Durham Public Schools Superintendent Pascal Mubenga resigned as the dispute over cutting pay for Durham Public Schools staff continues. The announcement came during a special meeting of the DPS Board of Education Wednesday night.

During a Thursday special session, the board named former Wake County Public School System superintendent Catty Quiroz Moore as interim superintendent.

“We are extremely fortunate to have someone with Catty’s knowledge and experience step into this role and help us lead Durham’s public schools. She is the right person for this job, and we look forward to working with her to support our students and staff,” said Bettina Umstead, chair of the Durham Public Schools Board of Education in a news release.

Moore served Wake County from 2018-23 and is a member of the N.C. State Board of Education.

Teachers and staff have staged protests and sick-outs after administrators cut pay for about 2,000 staff members since the beginning of the year. 

"Dr. Mubenga joined Durham Public Schools seven years ago and has led the school system through challenging times. He leaves a legacy of academic growth and a firm commitment to equity," said Durham Public Schools Board of Education Chair Bettina Umstead.

The dispute is over how the school system counted years of experience in calculating pay for classified staff, meaning non-teaching positions. The school system changed how it counted years of experience and cut pay for hundreds of bus drivers, cafeteria workers, teacher's assistants and others.

The same staff members had received raises last year, according to the Durham Association of Educators.

"The district has pulled the rug out from under 1,300 dedicated educators and support staff — erasing years of their work experience and thereby cutting their pay," the association said last week.

"These workers made life-altering decisions based on those raises that they cannot undo. Some upgraded their apartments or cars or child care. Some quit second and third jobs. Now, they worry if they will be able to pay their bills and feed their families when they get their February paycheck in a few short weeks," the association said. 

The school board asked a law firm to review what happened leading up to the pay cuts, Umstead said. 

She said the investigation revealed more details about what led up to the pay cuts. 

"There was a lack of clarity and a failure of communication from the finance officer about the true cost of the proposed changes to the salary schedule. The finance officer knew in February 2023 that the cost of the pay raises could rise from $10 million to $20 million based on how years of service are calculated. That variability was never communicated to the School Board and budget proposals consistently showed the cost as approximately $10 million," she said in a written statement.

"Superintendent Pascal Mubenga first became aware of a problem on November 8 and engaged the HIL Consultants to look into the matter. The full Board was informed on January 11, two months later," Umstead said.

"This situation has created unnecessary disruptions for our staff and students," she said. "When we first initiated these changes to our salary schedule, our goal was clear — to increase pay for our classified employees. We remain committed to achieving that goal."

The full report was delivered to the board Wednesday, and it is now available on the DPS website.

Some parents have expressed disappointment and skepticism about how information has been communicated to the board and to the public. 

“When the administration is allowed to trot out falsehood after falsehood before the body that is supposed to be overseeing them, it cannot help but result in a situation like this,” said Michael Paik, a parent of two, one of whom is at George Watts Elementary School in Durham.

He says that Mubenga's resignation isn't enough and that the school board bears some responsibility for the dispute.

“It's pretty much asleep at the wheel," Paik said of the board, "And it's created a culture of impunity with the administration where they’re able to say what they please, claim things that are false.”

Lauren Binanay, whose child goes to E.K. Powe Elementary School, expressed hope for a solution.

“I did have whys, mostly hows — like how this could have happened at DPS. But I think that their investigation answered those questions," Binanay said. "I read the report last night as soon as I saw it come out, and it’s a good first step in explaining how we got here. It seems like it was an individual, a contained issue, and ... with Mubenga's resignation, I think that we have a path forward.”