Finance Officer Teeter responded that past uneven increases had already contributed to compression and that the proposed $7.5 million plan was designed to exceed the minimum while avoiding further imbalance.
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Board Member Rivero asked whether the board could approve certified salary schedules separately from classified schedules, prompting Chief Finance Officer Teetor and others to weigh in on the feasibility and leading Chair Harrell Goff to clarify that any delay would postpone raises but not regular paychecks.
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Superintendent Lewis and another speaker cautioned that delaying approval of classified salary schedules would defer raises for the district’s lowest-paid workers and noted that state-funded non-certified employees were legally entitled to a 3% increase effective July 1, raising concerns about how long such pay could be withheld.
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Board Member Rogers proposed approving certified salary schedules and a 3% raise for classified staff in July while sending broader local increases back to the Finance Committee, and Chief Finance Officer Teetor confirmed the approach was technically possible but flagged the need to clarify step increases and substitute pay rates.
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Chair Harrell Goff restated and confirmed a motion with Chief Finance Officer Teetor and Board Member Rogers to approve the amended salary schedules—including setting before- and after-care pay at $18.22—and send the $19.22 minimum wage discussion to the Aug. 19 Finance Committee meeting, which then passed on a 4–3 vote.
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Board Member Rogers asked detailed questions about a Southwest Elementary paving project—including scope, timing, and bidding through the WMBE process—and a speaker explained that the comprehensive work, addressing play areas, ADA accessibility, and safety concerns, required separate approval and was awarded to the low bidder committed to completing it before school starts.
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Board Member Bir and district staff described Lyons Farm Elementary as already maxed out, using hallways and specialized rooms for instruction, and explained that modular classrooms were selected after extensive review of program and boundary options, warning that other measures would be needed to relieve overcrowding if the modular plan was not approved.
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Board Member Rivero described severe overcrowding and safety concerns at Lyons Farm Elementary, including classrooms under stairwells and loss of media and resource spaces, and confirmed with Director Mitchell that the proposed modular units were intended as an interim solution ahead of a future building addition.
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Board Members Tabb and Chief Operating Officer Kenneth Barnes discussed safety and overcrowding at Lyons Farm Elementary, emphasizing that modular classrooms alone would not resolve long-term growth and that both new units and boundary adjustments were needed to address current and future capacity problems.
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