For some, tough to get a paycheck from Philly SD
Some folks have had a hard time getting paychecks from the Philadelphia School District lately.
For some, tough to get a paycheck from Philly SD
Kristen Graham
Some folks have had a hard time getting paychecks from the Philadelphia School District lately.
More than 2,700 district employees were laid off June 30 to close a $629 million budget gap, and many were 10-month employees who are paid over 12 months. They were promised “summer rollover pay,” a lump sum due no later than Friday.
But on deadline day, some people still had no checks, and lines stretched out the payroll office, with a district security guard managing the crowd, which also included retirees who were shorted money.
Spokeswoman Shana Kemp said that in the course of processing final checks, “a number were missed. The district’s payroll office has already processed the majority of those payments, and all checks will be available for pickup at 440 N. Broad Street on Monday, July 25, 2011 after 3 pm.”
Some laid-off employees were able to pick up their final checks on Friday.
Kemp declined to answer questions about whether the delay in processing checks was due to a severely-reduced staff at district headquarters. Half of all central office positions were lost in the budget crisis.
Another group missing money are some baseball umpires who work Philadelphia School District ballgames.
Andy Miller called balls and strikes at Public League games in March, April, May and June. He was paid for the March games but none of the others.
When he called to ask where his check was, “I heard every excuse under the sun,” said Miller, who worked as a teacher and baseball coach in the district for more than three decades before retiring last year.
Ultimately, he was told that because of a switch in the system for processing checks, the pay of several umpires would be delayed another few months.
Miller was not happy.
“Everybody who works there gets paid every other week,” he said. “We invested our time and energy when they needed us in March, April and May and we’re now being told to wait until September?”
Miller said he’s due about $1,000. He and other umpires are paid $65 for regular season games and $70 for playoff contests.
“Does it change my life to not have the $1,000? No. Does it irk me that I have to ask for that? Yes.”
Kemp, the spokeswoman, confirmed that the hold-up was due to a transition in one payment system to another, “which included the need to go back and audit this year’s payments. This has caused a significant slowdown in spring payments, but they will go out as soon as possible.”
Kristen, 10 month employees do not opt to get paid over 12 months. There is no choice, that's just what happens.— eatingcrayons- Many thanks! It's fixed.— kristengraham
- What a friggin disaster. Arlene Ackerman has DESTROYED lives and careers. She is a nasty woman who treats everyone like dirt. She only cares about herself. Whatever happened with that claim of a bomb threat? Federal officials were brought in, but no resolution? Wonder how much that little escapade cost Philly/pa tax-payers. In ANY OTHER PROFESSION, she would have been frog-marched out long ago.— legend1
- My wife retired from the Phila SD in May. She was told she would receive all of her summer reserve pay in a lump sum within a few weeks and that her records would be forwarded to the state PSERS so that she would begin receiving her retirement benefits by July. The school district did neither and my wife still hasn't received a penny! This is money we were counting on for certain financial obligations. But I bet the queen "B" Ackerman will get her $100k bonus right on schedule. Disgusting.— PhillySteve21
- And in another headline, it says that Arlene Ackerman could be "entitled" to 1.5 million dollars to leave before the end of her contract?! Do I laugh or cry about that?— omseeker
Comment removed.- ___SDP_STAFF...I can't say anything bad about the people & some of the management that work in payroll...I have talked to and have had help from very nice poeple there...i am sure they are under more stress & red tape mess beyond their control...They actually have called me back several times when I had a concern about a shortage in pay and other issues and they did everything possible to investigate and get me paid...so please take it easy on them...... — newstome
- I resigned from the district mid-may and remained an active employee until I called 3 weeks later and discovered my resignation paperwork was still sitting on someone's desk. This was only after being transferred to about 5 different people. I was then informed that they were up to date with payroll checks and I would receive mine by the 3rd week of June. Well that day came and went and I decided to call again on June 30th, left a message on voicemail, (because God knows they never answer the phone) 24 hours later my call was returned and I was informed my account was liquidated on the 24th and I should give it another week to be mailed. A week later I called a union rep who listened to my story, called payroll, and told me, can you guess....give it another week or so your papers were mixed in with the laid off employees and if you don't have it next week you'll definitely have it by July 22nd. Guess what? It's July 22nd and I STILL DO NOT HAVE IT!!!!!
I am now going on 10 weeks of no pay, I am frustrated and tired of asking for money I earned all year! I am sick of hearing "give it another week".... Maybe I can tell my bill collectors to just give it another week or better yet, maybe Arlene Ackerman can pay all the bills I couldn't for the last two months.....that wouldn't even put a dent in her bonus let alone her paycheck!!!— Lorah - Isn't it illegal to not pay people in a timely manner?— Fillygirl250
- Look this situation is just not normal. At my high School 10 out of the 28 laid people claim there was a problem. When IBM or Walmart lay off people they pay them on time or there is hell to pay with the CEO. In the School district Arlene gets here bonus even though she cannot properly budget or administer the system. This makes sense to whom?— poogie
- Would this have happened under the former payroll director's watch? We'll never know since she was fired on trumped up charges.— Just sayin...
- To those of you who also did not receive your check today... Who wants to bet that the school district will actually have everything done by Monday? I'm betting on NOT receiving a check. The thing that annoys me is that they didn't inform ANYONE that they were not going to make deadline they imposed for themselves. How about pay for missed preps? When does that come for laid off employees?— crickey
- Yeah--my checks have gone from $1500 to $750 to $105 this morning. I retired and applied for disability. PSERS, assuming everything goes thru as it's supposed to, begins in September. Social Security Disability is still being processed. I still have a mortgage and bills, and my family still needs to eat. I thought hard about those bloated bonuses being paid to Dr. Ackerman when I filled out my paperwork for food stamps. I'd like to work more but I can't. I'm sick, and I'm frustrated, and the North Broad Bunglers are a big part of the reason.— djdekok
- And how about your pay out for your unused sick days. That will take an eternity to get!— teachertina
- Well if you think thats bad...what about when people work and have to waite for a form called a 324 to be processed...this means you do the work, you have to wait for the secretary to type it up on a 324 form, then it has to go to the regional office, then it goes back to the school, then to another finance, then to classification & compensation, then to somewhere else b4 it get to your paycheck...this can take anywhere from 2-3 months. This gets even worse if you go help cover at another school location because they are short for a show, prom, meeting, event, game etc...If you are a school district employee...no matter where u work at you should not have to waite so long to get paid.— newstome
During the school year, you’ll frequently find her hosting live chats about the district on Philly.com. Please do pass along the scoop about what’s going on at your Philadelphia public school; Kristen welcomes tips, story ideas and witty banter at kgraham@phillynews.com or 215-854-5146.
You can also follow Kristen on Twitter here.
