SeeGov: Highlights of Durham Public Schools Board of Education (NC) from September 10, 2026

Religious Release Policy, Attendance Woes, and Pay Debates

The Durham Public Schools Board of Education hears sharp community concerns about release-time religious instruction, digs into chronic absenteeism and what it means for every class period, and reviews rising school performance grades. The board also weighs options for boosting classified staff pay ahead of an October living-wage discussion with city and county leaders. 31mins

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Original Meeting

Thursday, September 10th, 2026

7375.400313

#DPSCommunity | DPS Board of Education Monthly Work Session | 9/10/26

Full Meeting on YouTube

Video Notes

#DPSCommunity | DPS Board of Education Monthly Work Session | 9/10/26

Wes Platt

at Southpoint Access

Durham, NC

Neighborhood news guy for Southpoint Access in Durham.

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In This Video

A Durham County taxpayer warned about the influence of the LifeWise Academy’s RTRI initiative and urged the board to craft policies that protect non-participating students from harassment while preserving classroom instruction and a harmonious, religiously pluralistic school community.
Eric Thomas, a supporter of public education, warned that release-time religious instruction could harm public schools and urged the board to adopt RTRI policies that prioritize protecting non-participating students and mitigating negative impacts on the school system.
A district parent described chronic, lengthy bus delays affecting a middle school student and urged the board to hold the school system accountable by publicly reporting on-time arrival data for school buses.
Board Member Millicent Rogers requested that the religious-based exemptions from school programs policy be added as a monthly meeting discussion item to address community concerns and clarify how existing anti-bullying and student well-being policies would guide implementation.
Board Members Gabby Rivero and Chair Joy Harrell Goff called for further review of how religious-based exemptions policies functioned in other districts and emphasized crafting a Durham-specific approach that prioritized student protections while maintaining legal compliance without endorsing state actions.
Board Member Gabby Rivero asked how and when changes could be made to the religious-based exemptions policy, and Board Member Millicent Rogers and Chief Finance Officer Teetor clarified that policies could undergo multiple readings and be revised during a meeting before final adoption.
Board Member Nadeen Bir led a brief vote in which the board unanimously approved the consent agenda items after prior discussion.
Executive Director Albert Royster explained how school performance grades combined student achievement and growth measures, converting assessment results into a 100-point score and final letter grade under the state’s 15-point scale.
Executive Director Albert Royster reported that a higher share of schools earned A–C performance grades, detailing recent year-by-year distributions and noting that, for the first time since 2014, no school received an F grade.
Executive Director Albert Royster highlighted schools that improved at least one letter grade, noting specific campuses that moved from C to B or from D to C and crediting their focused strategies, persistence, and hard work.
Executive Director Albert Royster recognized schools that exited low-performing status and then outlined the remaining 16 low-performing schools, framing the designation as a call to action and noting changes in the number of low-performing elementary, middle, high, and K–12 schools compared to the prior year.
Executive Director Albert Royster reported that the board selected Option C of the state’s alternative schools modified accountability system for PLC and Lakeview, and shared that both schools earned “succeeding” designations based on their composite scores across six accountability indicators.
Executive Director Albert Royster explained how EVAAS measured student growth over time, reported that a smaller share of Durham schools met or exceeded growth in 2025–26 compared to a prior year, and noted that the district fell short of its strategic plan benchmark for academic growth.
Executive Director Albert Royster listed the elementary schools that met or exceeded EVAAS growth targets, emphasizing that these results reflected educators’ impact in moving students forward academically.
Executive Director Albert Royster highlighted the middle and high schools that met or exceeded EVAAS growth targets, recognizing campuses across both levels for their year-to-year academic progress.
Executive Director Albert Royster celebrated several high schools that met or exceeded strategic benchmarks for combined ACT/WorkKeys performance and cohort graduation rates, highlighting campuses that reached a 69.3 composite score and those achieving between 87.6% and 100% graduation.
Superintendent Dr. Anthony Lewis celebrated that the district had no F-rated schools for the first time, reported across-the-board gains in assessments and subgroups, and framed the systemwide growth as a milestone that warranted recognition but not complacency.
Director Tomeka Ward-Satterfield reported that average daily attendance was 89% and chronic absenteeism was 35.4%, defined as missing 10% of school days, and outlined a plan to cut that rate to 30% through clearly owned, monitored districtwide supports targeted to priority students and schools.
Director Tomeka Ward-Satterfield explained that reducing chronic absenteeism would require dissecting data by grade span—especially in high schools—and outlined shared attendance responsibilities across principals, teachers, social workers, principal supervisors, instructional staff, and transportation and auxiliary services to ensure students were engaged, supported, and present at school.
Vice Chair Xavier Cason stressed that chronic absenteeism included excused and unexcused absences, urged families to monitor high school students’ class-by-class attendance in tools like Infinite Campus, and emphasized setting clear expectations at home that students attend every class period.
Board Member Wendell Tabb reflected on how messages about which classes matter might influence student attendance and urged a shared emphasis that every class is important and worth attending.
Chair Harrell Goff emphasized how chronic absenteeism reduced instructional time in both core and arts classes and asked about the composition of school attendance teams, and Director Ward-Satterfield explained that each school’s team included administrators, social workers, counselors, and other staff tailored to campus needs.
Assistant Superintendent T. Chanel Sidbury thanked educators, families, community members, and the board for their support while acknowledging ongoing work ahead, Superintendent Lewis highlighted that Durham’s chronic absenteeism rates exceeded state and national averages based on recent data, and Chair Harrell Goff transitioned the meeting to announce upcoming policy committee schedules and an upcoming presentation on the classified pay calculator tool.
Chief Finance Officer Teetor reaffirmed classified pay as a top board and community priority ahead of an October living-wage meeting and illustrated that a sample 5% across-the-board increase would cost more than $5 million while noting there were multiple ways to structure future investments.
Chief Finance Officer Teetor previewed further discussion of classified pay, explaining that the board would receive a pay-modeling tool to explore options, that final enrollment figures would guide future resource decisions, and that administration was closely monitoring finances to move on classified pay as soon as feasible.
Board Member Nadeen Bir proposed exploring a flat $1 hourly increase for all classified staff to reach the living-wage target without causing pay compression, and Chief Finance Officer Teetor agreed to adjust the board’s pay-modeling tool so members could analyze the cost of that option.

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