San Francisco (March 13, 2023) - San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne today shared updates regarding the progress in stabilizing the district’s payroll system as the San Francisco Board of Education considers additional funding to make continued improvements.
Superintendent Wayne declared a payroll state of emergency on Nov. 7, 2022 to enable the district to take extraordinary actions to resolve challenges related to EMPowerSF. As a result, over half of the pending cases have been resolved, and 65 unique root causes of payroll issues have been identified.
Some of the recent system fixes include efforts to prevent employee loss of health benefits, resolving 403(b) contributions errors, and ensuring employees can receive pay while on parental leave. In addition, a team of 34 Case Managers continues to support employees who have individual questions regarding their payroll.
“In spite of having reduced the number of tickets by more than half since we started in November last year, we know that progress cannot happen fast enough. This is especially true for our staff who have been impacted. As an educator, I am motivated to stabilize the system so that we can do right by our employees,” said SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne.
Meanwhile, In order to continue the stabilization of the EMPowerSF, at its special meeting on March 14 the SF Board of Education will vote to allocate an additional $5.1 million to further enhance the system and prevent future failures. The funding will also enable SFUSD to fix a total of 66 known system defects and implement 20 new fixes and requirements.
Superintendent Wayne continued, “We need to be a school district where people can count on us delivering on operations so we can focus on education. Ultimately, this is about working towards reliable operational systems for our staff. Setting our sights on operational excellence in the district means that we are able to turn our attention back to our students and running schools instead of whether our paychecks are accurate.”
SFUSD conducted rigorous testing and validation of W-2s and distributed W-2s to all employees at the end of January. Staff are encouraged to review their W-2s as soon as possible, and SFUSD has provided access to free financial coaching and resources for staff. The district is also in the process of methodically recouping from staff who have been overpaid. Before taking any action on overpayments, SFUSD is giving employees an opportunity to review their information, meet with a person knowledgeable about their case, and choose from multiple repayment options.
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