Durham schools superintendent Mubenga resigns after accounting error sparks chaos

Durham Public Schools Superintendent Pascal Mubenga has resigned, less than one month after accounting errors and withdrawn raises threw the district into chaos.

Board Chair Bettina Umstead announced the resignation around 9 p.m. Wednesday after a three-hour meeting behind closed doors.

Umstead called it a “sad announcement,” but said Mubenga has known about the salary issues since November. The issues stem from what the district has described as accounting errors made in October when giving raises to classified staff.

Also Wednesday, the district released the findings of an investigation that had been launched to learn the cause of the salary issues. The report reveals they’re attributed to faulty calculations and a “failure of communication” from top leaders in the district’s administration.

The investigation, conducted by Tharrington Smith law firm, includes the following:

• Finance Director Paul LeSieur knew the “true cost” of the raises in February 2023 and made the decision to change the way steps of experience are awarded without telling the administration or school board.

• Mubenga learned about the “multi-million dollar budget shortfall” in November.

• Mubenga told two board members in December and informed the “full board” in mid-January, right before 1,300 classified staff members were emailed about pay cuts.

Mubenga was hired in late 2017 to lead the district, which serves more than 30,000 students.

A resignation letter signed Wednesday states he will be awarded $297,759 in severance pay by Friday. It also stipulates that no board members should “make any disparaging statements or comments” about Mubenga or his performance.

The interim superintendent will be Nicholas King, previously a deputy to Mubenga.

Report: Bad calculations, lack of communication blamed for Durham school salary issues

To keep the district afloat after uncovering the purported mistakes, the administration emailed 1,300 school staff in mid-January, cutting the promised raises by eliminating many of their years of experience. That includes cafeteria workers, bus mechanics, interpreters, custodians, and instructional assistants for exceptional children.

Since then, there have been protests and strikes that resulted in 12 schools closing on Jan. 30 followed by seven different schools closed on Monday as staff called in sick.

Mubenga’s contract with Durham Public Schools has been extended four times, to 2023, 2025, 2026 and most recently in November through June 30, 2027. His salary is $297,759.

He has spent more than two decades working in public education in North Carolina, previously serving as superintendent in Franklin County Schools.

“Since his arrival and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, DPS saw enrollment growth for the first time in four years in 2019 and a reduction by half of the number of schools labeled ‘low performing’ by the state,” a 2022 news release stated.

He oversaw the district during the COVID-19 pandemic and led the adoption last year of an ambitious redistricting plan designed to make the district more equitable when it takes effect next school year.

LeSieur also resigned at the end of January after a brief suspension.

This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.