Durham County commissioners and the Durham Public Schools board faced off over money for an hour and 45 minutes this morning. They came to an agreement to keep talking.

A second meeting was tentatively set for June 9, County Manager Mike Ruffin said afterwards.

Ruffin is proposing a $2.9 million cut in the schools' appropriation for 2009-'10, in the face of dwindling revenues and economic uncertainties. The school board is asking for $2.1 million more, in the face of a massive cut expected in the state's appropriation.

School board members are suggesting a property-tax increase for schools, but Ruffin and the commissioners are adamantly against raising taxes during the recession.

"It would be cruel for us to do that," said commissioner Joe Bowser.

State budget proposals currently under consideration would cut Durham schools' money from $5.8 million to $18.2 million.

UPDATE: Scroll to the bottom of this post to see a response from Durham Public Schools security director Tina Ingram.

Last week a students at Southern High School was charged with carrying a loaded gun to school. In tomorrow's Durham News we're following up with a story that shows crime and violence in Durham Public Schools rose 20 percent last year from the previous year.

There are 17 acts that school systems must report to the state Department of Public Instruction. Those reports are available to the public on the department's web site. The incidents that must be reported included possesson of drugs, alcohol and/or weapons, various kinds of assault and arson, among other incidents.

In 2007-08, DPS reported 388 total acts. That was up 20 percent from 322 acts in 2006-07, according to the data. Statewide, reported incidents of crime and violence rose just 1 percent.

Weapons possession, which started us on the story and can include anything from box cutters to handguns, accounted for 147 incidents last school year in the Durham Public Schools. That was up 12 percent from the previous year's 131 incidents.

Of course higher numbers can mean a bigger problem or just a better job of discovering problems. We've called DPS security director Tina Ingram this morning to ask her what she makes of the statistics. [SEE UPDATE BELOW]. We'll also have more on this story in tomorrow's Durham News. In the meantime, what questions do you have about our local schools' safety? Tell us now and we'll share your questions with Ingram.         

UPDATE: Good information from security director Tina Ingram just now on the phone. She agrees the numbers alone don't tell whether Durham has a growing problem or is just detecting more incidents. But she did say last year's spike reflects the first year metal detectors were added to the middle schools. Before that, the detectors were at high schools only.

"We did expect to have an increase because we were looking for the contraband more aggressively and more frequently," she said.

I asked for a breakdown showing a) how many of DPS incidents last year were at the middle school level and b) what types of weapons were involved in the incidents. She said those are also available on the state web site, which I'll try to look later today.

Thursday night, Durham Public Schools brass said they may have to cut 226 teaching jobs to meet the 2009-'10 budget.

Monday night, they're going to the county commissioners for $2.9 million for two new schools.

Not schizophrenic, just ironic. The working money comes from mainly from state and county appropriations. The money for school constructon comes from a bond issue voters approved in 2003. By law, the bond money can't be used for anything but what the voters voted for.

DPS wants the money for 47 acres on Scott King Road, just north of the Chatham County line, where it proposes to build an elementary school and a middle school. This is the same request the commissioners sent back to the drawing board in March, after voicing unease with potential traffic, environmental effects and the purchase price.

According to the school system, the land's value is $3.1 million. Its assessed value is about $860,000. Part of it is within a designated "natural heritage area" on the 1999 Durham County Inventory of Important Natural Areas, Plants and Wildlife.

The Durham Public Schools may eliminate 226 teaching positions to cope with a $17.8M loss in state and county funding next school year.

The anticipated revenue shortfall equals about 5.4 percent of the school system’s operating budget, staff writer Stan Chambers reports.

Additional cuts on the table include 81 teaching asisstants and 40 support personnel.

Hurd will present the proposed budget at tonight's monthly school board meeting at DPS' administrative building, 511 Cleveland St., at 6:30 p.m. School board members will discuss any possible budget revisions May 5 and are expected to approve the budget May 14. The Durham County Board of Cmmissioners will then have the final say on next year's budget.

The Durham Public Schools are offering a chance today for parents and others to see how new technology is put to work in the classroom.

The opportunity occurs from from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. as part of a Technology Showcase at the Staff Development Center, located at 2107 Hillandale Road, Durham.

Teachers will talk about how they are using technology at each grade level, from kindergarten to high school. Displays and presentations will show how blogs, podcasting, whiteboards and SmartPhones can be used as part of education projects.

In a special meeting held this afternoon, the Durham Public Schools Board of Education approved Friday, March 27, as a makeup day for traditional schools for the instructional day lost to inclement weather on March 2.
 
The makeup day for year-round schools will be Tuesday, March 31.

Durham Public Schools is asking Durham County for $2.9 million to buy land for two future schools at the county's southern edge.

The money would come from the bond issue voters approved in 2003 and from two-thirds bonds previously designated for the schools' use.

This From Michael Yarbrough, spokesman from the Durham Public Schools —

The number of Durham Public Schools students dropping out of school took a nosedive during the 2007-08 academic year, the system’s largest decrease in seven years.  DPS now has one of the top five three-year changes in dropout counts among 115 school systems across the state of North Carolina. (Italics DPS.)

The Durham County commissioners cut more than $3 million from the Durham Public Schools' appropriation Monday night, after County Manager Mike Ruffin reached agreement with School Superintendent Carl Harris.

"We didn't have it to give," Ruffin said, but the cut will not affect "what's going on in the classroom."

The Durham Public Schools administration has decided to give the kids another day off, and to cancel all school activities Wednesday, due to the weather.