[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},"mediaId",6057344,"mediaKeyId","3307139-8f089429d5ddbd79b58c13172d559434","parentId",3307139,"title","DPS seeks $15.9M increase; county manager proposes $10.3M and 3.5¢ tax rate step","audioSeconds",4566,"startMs",4973000,"endMs",9539000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3307139-8f089429d5ddbd79b58c13172d559434&start=4973&end=9539","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3307139-8f089429d5ddbd79b58c13172d559434/thumbnail_4973000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6057344/North-Carolina/DPS-seeks-159M-increase-county-manager-proposes-103M-and-35-tax-rate-step","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6057344-b094b2add9440ea5cf1191ac6a2bb7c4/orig.mp4?Expires=1771136651&Signature=WE70TTQJR5hB5I8l3cN5vJnsi-D2oF5d6Zxg81ml8kPDVdoFFzrc6xW8Hj3oo3ws4-UOyilR4-4y6OiA~LERU6oeA~bv7YZoxFZdhSdotbLi5wzm7PXXujEEIcJzgvqs1rtZcDRhRZTbmani4WM01hZXg8O7ftq~UAJXe6546CR43M7cjDOTbqDmFwHudEz2T5da3TjY~5mN0ztwqXh3xxl8m0jqthKn1OIpV-MMCxQus60DbyEO76uybna4-VS-Sfo-M7IQ0RTEbSwIPeuOL~fHB-rWNLzi5xL4~c7tny0lcdlLV~Yg234xZ0AwPC9pJyW7RF5WMmUq3JJh0KiH0g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-05-14T04:28:57Z","article","Durham Public Schools on Tuesday presented its 2025‑26 budget request to the Board of County Commissioners, emphasizing teacher and staff compensation, transportation and school infrastructure. The district asked for an increase in current expense funding (roughly $15.9 million in the materials presented) and continuity for capital outlay; Durham County Manager Hager proposed a $10.3 million increase and a separate $10 million one‑time capital allocation while recommending a 3.5‑cent property tax rate increase to help cover countywide priorities.

Superintendent Dr. Lewis said improving compensation and retention for teachers and staff is a top priority. “Teachers matter,” he told commissioners, framing salary increases and targeted supplements as investments in student outcomes. Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Teeter walked commissioners through the district’s fiscal history and the board‑approved budget request the school board transmitted to the county on April 24.

Key elements of DPS request and county recommendations:
- DPS asked for a continuation budget plus expansion items that the district reported would total about $15.0–$16.0 million for current expenses (materials round to roughly $15,000,009 and related figures shown in the district budget book). The district also sought continuation of capital outlay funding and other program investments.
- The district’s requested expansions include increasing the local teacher supplement, a proposed $200‑per‑month supplement for bus drivers to stabilize pay, expanded local master’s‑degree pay for certain staff groups, restored funding for social‑emotional supports (Panorama, RethinkEd, partnerships with the Center for Child and Family Health), and additional support for exceptional children services.
- Jeremy Teeter said a $2.2 million package would raise the teacher local supplement by $70 per month (about $700 per school year) for each eligible teacher; the district also asked for coverage of locally funded master’s pay for employees who were previously excluded.
- Durham County Manager Jackie Hager recommended $10.3 million in additional recurring current‑expense funding for DPS, restoring some one‑time items used in 2024 and proposing a $6.0 million recurring capital outlay restoration and a $10.0 million one‑time capital improvement allocation for pressing deferred maintenance and pre‑bond planning. “I did propose a 3.5¢ property tax rate increase,” Manager Hager said, explaining the county’s fiscal approach to cover multiple service demands across departments.

Why it matters: The staff request and county recommendation underscore a fiscal gap between what DPS says it needs to maintain and improve services and what county government can provide within current revenue projections. The county manager and commissioners noted national and local revenue headwinds — including slower sales‑tax growth and a large property revaluation that produced a revenue‑neutral rate — that complicate long‑term planning.

Discussion points, unanswered questions and next steps: Commissioners and school officials discussed workforce strategies and professional development for new teachers, benchmarking against peer districts, the status of state funding for exceptional children (DPS officials said the state caps support at 13 percent and the district currently spends above that cap), and Medicaid reimbursements for special‑education services (Teeter said a recent settlement produced a little over $4 million).

Manager Hager flagged next steps in the county budget process: a public hearing on May 27, a series of budget work sessions in late May and early June and a planned adoption on June 9. Several commissioners urged ongoing joint advocacy to the General Assembly for expanded state funding, warning that local taxpayers alone cannot cover multi‑hundred‑million dollar facility and operational shortfalls.

No formal county appropriation or final vote on the budget occurred at the joint meeting; the county manager transmitted his recommended budget to commissioners and the matter will move through public hearings and work sessions before final action.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","#DPSCommunity | DPS Board of Education and Board of County Commissioners Joint Quarterly Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","Durham Public Schools on Tuesday presented its 2025‑26 budget request to the Board of County Commissioners, emphasizing teacher and staff compensation, transportation and school infrastructure.","taxTitle","Durham Public Schools, School Districts, North Carolina","taxId",14087,"location","North Carolina","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6057348,"Durham Public Schools lays out $965 million facilities backlog, proposes districtwide capital improvement plan",1957,631000,2588000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3307139-8f089429d5ddbd79b58c13172d559434&start=631&end=2588","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3307139-8f089429d5ddbd79b58c13172d559434/thumbnail_631000.jpg","/articles/6057348/North-Carolina/Durham-Public-Schools-lays-out-965-million-facilities-backlog-proposes-districtwide-capital-improvement-plan","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6057348-b14b14cb0c4bf5b14945f21f2078c3f5/orig.mp4?Expires=1771136651&Signature=RMZQYOj7P7wUT-GczT6kGMWE88d0mZoJsSjXCJ0Pqd8dK1JibW988~tX0EoW9QBTrYUbBGtZ1gumrJAPGPnmT3WbKL~7D7~OeVM-yIAAOptlrseH3shJwOc3m~S3hDQt2~gn7UcEnRVgblche124rYWNyxdTpso-64fEFJlpAGb59bdQ6gZDugVJZPbXFNfc81hD8mGKBwyBzri8AsW4lpMscjQBHSMyrFreItNIfUhJ9CvVFR0q8CJ3Htb8vRjxosLbMjcz9V7MwTRMwMJkBALNx5PX48v1FF3ObaH0CujFN2FEF~7n49rs11nyqoGWjDgfhj4GPbiFqXItj84pQw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Durham Public Schools on Tuesday told the joint meeting of the Durham County Board of Commissioners and the DPS Board of Education that a recent facilities condition assessment (FCA) identifies roughly $965 million in like‑for‑like replacement needs for aging buildings and infrastructure, and that the district will pair that assessment with learning‑environment guidelines to develop a 10‑year capital improvement plan (CIP).

School planning program administrator Devin Mitchell said the FCA — prepared by an outside firm and due to be presented to the school board on May 22 — evaluates each site across roughly 15 technical categories and has been used to build a prioritized 10‑year expenditure plan. “We have approximately 6,400,000 square feet of district facilities,” Mitchell said during the presentation, adding that the $965 million figure is a “very rough number” that excludes loose furniture and some upgrades tied to current sustainability and performance targets.

The district described three planning tools it uses: a facilities master plan for site‑by‑site long‑range design changes, a building‑level facilities condition assessment for systems and envelopes, and a 5‑ to 10‑year capital improvement plan that sequences projects by priority. Mitchell said the district has also produced technical construction specifications and learning‑environment guidelines that now cover elementary, middle and high schools; the district has model schools and target capacities to guide future projects.

Why it matters: Durham’s building stock is old and widespread, and the FCA shows a front‑loaded need that could drive near‑term bond or other financing choices. Mitchell reported an average building age of 59 years and said about 3,000,000 square feet of district space is older than 59 years. She said about $550 million of the FCA total falls into the earliest‑years need, and that the district has recently completed 470,000 square feet of new construction and has another 368,000 square feet under construction.

Details and projections: Mitchell told the panel the district’s current physical capacity is about 35,000 students with enrollment near 31,165 (about 92 percent capacity). Using current growth projections, DPS estimates roughly 4,802 additional students over the next 10 years, which the district says would require about three elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school and cost roughly $482 million in today’s dollars if built immediately. Mitchell and commissioners stressed that the $965 million FCA estimate does not include all needs, such as furniture replacement, and that total long‑term need could be larger: Mitchell referenced a loose, districtwide figure of about $2 billion when including broader project scopes.

Planning approach and engagement: Mitchell described a five‑phase CIP schedule that starts with data analysis and includes two rounds of collaborative, community‑level sessions. She asked for a task force composed of the superintendent or a designee, cabinet members, board members, finance staff, city/county representatives, operations staff and community members. The district proposes six collaborative sessions per phase, synthesis sessions and two estimating reviews leading to a plan targeted for completion around December–January.

Budget and bonding context: Mitchell reviewed the district’s bond history, noting $90 million in the 2016 bond (passed with an 84.92 percent rate) and $423.5 million in the 2022 bond (83.2 percent pass rate). She said 2022 bond project costs are now estimated at about $624 million, leaving a shortfall of roughly $200 million because of construction cost escalation and large projects such as high school replacements that concentrate budget resources.

Board questions and next steps: Commissioners praised the presentation’s clarity — Commissioner Jacobs called it “the most in‑depth CIP presentation” she had seen in her tenure — and asked about escalation assumptions, net‑zero construction costs and how the district will maintain parity across projects. District staff said escalation is built into the estimating process, that post‑occupancy evaluations will be used to capture lessons from recent projects (including Northern High School), and that learning‑environment guidelines and shared construction standards are intended to preserve design parity.

No formal action was taken at the meeting; officials said the FCA will be presented to the school board on May 22 and that community engagement will proceed as described.

The district invited further questions and said it will return with more detailed project‑level costing, an online school‑by‑school dashboard and a task‑force schedule as the CIP process moves from analysis to project definition.","Durham Public Schools officials told county commissioners and the school board that a facilities condition assessment shows roughly $965 million in near-term repairs and upgrades and outlined a five‑phase capital improvement planning process that includes community task‑force sessions and the possibility of multi‑bond strategies.","actionData","errors"]

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DPS seeks $15.9M increase; county manager proposes $10.3M and 3.5¢ tax rate step

Durham Public Schools lays out $965 million facilities backlog, proposes districtwide capital improvement plan