RCSD School Board Members Wants State Investigation Into District Payroll

Members of the Rochester city school board are calling on the state comptroller’s office to investigate alleged “pervasive financial mismanagement” regarding payroll mishaps with the human resources software Oracle. School board members Beatriz LeBron-Harris, Isaiah Santiago, and Cynthia Elliott signed a joint letter to the state comptroller’s office requesting an investigation into what they call a “systemic failure” that has jeopardized district finances and inflicted severe hardship on workers. The district began the transition to Oracle in 2021, when Lesli Myers-Small was superintendent, and involved millions of dollars in pandemic relief funds. There have been three superintendents since that time. The district formerly used PeopleSoft. A spokesperson with the New York state comptroller’s office said they are reviewing the request.

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With school starting on Thursday and the next payday approaching on Friday, Rochester Teachers Association President Adam Urbanski said there is anxiety over whether staff will be paid in full and on time. Superintendent Eric Rosser said in a recent school board meeting that part of the challenge is a software defect in Oracle affecting pay accuracy. He said 825 employees who have received insufficient pay for their work this summer are expected to receive back pay by mid-September. Whether the district continues to work with Oracle software, which replaced PeopleSoft, will be under consideration, Rosser said.

Source: WXXI News