Durham board approves 2026–27 salary scales after contentious debate; 4–3 vote

The Durham Public Schools Board of Education voted 4'to'3 to approve the district's 2026–27 salary schedules, concluding a lengthy presentation on state and local funding, pay scales and implementation details.

During the presentation, district finance staff described the state budget'driven framework that produced an average teacher base raise of about 8 percent while boosting early steps more (the presenter gave a range as high as roughly 17 percent for beginning teachers). Mr. Teter, who led the presentation, said the district aimed to operationalize pay changes so employees would see increases on July pay dates rather than wait for retroactive checks. "We felt it was safe to reserve some time to finalize pay tables so that we can get increases to our employees as soon as possible," he said. The presentation also flagged a newly available low-wealth supplement that will include Durham; the district said the dollar amount from the state is pending and will be folded into later implementation plans.

Board members debated whether to approve the full schedules immediately or send them to the finance committee for additional review. Advocates for immediate approval argued the district must avoid further delay for payroll operations; others urged more time to review compression effects, living-wage alignment and community input. Dr. Lewis, speaking for administration, said staff had built tools and materials to help transparency and implementation. "Our employees deserve to at once be paid on time," he said.

The adopted package includes the district's structured scales (steps tied to grade increases), a commitment to move legacy differentials by the same percentage as a given grade, and a correction in the before/after-care scale (the presentation'document contained a typographical error that staff corrected to $18.22/hour). The board also directed the finance committee to continue analysis and explore possible additional adjustments; administration said any further increases would require identifying additional funds and could be applied retroactively if approved later.

Implementation notes from staff: July 24 pay dates will cover certain bi-monthly employees (bus drivers and substitutes), July 31 will cover other July pay; many bonuses and supplemental items are expected to be paid in September or October to meet state timelines and reporting requirements. The district also said it would publish an interactive calculator and user instructions so employees can locate their grade/step and see projected impacts.