Residents and educators urge full Durham Public Schools funding; community groups press for HEART expansion and early-defense pilot

Dozens of residents, school staff and community advocates urged the Durham County Board of Commissioners during a public hearing to restore or increase funding for Durham Public Schools (DPS), expand the HEART crisis response program into schools and across the county, and support a proposed Holistic Early Defense pilot for families involved with child welfare.

Speakers told the board the county manager’s recommended budget — which the public hearing characterized as funding $10,000,000 of DPS’s $16,000,000 ask — risked layoffs, service reductions and the loss of recently won pay increases. “Our students and coworkers deserve a budget that is free of layoffs and budget cuts,” said Micah Hunter Tweetmeyer, president of the Durham Association of Educators.

Why it matters: Speakers said cuts or partial funding would affect bus drivers, school social workers, master’s‑pay upgrades and other frontline positions that, they argued, are essential to student safety and learning. Advocates also framed modest county investments in alternative crisis response…