DURHAM, N.C. – Durham’s new interim schools superintendent officially met the public in the wake of a pay dispute that has led to employee protests.
Schools were forced to close Monday and Friday because of absences among transportation staff, and a teacher sickout in January caused 12 schools to close.
Catty Moore, Durham Public Schools interim superintendent, was asked whether there would be more absences and whether transportation issues were still looming.
“We are not there yet, but we will be if we have additional school closures,” Moore said at a press conference at the DPS main office. “We will need to look at days that right now are scheduled to be student holidays or staff holidays, we will need to look to see whether or not those need to be student days.”
Moore, a member of the N.C. State Board of Education and former superintendent for the Wake County Public School System, was named interim superintendent for DPS on Feb. 8.
Board of Education Chair Bettina Umstead said Monday that she knows families, staff and the community all feel frustration over the pay dispute.
“All employees, we want to have a raise from their 22-23 pay, and at our Feb. 22 meeting, my goal is that we leave with a decision around pay for this year,” she said. “It’s time for us to find a solution, so we can raise our pay, be fiscally responsible and consider future budget priorities for the district.”
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.
Umstead said the hope is to have a decision on pay by next week. The board will meet Thursday to discuss pay again.
Gov. Roy Cooper recently urged the school system to resolve its dispute and provide adequate pay.
“It is important that school instruction is not interrupted by school closures and the Governor urges school boards and district leadership to quickly identify solutions to ensure adequate staff pay and continued instruction for students in our strong public schools," Jordan Monaghan, communications director for Cooper, said in a release.
Moore said in response: “There are immediate steps that can be taken across the state of North Carolina to ensure that all of our employees at all levels are being provided a competitive wage, but that is always going to be an iterative.”