The Durham County school board approved a new pay plan for non-teaching staff, reinstating 11% raises for the employees.

The pay dispute with classified staff, like bus drivers, custodians and others, has shut down schools in recent weeks after strikes by transportation workers and teachers.

“This vote ends a period of uncertainty and anxiety for our classified employees, but it does not end our commitment to providing employees with higher wages,” DPS spokeswoman Sheena Cooper said in an email to parents Friday morning.

Classified employees in Durham all got raises in late 2023, but then the school district pulled back those salary increases at the beginning of this year.

The new pay plan gives the workers an 11% raise over their salary from the 2022-2023 school year. The raise is approved until July and is within the school district’s budget.

The plan gives the school board and interim Superintendent Catty Moore some time to work on the budget and pay plan for the next school year. 

“Durham Public Schools will continue looking for opportunities to increase employee wages as we begin discussions around next year’s budget,” Cooper said. “We are grateful to have a solution in place through the end of the school year that allows us to increase employee wages without devastating the district’s finances.”

The dispute over pay led to disarray in the system that serves more than 30,000 students.