Polk County Public Schools officials don’t know why 4,200 employees’ paychecks were not issued on time last week or were deposited twice and then pulled back for correction.
More than payroll: The district spends approximately $560,000 a year for an “enterprise resource system” from SAP, a German global business management software company. The district implemented it in 2000 and installed a major update in 2012. Jason Pitts, deputy superintendent and chief of staff, said “patches” — a type of update — occur throughout the year.
The system includes payroll module, as well as everything entities need to run a business, including budgeting, accounts receivable and payable, time reporting, staffing, purchasing, and inventory. In the past, Pitts said, the district had to purchase separate programs from different companies for different needs.
“The district is in the first stages of implementing a new platform of SAP that is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025,” Pitts said.
What happened? A district official discovered an issue on Thursday afternoon with the electronic payroll file that is sent to MidFlorida Credit Union, which processes PCPS payroll direct deposits. Pitts said district staff worked through the night Thursday to correct the file.
For 2,000 employees who have accounts with MidFlorida, direct deposits arrived early Friday morning, as usual. But approximately 4,200 employees with accounts at other banks had their direct deposits processed several hours late, around 12:30 p.m.
On Monday, adjustments were made to correct any errors. But the delay caused some employees to incur overdraft fees.
Pitts said most banks reversed the charges, but “if there are employees who had overdraft fees actually charged to their account because of this issue, the district has created a process for employees to get these fees reimbursed.”
How did it happen? It’s unclear how the glitch happened. Pitts said the district is still reviewing processes followed during this payroll cycle to ensure the error never occurs again.
Superintendent’s response: Superintendent Heid emailed all staff Friday morning, offering “sincere apologies for the number of payroll issues we have had to date … Let me begin by saying that there is simply no excuse for the number of errors we have had.”
Heid ordered his team to provide him with a full summary of why the glitch happened, whether it could have been prevented and why it wasn’t caught earlier. He vowed to share the results of the internal review when it is completed.
The fallout: Polk Education Association President Stephanie Yocum criticized the district, as did angry staffers who took district officials to task on social media.
“Employees expect their employers to at least pay them on time and correctly, but PCPS has struggled with even this very basic function,” Yocum said.
Bernard Wells, a retired ESE staffing specialist, emailed LkldNow saying, “Many of the staff members live paycheck to paycheck, and this incident has caused a domino effect resulting in overdraft fees and increased stress levels among staff.”
Wells has criticized Heid at multiple school board meetings.
Prior incidents: This is not the first payroll incident this school year.
- November 2023 — Teachers’ promised pay raises were not issued in November, but implemented in December, which Pitts had promised in an agenda study meeting. However, when the raises did arrive, some were inaccurate, and years of experience (which determine pay) were not credited correctly.
- February 2024 — The teachers’ union filed a class action grievance to hasten the timeline for correction from the district’s initial date of the end of March.
- COVID bonus money — Bonuses from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (called ESSER) were delayed.
The last of those ESSER checks was supposed to be paid by the end of May. But Yocum said the district changed the ESSER supplement payout date from end of May to end of June, without communicating with the PEA or employees. The PEA was able to get district to mail paper checks to employees.
Yocum also said PCPS continues to have issues with paying employees’ mileage submissions in a timely manner.
False rumors: Some staffers wrongly blamed Assistant Superintendent for Information Technology Anne Pasco and her son Paul Pasco, who also works for the district, for the problem.
Pitts and Yocum both said those assertions are patently false. “Neither employee had anything to do with this payroll issue,” Pitts said.
Pitts said Paul Pasco is a senior business analyst in the Business Process Support department.
“He’s been the one helping to fix some of this mess,” Yocum said. “(He’s) been one of the only ones to explain some of the system limitations, pay stubs and hold-back issues.”
Heid ended his email to staff on Friday saying: “Paychecks should simply be accurate every time … this is my expectation as well.”
Corrections: Superintendent Heid did not text all staff last Thursday. He messaged one teacher, who shared his message to social media. He emailed all staff on Friday. Also, a prior version of the story characterized the SAP software as a payroll system. Payroll is just one module. It is the main system for the entire school district. LkldNow regrets the errors.
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