Draft county budget won’t cover the Durham schools’ proposed raises. What happens now?

Mary Helen Moore
4 min read
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The county manager is recommending more money for Durham Public Schools in her proposed budget, butit’s unclear whether it will be enough to stave off resignations and strikes ahead of next school year.

“Our house is on fire,” Board of Education member Jovonia Lewis said in a meeting between the county and school board Tuesday. “You’re talking about people walking out.”

The proposed increase is less than half of what the school board and Durham Association of Educators requested, but County Manager Kimberly Sowell said it keeps Durham in the top five in North Carolina for per-pupil spending.

“I’m aware that remaining funding gaps exist within the district,” she said while presenting her $955 million proposed budget to the commissioners Monday night.

  • Sowell proposed raising property taxes by 3.25 cents, to 78.57 cents per $100 of assessed property value.

  • The county raised the tax rate last year by a similar amount: 3 cents.

  • On a $400,000 house, the median in sales this year: That adds $130 a year to the annual tax bill, which would total $3,139 in the county and $5,370 inside the city limits. Insert your property value to calculate the totals for your house online.

One of the biggest line items in the proposed budget will increase pay at least 3% for the county’s 2,400 employees.

Durham County Manager Kimberly Sowell speaks about her career on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, in Durham, N.C.
Durham County Manager Kimberly Sowell speaks about her career on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, in Durham, N.C.

Sowell said developing this year’s budget, a 7% increase in spending over last year, was especially difficult:

  • There are three reasons why, she said: Inflation has driven up costs; people want more services; and revenue growth has slowed to levels not seen since the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of which was underestimated.

  • Cuts: That led Sowell to recommend a pause on expansion for every department, plus a hiring freeze for all positions that are “not critical.”

  • Slowed consumer spending: Much of the handwringing over the budget is slowed sales tax growth. Sales taxes account for about a quarter of general fund revenues. After a $3.9 million drop in 2020, sales tax revenues increased an average of $14.8 million annually for each of the past three years. But this year, they are projected to increase just $3.3 million.

  • However: Property taxes, which account for about 70% of the general fund, continue to outperform growth projections.

Durham Public Schools Board of Education Board Chair Bettina Umstead, left, adjourns a school board meeting after announcing the resignation of Superintendent Pascal Mubenga and releasing the main findings of an investigation that was launched to learn the cause of salary issues Thursday, Feb. 7, 2023 in Durham. Mubenga learned of the problem on Nov. 8 but the board wasn’t informed until Jan. 11.

What schools would get

The school board had requested a $27.7 million increase, more than double what Sowell has proposed.

About a third of that was meant to cover substantial raises for classified staff, among the district’s lowest-paid workers, who led protests after budgeting mistakes caused their salaries to jump up, then drop below what they were promised last year. The errors led the finance director and superintendent to resign earlier this year.

“It really is the source of greatest frustration and breach of promise to staff that we have seen in a long time,” Interim Superintendent Catty Moore said Tuesday.

The Durham Association of Educators supported the original ask, and has been organizing letter-writing campaigns to urge commissioners spend more.

“We are ready to fight for this alongside you,” said Symone Kiddoo, president of the DAE, told the school board last month.

Catty Moore, Interim Superintendent of Durham Schools, fields questions following her introduction at a press briefing on Wednesday, February 14, 2024 in Durham, N.C.
Catty Moore, Interim Superintendent of Durham Schools, fields questions following her introduction at a press briefing on Wednesday, February 14, 2024 in Durham, N.C.

Here’s what the $13 million increase offered by the county could cover:

  • About $6.6 million is required for state-legislated items, like pre-programmed raises, retirement costs and other mandatory spending.

  • Another 20% goes directly to charter schools, subtracting $2.6 million.

  • That leaves an increase of $3.8 million for the school board to spend. That is insufficient to cover the raises proposed for classified staff ($8.9 million) or teachers ($4.5 million).

  • Could the county do more? Each cent property taxes are raised adds about $5.3 million to the budget.

“I hope you will continue to consider,” Board of Education member Natalie Beyer said Tuesday. “Durham ranks eighth in ability to pay but we rank 42nd in relative funding effort. That to us says y’all are doing a lot, but we can stretch more.”

“I have issues with that data, because it doesn’t reflect the full support the county provides,” Commissioner Wendy Jacobs said.

What’s next?

  • Tuesday, May 28: Public hearing on the county budget at 7 p.m.

  • Monday, June 10: Scheduled vote.

  • Do you live in the city limits? The city manager will unveil her budget proposal at 7 p.m. Monday, May 20.

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