On paper, the story seems simple: enrollment at Durham Public Schools is declining.

Since the beginning of this school year, the district has lost more than 1,000 students, while charter school enrollment has increased by about 650 students. ​

This year alone, declining enrollment meant the county allocated $4.7 million to charter schools that was initially budgeted for DPS. 

But the situation is far more complex than the budget. The numbers reflect deeper tension within DPS over trust, perception and competition.

​“I hate to use the word threat, but I think it fits in this case,” DPS Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Teetor said. “[Enrollment decline] is one of the greater threats to our local funding and our ability to continue operating in the way that we have.”

​DPS is preparing to open two new charter schools, projected to enroll roughly 1,000 students for the 2026-2027 school year. Teetor estimates another $6.6 million could shift away from DPS next year.

In North Carolina, charter schools operate as publicly funded but independently managed schools. Unlike traditional public schools, charter schools are typically governed by nonprofit boards and allow families to apply for admission, often using a lottery system. Both charter and traditional public schools receive state and local funding. 

 

When Students Leave, Money Follows

Students are leaving DPS at rapid rates, leaving administrators with a declining budget and no straightforward solution.

North Carolina funds public schools on a per-pupil basis. For every student enrolled in DPS who remains in class for a certain number of days, the district receives money from the county.

​In 2025, Durham County approved a $7,130 per pupil funding. 

North Carolina law requires school districts to allocate funding to public and charter schools based on student enrollment. As charter school enrollment rises, DPS funds that were once used to support teacher salaries, curriculum materials and other student resources, now are being reallocated to charter schools. 

DPS leaders believe the loss of funds could have serious implications for the future of jobs in DPS.

“If we don’t have enough students to support a position, we can’t hire for that position,” DPS Director of Marketing Maria Bajgain said. “If we already have those positions in place, but we don’t have enough enrollment to support those positions, those positions would be eliminated. So it has quite a ripple effect.”​

This year, the ripple effect caused a hiring freeze at DPS and changes in the central office. According to Teetor, the budget cuts only affected the central office and not individual schools.

The central office, which includes the superintendent, chief of staff, and other individuals at the administrative level, reduced its budget to make up for the missing dollars.

The goal, Teetor said, is to “insulate our schools” from the financial impacts of declining enrollment. 

​“Less children, less teachers,” Teetor said. “Less children, less instructional assistance. Less school counselors, potentially less social workers, right? It’s got to follow the students.”

 

The 10-Day Rule

When a student leaves DPS for a charter school, county funding adjusts as needed each month month. But state funding operates on a different timeline, based on enrollment counts taken early in the year.

“The local is a little more volatile,” Teetor said. “If a student was not with us in August, but they return in September, we stopped paying our local money in September. But that state money’s not going to come back until next year.”

State funding is determined by enrollment during the first 10 days of a semester. If a student begins the year at a charter school and later in the year transfers to public school, the funds allocated to that student remain with the charter school for the entire year.

​​

A Crisis of Confidence

The numbers of students leaving for charter schools highlight the immediate financial impact without providing an explicit reason why. That’s what school board leaders are trying to understand.

“The way I see it is, number one, our parents have lost faith in our school system,” Kristy Moore, a school board candidate and public school parent, said. “Based on just a lack of transparency.”

​In early 2026, three DPS administrators were indicted on felony charges related to a student safety incident at Eno Valley Elementary School. In 2024, a major pay dispute broke out between DPS and staff when promised raises were revoked after DPS cited a payroll policy error.

​For some parents, these high-profile safety issues and internal disputes have raised questions about whether DPS schools are the right fit for their children.

​“They don’t feel that their kids will be safe in public schools,” Moore said. “There are lockdowns a lot of times in our schools.”

In January, CBS17 reported multiple lockdowns at Riverside High School after anonymous tips falsely reported guns on campus.

​Despite its flaws, Moore still sees the good in the DPS system – a system she continues to choose to send both of her daughters to.

​“I think the biggest asset that we have is our educators, because they are doing the hard job and working very hard with the little bit that they do get,” she said.

​Still, Moore believes the district has to be more proactive in shaping its public image.

​“We just haven’t been strategic,” she said. “We’ve been reactive instead of proactive, and that’s been a problem in school systems forever. We just wait for things to happen to us instead of being open and up front and just saying, ‘Hey, we are the best choice and here’s why we have these options.’”

 

The Importance of Marketing  

Bajgain said during the current enrollment period, DPS has been working to share its expanded magnet programs. The system also launched its Spark Initiative, a certification program for community members to learn the ins and outs of the district, including its educational programs.

​When it comes to direct communication with families, DPS has also implemented a two-way communication platform called Rooms. The platform was created to streamline communication with families so they can communicate with teachers and staff directly. 

​Still, Moore said that she thinks there is more to be done from a marketing perspective. Moore said she would like to see DPS partner with a marketing company and work with businesses to sponsor mailers and support the community.

​“There is a way to do it,” she said, referencing the continued improvement of DPS’s marketing campaign. “We just have to think outside the box and be willing.”

​

The Root of the Challenge

For Durham Public Schools, the challenge is clear: how to win back students while losing millions in funding. Meeting this challenge will require rebuilding trust and actively shaping the narrative of what DPS offers.

At the same time, DPS leaders are asking tough questions about how the district can improve, whether that means better highlighting unique programs already in place or learning from strategies used by other districts to attract and retain students.

Money alone does not decide where families enroll their students: trust, safety, perception, and experience all play a role, and these factors will likely determine how the next chapter of DPS is written.