Paychecks for hundreds of DeKalb teachers, staff members delayed

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Union leaders are demanding answers and an audit after hundreds of Dekalb County teachers and staff did not get paid on time Friday, Aug. 30.

The school district said this week all employees have been paid and work continues to fix the issue before the next payday.

President of The Organization of Dekalb Educators, Deborah Jones, said she predicted this would happen months ago.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

“This started back in May when they changed over system,” Jones said.

She said the district changed payroll software, and some administrators and summer school teachers reported paycheck errors.

“Checks were not right. They were taking $1,000 here, $500 here, too much tax there,” said Jones. She said some did not get paid at all.

So, she warned the new Superintendent Dr. Devon Horton even more employees would be at risk when school started back up in August.

“He assured me that everybody would be paid, but my telephone has not stopped ringing,” said Jones.

Channel 2 Action News is waiting to hear Dr. Horton’s response. In a statement, the district said approximately 300 new staff were not included in the payroll Friday.

Press Secretary Donald Porter wrote then, “We’ve already processed payments for approximately 165 of these employees, and our payroll team is actively finalizing payments for the remaining staff, which is expected to be completed later today.”

Saturday, Channel 2 Action News checked back to see if everyone was paid and confirmed new software has caused problems. We are waiting for an update.

The following Tuesday, the district said the number of teachers impacted was higher than initially thought. Actually, 500 employees did not get their paychecks on time. 65% of the issues were data entry errors, and 35% were linked to the new payroll system and software. These issues were reconciled by 9:30 p.m. on Friday. Checks not distributed then were hand-delivered today. At that time, 29 unresolved payroll discrepancies remained

On Wednesday, a spokesperson told Channel 2′s Courtney Francisco that all payments were made earlier in the week and that work continues to ensure that the Sept. 15 payroll is error-free.

Teachers said they already have late fees for not paying bills on time, and they want the district to fix that.

TRENDING STORIES:

• 7 dead, 37 more injured after bus crashes in Mississippi
• West Ga. high school quarterback rushed to the hospital after going down mid-game
• Where is Julie Chrisley? Bureau of Prisons says she’s not in their custody

Georgia Federation of Teachers President Verdaillia Turner called for an audit.

“Some of them have been owed money since June, some of them owed money as far back as May,” said Turner. “All this should have been straightened out before several hundred people weren’t paid.”

Jones wants the district to show its work and explain the issue and what has been done to try to fix it.

“People have rents to pay, they have mortgages to pay, they have car payments to pay, they have children going to school. You can’t afford not to be paid,” Jones said. “On top of all that, it’s a holiday weekend. It’s the end of Summer. People want to do things, but you can’t do anything without money.”

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

IN OTHER NEWS:

Woman injured in Pickens County house explosion passes away after being hospitalized for injuries

©2024 Cox Media Group