Concerns about funding for education and fighting crime loomed large at Durham County’s public hearing for the proposed Fiscal Year 2006 budget Monday night. County Manager Mark Ruffin submitted the budget to the County Commissioners May 23.
More than 30 local residents petitioned the commissioners at the meeting for a greater allotment of the county’s $528.2 million budget. The citizens voiced concerns about an array of issues—from supplementing teacher salaries to adding additional animal control agents—when lobbying for funds.
Most speakers focused on increasing Durham Public Schools’ allotment. Officials from the school system initially requested an increase of $15.9 million in funding. When the budget proposal was released, they were only granted a $4.4 million increase.
At the hearing, the discrepancy between the proposed increase and the $15.9 million requested by DPS provoked residents to express their concerns about teachers’ salaries in Durham relative to those in neighboring counties.
Linda Self, president of the Durham Association of Educators, said with current salaries, Durham County is essentially training teachers to go to other counties. She noted a trend of first-year teachers leaving for neighboring school districts.
Githens Middle School student Breanna Edmunds said that she lost six math teachers in the past year due in part to Durham’s uncompetitive teacher salaries.
“When teachers leave it takes away from our education,” she said.
Commissioners Lewis Cheek, Philip Cousin and Becky Heron also expressed support for increasing the funds allotted to DPS to support pay raises for teachers.
“There’s no better way to spend money in my view,” Cheek said after the hearing. “If it involves tax increases, so be it.”
Some residents also lobbied to increase the salaries of noncommercial workers, such as custodians and bus drivers.
Other speakers at the meeting expressed concerns about the city’s crime rate and suggested that more funding be directed towards preventative efforts.
“To be a great city you must first be a safe city,” said Barker French, an official with the Durham Roundtable, an organization that researches local crime.
French and others said the county should step in and supplement state funding for fighting crime.
After considering feedback and discussing the budget proposal, the commissioners plan to approve the budget in a public session June 27.
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