Durham Public Schools faces a transportation crisis with nearly 5,000 additional student riders, a severe bus driver shortage, and over 1,200 unrouted students as of September 12.
Nearly 5,000 additional student riders, a severe bus driver shortage, and over 1,200 unrouted students have created a transportation crisis; parents demanded higher driver wages, working bus-tracking software, and weekly updates.
The board postponed voting on classified staff salary schedules and scheduled an emergency September 19 meeting after staff including physical therapist Christy Clen testified about 8-month delays and inadequate compensation increases.
The board approved $200-monthly supplements for 473 special education and ESL teachers and a 10-percent raise for roughly 250 teachers with relevant master's degrees; meanwhile, 55 teachers missed August paychecks due to license-processing failures.