GASTON, N.C. — Gaston County School employees are protesting and pushing to receive correct paychecks.
Employees gathered outside South Point High around 7 a.m. Friday, hoping to get the district leaders to take action.
Some staff members said problems occurred earlier this year when a new state-mandated payroll system rolled out in the district, leaving some staff members missing money and others missing their entire checks.
They said this is an issue that’s been ongoing for about nine months, and so far more than a thousand people have signed a petition to get Gaston County School employees paid properly.
In addition, several employees are raising concerns over missing retirement funds as well. Teachers told WCNC Charlotte that money is deducted from their paychecks each month for their retirement plan, but when they log into their accounts to check the funds, the funds aren't there.
"Since March on, there is nothing showing in our retirement account,” Sherry Willis explained.
Gaston County Schools released a statement saying they’re the first to transition to the new payroll system “Oracle System," and said all school districts across the state will eventually be required to transition to a new system as part of the state’s school business modernization.
The district said with any new payroll system there will be issues, and so far they've seen a drastic decrease in the number of issues occurring in comparison to the beginning of the year.
The finance department sent an update to employees on Thursday detailing some of its work to fix payroll and retirement accounts. The email said the district has submitted information to correct the retirement system for the missing months of pay and will soon start working to correct missing retirement pay for June, July and August.
They said right now they’re working to manage the issues and make the system work in an efficient manner. Some employees said this is no longer a bump in the road and are calling for support from the district.
The next school board meeting will be on Sept. 19 at the district office.
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