The ongoing payroll problems have been directly and candidly assessed by Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor, who has promised a fix by this week’s end. Dr. Taylor took responsibility for the issue and acknowledged that it is not a novel problem for the school system during an appearance on Sunil Dasgupta’s I Hate Politics program.
In reference to the first full week of August, Dr. Taylor said, “I believe you’re looking at an expected fix date of end of this week.” We anticipate having everything organized by the conclusion of this first full week of August. Employees at MCPS have been extremely frustrated by the persistent problems, which have resulted in erroneous and delayed reimbursements.
The Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) and the support staff union have filed class action claims against the school district, claiming that the issues have been made worse by the switch to a new payment system called Hub+. “We are dealing with a couple of instances of human error, some of which are easier to fix than others,” Dr. Taylor said, attributing the current problems on human error. He called attention to a specific issue that the administration is attempting to address: part-time workers who work throughout the summer.
Dr. Taylor admitted that the problems with payroll are not unique to this year. Even though it hurts to admit it, this issue is not unique to this year. According to him, this was an issue the year before, the year before that, and last year. On behalf of the school system, Dr. Taylor also took direct responsibility for the issue, saying, “This one’s on us.” Additionally, we must make sure that we pay our employees exactly what they are due and at the appropriate time.
