DPS parents concerned about 'responsibility zones,' budget deficit

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Friday, January 24, 2025
Durham parents concerned about family 'responsibility zones'
At Hope Valley, almost 180 kids are affected, many coming from non-English speaking homes.

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Hope Valley Elementary is one of 21 elementary schools where families living within a mile and a half of the school will not receive bus service from the district.

At Hope Valley, almost 180 kids are affected, many coming from non-English speaking homes.

Ana Amador who is a native Spanish speaker told ABC, "There is no help." And that she is "thankful the principal arranged for their children to have an extra week and a half with the buses."

Ultimately their children will have to cross over University Drive Even as Chapel Hill Road turns into Dixon where ABC11 saw cars driving 37 mph in a 25 mph zone.

Edith Meza said she is worried about the construction and the fast cars that don't respect the neighborhood. She went on to express her concern about the young ages of the children walking to school with those challenges.

With no crossing guards in place and inconsistent sidewalk, Hope Valley Parent Jocelyn Dawson said the district made a rushed decision.

RELATED: DPS approves plan to not bus elementary students living within 1.5 miles of schools: 'Frustrating'

"The two largest issues for our families are the traffic safety issue and child care. There were no arrangements made to expand slots and before and after care so these families are scrambling," said Dawson.

Dawson said while there is no top-down approach to organizing 'walking groups', or 'carpool groups,' parents held a coat and rain gear drive to help families in need.

Marlia Mema said like most parents she works full time, and the best solution is buses for the younger children, and said families need help.

The Durham Public School district also faces a $7 million shortfall, which could've been almost $35 million if not for drastic measures. The superintendent will address the budget on Friday at 3 p.m. and is expected to discuss:

  • 315 positions not accounted for in budgeting for 2024-25 school year expenditures, (247 of which are vacant), representing $18.6 million in unbudgeted funds. Human Resources and Finance teams are implementing new methods for controlling the creation of positions.
  • Charter school payments for 2024-25 were under-budgeted by $9.7 million. The new finance team is correcting processes for calculating how much we must pay to charter schools, as we are the pass-through of local funding on a per-pupil basis.
  • A $3 million Child Nutrition shortfall due to a new food sourcing/preparation process. The budget team recommends reserving $3 million to cover these costs and will make recommendations for making the process more efficient in the future.
  • An incorrect estimation of the number of classroom teachers who would require master's pay ($1.3 million). Human Resources will take measures to capture more accurate data.
  • As with many school districts, rising costs of utilities and waste management were not adequately anticipated ($1 million). The budget team is reviewing energy costs and trends.
  • Additional areas, such as arts supplements (for band directors, assistant directors, and some art teachers), bus driver attendance bonuses, insurance costs, and mileage reimbursements for teachers of homebound students, were not included in the budget ($875,000).

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