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Durham superintendent presents recommended budget outlook; board adopts 2024–25 budget resolution
Summary
Superintendent G. Lewis and CFO Jeremy Teeter reviewed the recommended 2025–26 budget priorities, allotment methodology and proposed changes including bus‑driver pay scenarios and classroom allotment adjustments. The board unanimously approved the district's 2024–25 budget resolution to move from an interim to a permanent budget.
Superintendent G. Earl Lewis and Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Teeter presented an updated view of Durham Public Schools' budget work and recommended priorities for the 2025–26 cycle, including a review of staffing allotments, bus driver pay options and an explanation of the staff position counts and allotment methodology.
Teeter told the board the administration rebuilt budget documents inherited by the superintendent's team and said the district was "extra cautious in how we developed this draft document for this year to make sure that we did not have a repeat" of last year's shortfalls. He said the district recreated allotment and staffing spreadsheets and was reviewing feedback from principals ahead of final allotments.
On bus driver compensation, Teeter walked the board through the current scale and a possible adjustment. "The current bus driver scale that we have in place in Durham has a starting point of $19.43 an hour," he said, and later presented a modeled alternative with a starting rate of $20 per hour. Teeter said a district‑level adjustment to lift the minimum toward $20 would cost roughly $88,621 including benefits in the example he circulated to the board.
Teeter also described the process behind the proposed changes to allotments and staffing ratios. He said the district continues to apply some local practices that differ from state allotment formulas (for example K–3 and lower grade ratios) and is aiming to reconcile Durham's formulas with state allotment practices while keeping some local cushions in place to avoid being forced to scramble at school start.
Board members pressed for detail on several issues: the precise effect of moving closer to state allotment formulas on school positions, a one‑page summary of the master's‑pay proposal and which certified roles would qualify, and more transparent documentation of where positions were added or omitted in prior cycles. Teeter said those materials would be provided to the board before the next meeting and that the district planned a July start for a broader classified pay review.
After discussion the board approved a budget resolution to convert Durham's interim budget into a permanent 2024–25 budget. The motion to adopt the budget resolution was made by Board Member Byers and seconded; the board approved the resolution by unanimous vote.
Ending: Teeter and the superintendent agreed to provide the board with follow‑up documents, including detailed allotment formulas, a breakdown of positions and the bus driver cost artifact presented at the meeting. The board also asked district leaders to begin a classified pay review this summer to better address compression issues across classified roles.
