Durham Schools: Safety, Mental Health, and Funding
The Durham Public Schools Board of Education centers student safety and well-being through suicide prevention supports, secure firearm storage, attendance efforts, and culturally affirming celebrations, while unpacking staffing progress, state bonuses, and new AI tools. The board also debates constitutional tax amendments, religious release-time requirements, and budget decisions that could reshape future funding for Durham’s public schools. 62mins
Was this helpful?
Original Meeting
Thursday, September 24th, 2026
16813.161
Live SeptembeLive September 24#DPSCommunity | DPS Board of Education Monthly Meeting | 9/24/26
Video Notes
Live September 24#DPSCommunity | DPS Board of Education Monthly Meeting | 9/24/26
In This Video
-
-
-
-
-
Superintendent Lewis outlined the North Carolina College Connect program that granted eligible seniors direct admission to local community colleges and some universities, encouraging them to review their letters, use the online portal, and work with counselors to explore multiple postsecondary options.
-
-
-
-
-
A speaker who was a Durham Public Schools graduate and community organizer described neighbors’ concerns about public school quality and safety and urged voting against proposed constitutional tax amendments that they argued would further undermine educational funding, teacher pay, and support for children.
-
Fern Hickey, a Durham Public Schools parent and advocate, supported the board’s resolution opposing the 2026 constitutional amendments by describing how public schools provide essential services beyond academics, warning that existing tax policies and the proposed amendments further underfund education and local services, and urging the community to vote and organize against them.
-
-
-
Doctor Nicholas King reported preliminary 20th-day enrollment figures showing a decline in year-round school enrollment, a small increase in specialty school enrollment, and a combined total enrollment of 29,246 students, noting that official numbers would be finalized after state-required adjustments.
-
Doctor Nicholas King described efforts to re-engage students who had left Durham Public Schools, including a program that had already brought back over 95 students toward graduation, the district’s secure use of the Solara AI tool to support staff with internal data, and a new partnership with Case of K12 to help reclaim students enrolled in other school systems.
-
Assistant Superintendent Chanel Sidbury outlined how interconnected CISS portfolio departments supported students, introduced Doctor Sharon Williams to co-lead curriculum work with a focus on more coherent resources and Solara-driven differentiation, and described a redesigned strategic educator supports department providing tailored professional learning for instructional assistants and coordinated support for international teachers.
-
Assistant Superintendent Chanel Sidbury described efforts to use early warning signals, strengthened safety and attendance systems, and coordinated technology supports to reduce students getting lost in the Durham Public Schools system by ensuring clear ownership, faster responses, and documented interventions.
-
-
-
A speaker reported that Durham Public Schools was 96% staffed with vacancies declining, while noting that recruitment efforts continued to focus on teacher positions—especially exceptional children’s, math, science, and other specialized roles—with teacher and EC vacancies already reduced compared to the prior year.
-
Kadeira Smoots, DPS senior executive director of staffing, described work on a comprehensive recruitment and retention plan for Superintendent Lewis, highlighted international teachers as one important but limited staffing pipeline, and urged reviving an internal educator “grow-your-own” cohort to strengthen Durham Public Schools’ future workforce.
-
-
Calvin Hooker, senior executive director of employee relations, described partnering with vendor HR Acuity to create a standardized, centralized system for tracking investigations, employee relations concerns, and grievances so staff could monitor case status, ensure timely and consistent responses, and reduce the risk of matters falling through the cracks.
-
-
Board Member Millicent Rogers asked about data sharing safeguards and exit options for the Panorama–Solara grant, and Doctor Nicholas King clarified that the district could end the pilot at any time, that Panorama had purchased the resource without DPS funds, and that the research and accountability team oversaw data monitoring while planning to provide the board with additional information.
-
-
-
Board Member Kitaif thanked families for enrolling students in Durham Public Schools and asked how enrollment deadlines affect funding and charter payments, and Chief Finance Officer Jeremy Teetor explained that state funding now uses the better of prior year day-20 or day-40 enrollment with hold-harmless protections, potential midyear increases if current enrollment exceeds projections, and noted that day-40 remains the key benchmark even as some charter students return during the year and improve local figures.
-
-
Doctor Nicholas King explained that Durham Public Schools was filling 20 teaching vacancies with staff from Unlimited Instruction while keeping those positions officially vacant so the district could immediately hire fully certified teachers—especially for special education roles—if qualified candidates became available.
-
Board Member Kitaif asked how Durham Public Schools tracked students arriving after the bell due to bus delays, and Mr. Hooker explained that both individual schools and the transportation department monitored on-time arrival data and planned to present those findings to the board in the coming weeks.
-
-
-
Chief Finance Officer Jeremy Teetor explained the complexity of the new state bonus framework, noting differing eligibility dates and tiered amounts for classified and certified staff, the state’s decision to fund only state-paid employees, and the partial relief provided by redirected voucher funds that helped cover custodians and school nutrition staff while saving about $800,000 in local dollars.
-
-
Chief Finance Officer Teetor outlined the mechanics and timing of the state bonus payments, explaining that state-funded employees would receive bonuses with their October 9 paychecks while locally funded staff would be paid on October 30 after the board approved a budget amendment to appropriate fund balance.
-
-
Chief Finance Officer Teetor explained that Durham had been added to the state pool for teacher supplement funds, proposed using the allowed $792 per teacher amount, and recommended allocating $44,863 in pre-K funds so pre-K and EC pre-K teachers would also receive the supplement despite their exclusion from the state program.
-
-
Board Member Millicent Rogers explained how proposed constitutional amendments could rigidly limit future property tax decisions, cited a model showing that a 1% rate reduction might cost Durham County about $8.6 million annually—comparable to roughly 143 educator salaries or 20 classrooms—and urged North Carolinians to understand the long-term implications for local flexibility and public education before voting.
-
-
Helen Wolfson, speaking as a Durham County taxpayer, thanked the board for existing protections in Policy 3510 limiting release-time religious instruction and urged retaining those limits, citing constitutional concerns about using public schools to support religious education and recommending clearer liability and indemnification requirements for off-campus programs.
-
-
Assistant Superintendent Deborah Pitman presented revised Policy 3510 on religious-based exemptions for a second reading, explaining updates required by state law on release-time religious instruction—including a one-hour-per-week limit that now explicitly covers travel time—and asked the board to approve and adopt the policy.
-
Board Member Rogers noted plans to revisit and potentially strengthen the release-time religious instruction policy in January to remain compliant with the state budget bill, and highlighted a community sign-on effort urging faith leaders to keep religious lessons outside school hours and avoid activating the policy.
-
The board approved Policy 3510 on religious-based exemptions on second reading, while Board Member Rogers explained that it would be re-tiered in January so the district could review how often it was used, address any misuse, and consider further changes to strengthen student protections while remaining compliant with state law.
-
Board Member Natalie Bent Kitaif emphasized that the release-time religious instruction policy was mandated by state legislators rather than local community needs, affirmed that the board’s compliance did not equal endorsement, and urged residents to vote—especially in down-ballot races—to oppose harmful measures like the proposed tax amendments.
-
More from this government
Nearby governments