Poway school employees unhappy about payroll change

A recent change to the payroll system has left some non-teaching Poway Unified School District employees with financial hardships, school board members were told Tuesday night.

Five speakers representing the Poway School Employees Association said that in light of the district’s decision to switch to a system used by the county Office of Education, classified workers are now paid 11 equal paychecks over one year, rather than 9 1/2 months, as was previously the case. (Other PSEA members were in attenance, but district board rules limit speakers to five per topic.)

The decision to switch to the PeopleSoft program was voted on by the prior board several years ago, said Association President Lynnette Turner. PSEA members also spoke about not being asked about making this change and being informed about the change in June when the district knew it would be changing the paycheck format months earlier.

Janet Zwer, a bus driver for the district and a member of PSEA, said during her comment that the district had known about the change for six months but only notified the employees who work less than 12 months a year, such as bus drivers and aides, at the end of June.

Zwer also said that the switch to 11 equal paychecks a month will be devastating to her as it will reduce her monthly paychecks by about 26 percent in order to spread it out over the extra months. She said that this change showed her that bus drivers and aides don’t matter to the district and it was very inconsiderate to give such little notice.

Janet Crews, a payroll employee and PSEA member, spoke about how difficult the transition to PeopleSoft has been, resulting in working many additional hours, including weekends, to get used to the new system. She also said that many people were paid incorrectly in July, including her.

Turner said that about 400 people were paid incorrectly in July, and anticipated a much higher number of incorrect paychecks in August, as many more people are paid in the district in August than in July. She also said that the time to be paid wasn’t even for all, as some people took nine days to be paid and some 15.

Turner also said that anytime she or other PSEA members have raised issues about the changes PeopleSoft has made, the district has blamed the county. “They’ve made the county the villain in all of this,” she said. “We just want them to talk to us.”

The PSEA didn’t expect much last night, Turner said, but the members were angry and wanted to vent. Turner said she doesn’t expect the district to stop using PeopleSoft, as it was very expensive to implement.

At the meeting the board also:

• Agreed to interview four out of six responding firms to decide which firm will be hired to search for a new superintendent. The board members agreed to interview Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates; Leadership Associates; Ray and Associates, Inc.; and the Cosca Group. A date for the interviews, which will happen during a special open meeting, has not yet been set.

• Approved the contract of Kamran Azimzadeh, the interim associate superintendent of business support services. Azimzadeh will work no more than 827 hours per fiscal year according to his contract. Azimzadeh will fill the position until a permanent replacement can be found. The previous associate superintendent, Malliga Tholandi, retired on July 1.

• Approved the 2015-16 unaudited actual year-end closing financial report, which showed that the district’s expenditures were $11 million less than estimated. Azimzadeh said that while the report looks rosy, the district will still need to make cuts to the budget. These cuts will be discussed further at next month’s meeting.

• Discussed moving to hold two meetings a month, perhaps with one focused on presentations and awards and the other on action items. The board was in general agreement about holding two meetings a month and will discuss the change further at an upcoming board meeting.

• Introduced Ella Smith, the new student board representative. Smith is a senior at Westview High School, where she is also the ASB president.