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Summer school graduation is a week from now, but some summer schoolteachers have not gotten paid what they’re owed.
Montgomery County schools Superintendent Thomas Taylor posted a notice on the school system’s website that stated 200 summer school staff were “waiting for their full pay” as of Aug. 1 and that 400 employees were affected by delays or didn’t get the full amount they are owed.
A Montgomery County schools spokeswoman said Friday that those who encountered issues with their pay are expected to be paid on Tuesday.
According to Taylor, the Aug. 8 paycheck should include “all summer hours that were successfully entered into our system.”
He said staff members with any errors on their paychecks should notify the school system.
Tayor in his note said that what happened was “completely unacceptable.”
“I know that every penny in every paycheck counts, and that people can’t pay their bills and mortgages without the money that they have earned,” Taylor said.
The problem came to light for the school system on July 11, after the new fiscal year transition, a schools spokeswoman said, and mainly affected part-time and summer employees who are normally on 10-month assignments and could not enter time cards due to system errors. It also affected staff with job reclassifications.
Taylor said summer pay has been historically challenging, but this year’s transition to a new system has “amplified” the issue.
“The move from an outdated paper to a new digital payroll system, especially during the busy summer, has unfortunately created unforeseen challenges in our large system,” a schools spokeswoman said.
Montgomery County Education Association President David Stein, which represents more than 14,000 Montgomery County Public Schools employees, including teachers, said the issues around summer pay are challenging.
“Because teachers are normally salaried, so they’re not putting in particular hours. But in the summertime,” Stein said, “It’s a little more irregular.”
However, Stein added that it was really “outrageous that we have to go through all this effort just to make sure that people are paid accurately.”
Summer school graduation will be held Aug. 15 and the regular school year resumes on Aug. 26.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include statements from Montgomery County Public Schools and the Montgomery County Education Association.
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