CAN, Committee line up on opposite sides in DPS budget debate -- but BOCC stands united

Just under two dozen speakers signed up to talk about the Durham Public Schools budget at tonight's County Commission public hearing -- representing a little less than the 90% of all speakers county manager Mike Ruffin projected.

Aside from four speakers unanimously in favor of continued support for the Encore! program targeting at-risk middle schools with extended hour programming (a favorite of BOCC vice chair Reckhow), the speakers divided -- ten in favor of supporting the school board's budget request, seven with concerns mostly centered around central administration costs and staffing.

But one group in attendance was unanimous in their position. That'd be the Board of County Commissioners, a sometimes-divided board that stood solid in their opposition to the requested $2+ million increase requested by DPS as opposed to the $2.9m (about 2.8%) decrease proposed by Ruffin's administration.

"We were asked to sharpen our pencils. All of us," said BOCC chair Michael Page. "Our staff are making some serious sacrifices in their offices to really make it day to day," and he hadn't heard complaints from any county employees, Page said.

"Have we seriously given up all that we possibly can over the next twelve months, this fiscal year, to really make a difference in the community?" he continued, expressing concern he'd heard that evening of $100,000 in possible central office savings on gasoline reimbursement that could support at-risk programs like Encore, and drawing a comparison between non-profits like Urban Ministries that are taking deep 6%+ cuts.

Vice chair Ellen Reckhow noted her disappointment with what she called "insufficient" answers to questions she raised a few weeks ago. Noting that some colleagues on the BOCC had suggested she'd be likely to support any requests from the schools, she pointedly noted, "Until I get some answers to some of the questions I raised, I am not going to be pushing [for higher funding], because without facts, I can't argue."

Commissioners Becky Heron, Brenda Howerton, and Joe Bowser joined the BOCC members in their concerns, with Howerton in particular taking issue with the perception that the County, by not acquiescing to the district's request, would be cutting teachers.

"We are fiscally responsible around the budget, but we don't tell them who they terminate," Howerton said. "That's not our call.  And its been portrayed as if we have some say in that. We don't have any say in that one."

The BOCC, school board and DPS leadership will resume their meetings at 9am tomorrow to work on a compromise, or at least an understanding.

....

Among the parents, there was a striking differentiation between the numerous Durham CAN members listing their congregations and standing up in support of the school board's spending increase request, and the largely Durham Committee-affiliated (or Joe Bowser ally) speakers opposing an increase and calling for a closer look at administrative costs.

Mike Broadway of CAN said he was "troubled" by the idea of school layoffs. "Because of Durham's attractiveness to families who have special needs, the cost of education here is especially high," Broadway asserted.

He called for using the 0.33% overage in the fund balance projected for next year to help balance the school's needs.

Mary McClintock-Fulkerson, also of CAN, noted that funding even in the current year isn't sufficient. "Many teachers have to dig into their own pocket for supplies to enhance classroom instruction. This isn't fair," she said -- a point raised later by one-time school board candidate and longtime schools booster Nancy Cox, who asked why PTAs were paying for calculators and playground equipment if the schools had all the funds they needed.

Teachers were generally -- though not universally -- supportive of the school's budget request.

Durham Association of Educators head Christy Moore spoke out against budget cuts and position loss. "We cannot afford to lose any more jobs. Already in Durham County we have lost 400 [teaching] jobs, and there are more to come," Moore said.

Moore also spoke up about the high number of exceptional children with special needs in Durham. (We at BCR haven't looked at it recently -- though when we looked at intrayear cuts back in January, a look at the DPI stats then suggested Durham had a below-average percentage of EC students for large counties, and almost 2% fewer than Wake... though as DPS board member Steve Martin pointed out here recently, there are different severities of EC students, a point not captured in top-line data.)

Glenn Elementary teacher Mary Wakeford also cautioned the school board not to assert that small changes in enrollment necessarily account to individual teacher position savings across the board with DPS.

"Neither student growth numbers nor declining numbers translate directly into the need for more or fewer teachers, because those 200 or 300 students who may or may not come in any given year aren't concentrated in any one school," Wakeford said, noting that it was "oversimplifying" to directly link student enrollment to teacher headcount.

Durham Committee chief Lavonia Allison and her sympathizers made up a significant amount of the opposition speakers -- though by no means were they the only ones.

While the "opposition" was a loyal opposition in that nearly all called for supporting the needs of classroom instruction, many criticized the district for central administration spending and whether waste could be cut.

Allison herself shook a copy of the DPS budget book and called out line items where she felt insufficent overhead and administrative cuts had been made, calling a focus on classroom cuts a "fear tactic."

"Teachers, you all need to be up here to tell them to change what's going on down in the central office," Allison said. "You don't have any reason for getting up here, begging them not to get rid of people in the classrooms."

She also called for more work between the BOCC and DPS to understand whether taxpayers were getting the expected return on their educational dollars.

"We are at the bottom. At the bottom [in school ratings].  They've got some programs, but how many thimes have they come to the Durham County board sand said, these are the evaluative results of all these special programs?" Allison said. "When you start out, you've got to have measurable goals."

Donald Hughes called out the six-figure pay of twenty or so top administrators in DPS, calling it part of "irresponsible spending."

Allen Lang raised a concern over top administrators in DPS purportedly receiving as much as $800 a month each in travel expense reimbursements as a grant, funds they don't need to account for in a line-item fashion. "It seems to me that if the school board were to rein in those costs, it would make life easier for all of us."

One retired teacher, Carolyn Harris, bucked the trend for educators tonight, calling out administrative positions, notably assistant principals, for cuts.

"You better look at your administrative staff. Do you need all those top heavy people breathing down on us?" Harris asked. "Because we are in tht classroom working, I assure you of that."

Ultimately, though, there were relatively few speakers who identified themselves as parents last night.

Natalie Beyer -- a featured DPS parent on the district's web site, and PTA president -- was one, but agreed the turnout was slimmer than she expected. "I was shocked to be able to find a parking place," she said, while warning that parents may not realize what's hit them until school starts with cuts.

"You will have the parents of 30,000 kids clamoring to get in and say, why are you not supporting our children?" Beyer cautioned.

It was a message that Reckhow, in a move that summarizes some of DPS' desparation for funds as well as the BOCC's frustration, seemed later to redirect to Raleigh.

"We can't expect Durham County to backfill for all the state cuts," Reckhow said later during her comments after the public hearing. "And that's where I'm asking [audience members and DPS] to also communicate with our state officials" over the cuts.

Comments

[bennc]

Can we kick Bev out yet? We thought Easely was the invisible governor. Where is her even tacit concern that teachers are being fired? We'll live with these cuts for a long time cause once cut it is twice as hard to get positions back. Teachers in public schools should be the #1 priority.

[Kevin Davis]

@Ben: I'm not sure the Governor has much of a choice.

The state's projecting a $4.5 billion shortfall next year. The general fund (about half the state budget) was $21.2 billion last year.

$11.4b of that went to education -- most to K-12. Social services got $4.9b. Justice and public safety: $2.1b.

Debt service ($643m) can't be cut, one surmises.

That leaves Natural and Economic Resources ($573m) and "reserves and transfers" ($1.1b) and "general government" costs ($460m).

I agree education should be a top priority -- and am glad the House is looking at some tax increases to help with balancing the budget. But you're not going to make up $4.5 billion with tax increases on a $21 billion base.

So how can they balance the budget without cutting education as well? (Not a criticism -- a legitimate question... it's hard to see how to make the numbers work without doing so.)

[Tar Heelz]

Seems to me a temporary 10-25% salary cut across the board (structured progressively throughout the state payroll) combined with options for folks to take furlow, retirement, or involuntary separation status would go a long way toward preserving education, keeping folks out of the ESC, and balancing the budget.

[Susie]

Does anyone know if Wake County, Chapel Hill City Schools, or Orange County Schools are facing similar cuts? They should be, right? If so, are they planning to lay off teachers and increase class size? How are they dealing with Bev's budget ax?

On a somewhat related note. I have two kids in DPS, and I was not at the meeting. I, like many other DPS parents, can't simply "turn out" at meetings. However, I will turn out at the ballot box. I can assure you that MY VOTE will not be kind to any school board member or County Commission member who I feel is responsible for laying off teachers, increasing class size, or cutting school programs. I don't care what the reason is. I'm so tired of excuses for DPS. Teachers need to demand success in the classroom from ALL students, and we need to demand success, NOT EXCUSES, from our elected officials.