Quentin Headen’s work is about the kids.
It’s about ensuring all of Durham’s children — especially those who feel counted out or judged — receive the “free and appropriate public education” promised to them under U.S. law.
“We see these kids, and we see a piece of ourselves. We want them to know we care about them,” Headen told The News & Observer late Thursday.
Headen, an instructional assistant, is one of the 1,300 classified staff members who received a raise in October only for Durham Public Schools to realize it had budgeted incorrectly and couldn’t continue paying the higher salaries.
For many of those employees, the switch will erase hundreds of dollars a month.
“Who is it affecting more?” an angry Headen asked the school board earlier that night. “Is it affecting our teachers and our workers and our classified staff? Is it affecting the principals and the (assistant principals)? Or is it affecting the kids I care about? My students.”
Headen was one of hundreds who attended a testy Thursday night meeting that overflowed into the hall and outside with employees, parents and students.