Durham educators brought their pay increase demands to county leaders Thursday, asking Durham County to raise Durham Public Schools' minimum wage from $17.15 to $19.22 per hour. That 12% jump is the Durham Association of Educators' ask on top of whatever the county allocates in its next budget.
The county's recommended budget already adds $10.9 million in new school funding. Not enough, educators say.
State lawmakers recently reached a deal on an 8% average pay raise for teachers next school year, but the raise is weighted toward early-career teachers. More experienced teachers would see less. And the state deal does nothing for classified staff, a group that includes cafeteria workers, custodians, and teaching assistants.
Angelique Parkstone, cafeteria manager at Hillside High School, put the numbers plainly. "Our teachers work hard. 8% is not enough," she said. "They need a lot more. And then the rest of the classified staff, they need more than 3%. That's nothing. I figured it out of my own personal pay, and that's only $19 more on a paycheck."
The county's recommended budget proposes 3% raises for classified staff. Parkstone's calculation makes the stakes concrete: a 3% raise on a near-minimum wage leaves workers still well below what the association is asking the county to fund.
Durham County's budget pressure is real. DPS earlier requested $252 million in county funding, an amount that would require a property tax increase to cover. The county has not committed to that level.
The next Durham County budget work session is scheduled for Tuesday at 9 a.m.