Durham school board, delegation press state for funding relief, teacher supports and bus-driver aid

Durham Public Schools board members, Superintendent Anthony Lewis and members of Durham’s state legislative delegation met this morning to review the district’s 2025 legislative agenda and press for state action on funding caps, staffing and workforce supports.

“We support public funds for public education, not for private education,” Board Vice Chair Jessica Carter Otten said as she opened the agenda discussion and reviewed the board’s priorities for students, educators and infrastructure.

The board and delegation focused on several funding constraints the district says force Durham to use local dollars for core services. Deputy Superintendent Nicholas King and Superintendent Anthony Lewis provided district figures to illustrate the gap: Durham’s exceptional children (EC) population exceeds the 13% state cap, Lewis said, and the district’s EC share is “a little over 16%,” leaving Durham to transfer roughly $5,500,000 from the general fund to cover special education services. Lewis said the district’s English-language learner population is about 22% — more than double the 10% state cap — and Durham receives about $6,000,000 from the state for ELL supports, requiring local funds to make up…