Durham Public Schools presents continuation request as state outlines teacher, staff raises

Durham Public Schools leaders briefed Durham County commissioners on the district’s budget continuation request and local impacts from the recently announced state budget framework. Superintendent Dr. Lewis and Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Teeter emphasized community input in developing the district’s request and described both adjustments the district has made internally and continuing uncertainties at the state level.

"We definitely did engage this community in a major way through surveys, through, town halls, halls, through, budget hearings, then going back and revising to come back with an ask," Dr. Lewis said, framing the presentation as a community-driven request. Teeter walked commissioners through the state framework announced by the General Assembly: an average 8% raise for certified teachers and roughly 3% for classified staff, plus proposed one-time bonuses with different tiers for certified employees and differentiated amounts for classified employees by salary band.

The district said its locally funded average placement on the teacher salary schedule reduces the local cost of the state-proposed framework: Teeter described a district-level weighted estimate of roughly a 4.28% local increase across employee types after accounting for the state framework. Staff also described recent local cost-management steps, including elimination of about 27 central-office positions (about $2 million) and termination of more than $663,000 in local service contracts.

Commissioners pressed for details about which positions are funded locally and how the district places employees on the state minimum/maximum columns. Teeter said Durham typically pays classified employees on the schedule’s minimum column and noted the district gives step-for-step credit for relevant prior experience to remain competitive in hiring. Commissioners asked for supplemental materials and more granular salary-grade tables they can use in upcoming budget deliberations.

The presentation also flagged several points awaiting clarity from the state: whether "master's pay" would be included in the state package, how one-time bonuses will be treated administratively, and whether private-voucher dollars recently paid out will be reinvested in public schools. Teeter said advocates are pressing the General Assembly on a roughly $35.8 million reinvestment delta tied to private vouchers.

Next steps: county staff and DPS said they will exchange follow-up materials, including salary-grade breakdowns and implementation details, as commissioners consider the county manager’s recommended budget and possible continuation funding for the district.