Another round of school shutdowns on Friday left 32,000 Durham Public Schools (DPS) students with an unexpected three-day weekend.
“I feel like it’s a lot from one day to another,” parent Sandra Gonzalez said.
DPS said the cancellation of the classes is due to the callout of all transportation support personnel, whose responsibilities include daily bus inspections. Without their inspection, students can’t be transported, according to the school system.
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“It really impacts everybody and everybody’s schedules,” Gonzalez said, adding that she had to hire a babysitter last-minute for her son who’s in elementary school.
Other parents spent the day bagging lunches for children who rely on school for reliable meals during the week.
Ginger Allison, founder of
, said although they support DPS staff who have been at the center of the pay controversy, students facing food insecurity are caught up in the middle of it.