Keith Stiverson, field representative for the Ohio Association of Public School Employees, told Dayton’s school board last week that there were still unresolved pay issues for some mechanics, bus drivers, bus aides and classroom aides among the seven union locals he represents.
“Our members … have been shorted hours on their checks for some time now,” Stiverson said. “The district did at one time go and cut checks to some of the members and try to make them whole, but that was after the fact. We still have members that are owed money for time worked.”
Abraha said the problems are not rooted in payroll office staff or processes, but in improper submission of hours worked from individual departments and managers. That includes the transportation department, which has had repeated management turnover in recent years, including major changes in July.
“Payroll paid all employees according to the records received from the supervisors and/or approved electronically. The issue is not payroll,” Abraha said. “The issue is payroll not getting correct information timely and correctly. We have been cutting checks almost daily as we receive (updated) approved records.”
On Aug. 31, Dayton’s school board approved a contract with the Shared Resource Center, which provides school treasurer services to several districts in the Dayton area.
The agreement says SRC will do a review “related to HR and transportation payroll and payroll operations, specifically the onboarding and documentation of new employees, timing of payroll, pay schedule review, TimeClock usage, creation of HR assignments, management approval process and contract calculations.”
Abraha said she understands employees’ frustration, but given strict rules on handling taxpayer dollars, she cannot issue corrected checks until supervisors submit approved records showing the proper hours worked.
Stiverson said he can’t comment on who’s to blame, but he urged the school board to “consider all options and resources to make this right.”
“I would at least understand if this was a one-time occurrence, but unfortunately, it’s becoming a pattern, which is extremely concerning,” Stiverson said, pointing to members’ struggles to pay rent or absorb late fees if paychecks are light. “We’ve held up our end of the bargain by providing a service for DPS. Now it’s time for you to hold up your end of the bargain, by paying us timely and correctly for that service.”
Abraha said many of the pay errors were tied to how hours were recorded for a few special events where time clocks were not used, including the district’s year-opening convocation and a bus driver training or “route-pick” event.
Abraha said associate superintendent Shelia Burton provided payroll a spreadsheet of hours to pay from, but Abraha said “apparently it was wrong,” leading to dozens of complaints.
“Payroll doesn’t have the authority,” Abraha said. “Payroll only pays out of an approved record, whether it’s the time clock or an exception report. … We can’t pay if we don’t have a record.”
About the Author
