Contending with a budgetary shortfall that once loomed at over $34 million, Durham Public Schools (DPS) has managed to address the issue by narrowing that gap to under $7 million, as reported by WRAL News. This was achieved, in part, by implementing a 15% cut across each department. As part of its approach to improve financial transparency and encourage public engagement, DPS introduced a tool called Dollars and Decisions, enabling parents and stakeholders to examine budget allocations and to directly ask questions.
Jeremy Teetor, CFO of Durham Public Schools, discussed the budget priorities and the district’s dedication to preventing job losses in the face of these financial challenges. “All of the plans that we’re looking at, we’re trying to structure things in Durham in a way that folks don’t have to lose their job,” Teetor said according to an ABC11 interview. He acknowledged that though adjustments may be necessary, the hope is to maintain current staff levels by potentially shifting employees into different roles.
Durham Public Schools also held a public hearing, open to community input on budgetary concerns. During the event, Mika Twietmeyer, President of the Durham Association of Educators, expressed the need to address wage compression among educators—a situation where small incremental salary increases lead to disproportionately long waits for significant pay raises. “They want to make sure that DPS has this as a priority to change for next year,” Twietmeyer told CBS17, reflecting the sentiments of the educational staff. Other areas of concern raised included transportation issues and the necessity for transparent Master’s pay…