Durham Moms Speak Out for DPS Staff

Lili Wang and Victoria Facelli, Durham, NC. Let’s Talk Durham Images

Recently, Durham Public Schools (DPS) leadership made puzzling decisions, impacting the salaries and pay scales of classified workers (bus technicians, cafeteria workers, occupational therapists, physical therapists, data managers, teacher assistants, interpreters, janitorial staff, and more) resulting in significant community pushback. While some decisions were retracted, numerous questions remain. We asked Lili Wang, former school occupational therapist and DPS parent, and Victoria Facelli, a mother of a child in DPS with cerebral palsy, to explain more:

What are your thoughts on Durham Public Schools recent decision making?

Victoria: We think a lot of this is lies. If you followed Durham Board of Education meetings, you know they paid an enormous sum to a private consulting firm to study the district's competitiveness. Recommendations from this study, including raising salaries for classified workers, were implemented but later reversed by DPS leadership. Spending a considerable amount on recommendations they won't follow, coupled with the threat of making staff return the money, is bizarre and alarming, especially for those barely making a living wage.

We need to dispel the notion that there's no money in public schools. Money exists, but we must scrutinize the top-level salaries, bonuses, and where funds are allocated for school construction, repairs, and consulting without implementation plans.

Lili: The retraction, termed a "clerical error," involves hundreds of thousands of dollars in cuts and staff experience reductions. It's not a clerical error; it's a leadership problem.

Historically, recruiting classified staff has been challenging due to low pay in Durham. Breaking promises worsens recruitment issues. Occupational therapists, considered classified staff, are continually lost to schools in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Burlington due to higher pay.

Victoria: Essential as school is to the entire system, cutting wages and classified workers' experiences undermines our economy. I don't understand why our city members are kept under a living wage.

In what way were you affected?

Victoria: My daughter has cerebral palsy and requires one-to-one assistance for school. She requires a classified staff member with her at all times to access her education. Without this assistance, she cannot safely go to school, leading to teachers and my child being shuffled around, parents, including nurse practitioners and lawyers, calling out of work, and a considerable cost to our community. Despite our care for our kids, the actions of DPS leadership do not demonstrate the same care for our kids.

For our therapists, for example, the importance of work experience in diverse environments is significant. However, DPS leadership disregarded their commissioned study's recommendation and failed to honor experiences outside DPS in their decisions. One physical therapist in our district was contracted through Duke for 20 years, and that experience is now disregarded. This has a significant impact, resulting in my daughter's PT, Barbara Tapper, facing a $1600/m difference and feeling disrespected. She is now seeking another job, unable to rely on the DPS salary after dedicating 32 years of service.

Additionally, many families with disabled kids, including ours, cannot afford a wheelchair-accessible van, which insurance doesn't cover and costs almost $100,000. As a result, we rely on school buses, and when they (understandably so) strike, we are trapped.

The reality is I can sue DPS if there is no IA in my kid’s class because they cannot hire one. And that further drains the district of money. And so if we are trapped in the cycle where they disadvantage our disabled students and we are suing and then there is even less money. 

What can bring a positive change?

Victoria: Replacing Superintendent Dr. Pascal Mubenga, who consistently undervalues disabled kids, is crucial. 

Demand transparency on special education budgets, lawsuit expenses, and staff making below a living wage. I want to see a poster on the DPS window declaring "We are Living Wage Employees!"

Lili: DPS has not consistently increased classified staff pay for years. Showing respect by maintaining the raises promised and consistency in honoring prior work experience is essential. 

Durham parents, your involvement can genuinely make a difference too!

Note: As of last night Jan. 25th, the Board has confirmed that they will NOT be requesting any paybacks related to the classified employee study for the months of July 2023 - January 2024. They are using emergency funds to cover the cost of the "overpayment" and to ensure that staff receive the same checks this month (January) as they were expecting previously. They do NOT however have a plan moving beyond January at this time and expressed this was an ongoing work in progress. They have also not made any guarantees that the valuable experience of our staff members will be continued to be honored and properly reflected in their pay scales. 

Photo of the crowd from the rally at DPS meeting, Jan 25th by Ian Thomas. Others photo are courtesy of Lili Wang and Victoria Facelli.

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