Durham Public Schools employees are getting a raise, and they won’t have to wait another pay cycle to see the money.
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The Durham Public Schools Board of Education voted 4-3 to approve the 2026-27 classified salary schedules, boosting the district’s minimum wage to $18.22 an hour, a 6.2% increase from $17.15. The raises are retroactive to July 1 and will be reflected in employees’ July paychecks this week.
For classified staff, like bus drivers, teaching assistants and administrative workers, the $18.22 hourly minimum provides a monthly salary of $3,158.13 for full-time employees.
The district also implemented a progressive pay model designed to give the largest percentage increase to newer employees while adjusting the scale for veterans to prevent wage compression, according to Jeremy Teetor, the chief finance officer for the school district.
The salary increases come after the North Carolina state budget was approved on July 2 and signed into law by Gov. Josh Stein five days later. The new $34 billion state budget was passed after nearly three years without a new spending plan and brings 3% state-funded raises for both certified and classified state staff.
Classified workers last got a 4% state-funded pay raise in 2023.
“We’ve had to wait 1,014 days for a budget from the state,” Superintendent Anthony Lewis said. “They deserve at some point to be paid on time. Quite frankly, they’re tired of waiting.”
While the local increases seem like a win for educators and staff who have been pushing the district to raise the minimum wage, the district’s approval is a dollar short of what advocates demanded. Earlier this year, the Durham Association of Educators urged the board to raise classified staff pay to at least $22 per hour, with a long-term commitment to reach $25 per hour.
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In a statement, the DAE criticized the school board leadership for voting on salary schedules that were made public only the day before last week’s board meeting, leaving little time for community input.
They also pointed out that the $18.22 hourly floor falls short of the district’s living wage policy, which requires starting pay to match the current Durham County living wage of $19.22 per hour.
School board members Gabby Rivero, Nadeen Bir and Natalie Bent Kitaif were the three opposing votes and pushed the district to get more community and staff input before the vote.
“The finance team has done a fantastic job of going very quickly to put all of these scales and models together,” Rivero said during Tuesday’s meeting. “But I just want to be a little bit slower in our response just to make sure that we’re not missing anything. Often times when we rush into these big decisions, there can be really big implications later.”
In addition to local adjustments, DPS staff will see state-funded raises and upcoming fall bonuses.
Classified staff will see a 3% state-funded pay increase this month. Also,
Teachers and certified staff will see their new salary schedule increase to $4,800 to $5,900 a month based on experience, an average 8% state raise. Also,
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Principals and administrators earn state-approved step increases.