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 the shortfall.

Those shortfalls, board members and legislators said, constrain pay and staffing priorities across the district. “Without that support, they cannot really, you know, academically thrive in most cases,” board member Natalie Beyer said when urging more mental‑health staff and better pay and workplace conditions for educators.

Legislators in the room described bills and proposals they intend to pursue this session. Senator Sofia Chitlick said she will introduce a bill to freeze opportunity scholarships and to press for private-school accountability, and she noted the governor’s proposed $4 billion statewide school bond is expected to appear in the executive budget. Representative Zach (House District 31) and others described discussions in education appropriations about easing the EC and ELL funding caps; Representative Hawkins said the cap issue is being added to an omnibus bill after local advocates raised it with the delegation.

Several speakers also highlighted workforce measures. Nicholas King described the Durham Early College for Health Sciences, a partnership of Durham Public Schools, Durham Technical Community College and Duke Health that received a $29,000,000 grant and will open in August at an interim site; the program’s planners expect to enroll about 100 students in year one and aim for 60 to 80 percent of completers to transition directly into health-care jobs after high school. “We are very close to that number and feel confident that we'll get there,” King said.

On teacher recruitment and retention, legislators referenced a proposed bill to raise starting teacher pay (one draft cited in the meeting aimed at a $50,000 starting salary) and other measures to expand pipelines and training. Representative Hawkins urged local action on teacher housing as well: “Don't wait on the state to move forward with this effort,” she said, noting local partnerships and foundation support can advance affordable housing for educators.

Board members, Superintendent Lewis and legislators discussed transportation and a bus-driver shortage. Lewis said Durham Public Schools has set a $20 starting salary for drivers and is exploring partnerships to cover the roughly $400 onboarding cost for a new driver; he said the Durham Public Schools Foundation had raised about $6,000 to help cover those fees. Lewis also described operational bottlenecks: a scarcity of available DMV road-test slots can delay certification and leave qualified candidates waiting weeks.

Lawmakers and board members requested more frequent coordination between the district and the delegation. Several legislators offered to field district requests when bills emerge quickly in committee and to bring district staff or the superintendent to testify as needed. Superintendent Lewis said the district will participate in Legislative Day on April 8 and asked to expand opportunities for Durham students to serve as legislative pages and visit the General Assembly.

No formal votes were taken at the meeting; the session functioned as a planning and information exchange between the Durham Public Schools board, district staff and the local state delegation.

The board asked staff to provide follow‑up details on a set of items raised during the meeting, including the district’s current nurse and social‑worker staffing ratios, the count of bus-driver candidates awaiting road tests, and the projected staffing and funding impact if the EC and ELL caps were lifted. Legislators said they will keep the district informed about bill drafts in the education committees and will prioritize coordination for rapid committee actions.