HALLOWELL — Many employees in Regional School Unit 2 are still not receiving correct paychecks and the reason for the mistakes are still not known nearly two months after the district rolled out a new software program.
Rick Amero, superintendent in Regional School Unit 2. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal file
Superintendent Rick Amero said that as of Friday, the most recent payday, the issue is “much better” than it was two weeks ago but it is still not fully rectified. Amero said that two weeks ago, about 116 employees out of 400 reported issues with their paycheck. This week, that total was narrowed down to a few substitute teachers among a few other employees that reported trouble with their benefit deductions, he said.
School officials still don’t know what is causing some paychecks to be inaccurate, but Amero said it’s a matter of making sure the system has the correct data for payroll and benefits and pay stubs are submitted on time. The central office staff has also experienced staff turnover, which Amero attributed to as one of the issues at the January board meeting. Business Manager Stephanie Saltzman resigned in April, but has helped the district on a per diem basis to address the issues.
Amero said he and the new administration team, with the new hire replacing Saltzman and the new Human Resources director, “are dedicated” to fixing the problem. The new business manager started this past Monday and the HR coordinator starts June 20.
“We want this right for them (the employees),” Amero said in an interview Friday. “It’s a difficult process. I can’t just jump into the payroll system and fix it — I’ve asked.”
Kennebec-Intra School District 2 Union President Keith Morang did not respond to requests for comment on Friday.
Though employees reported Friday’s payroll has fewer incidents than prior paydays, they still have reported being paid incorrectly, overpaid, underpaid, and receiving incorrect deductions to their benefits and stipends.
The payroll has been an issue in RSU 2 for nearly two years now, pre-dating Amero’s time as superintendent.
The new software, Tyler Technolgy’s Infinite Visions, was launched in April, four months after the intended date to make sure “the existing data is correct in the new system,” but the issue continued immediately after the first payroll cycle. The school district purchased the software at the start of the academic year and paid around $80,000 for it, Amero said.
Amero outlined steps in his May 25 email to administration and told the Kennebec Journal further that he has contacted other school districts that use the software to see if they could send a person over to help, but the other school districts are having their own issues with staff shortages and do not have the time to send someone over.
“We have been working steadily at analyzing and correcting many pieces,” Amero said. “There has been improvement, but we want to have no errors or issues.”
Amero said he has been in touch with a representative from Tyler Technology to help with the software issues and the district is using a Payroll Assistance Form to keep track of the paycheck issues.
A representative from Tyler Technology said the company has “no indication that the issues mentioned are due to the software” and its staff “continue to provide support for our client as they amend and revise some of their internal processes.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
