Payroll Update - October 19, 2022

Information for Employees, October 19, 2022

Hello, employees.  We hope you are having a good week.  We would like to provide you with the following payroll-related update.  Please take time to read the information carefully.

Retirement contributions

We continue to work on correcting errors in the June retirement file.  It has been submitted to the ORBIT state retirement system on several occasions, but it has not yet been accepted because of errors.  Once the June file is accepted, we will submit the July file.  For employees who have an Empower/Prudential 401k retirement account, all files through September have been submitted; the Empower/Prudential retirement account contributions are up-to-date.  For employees with 457 and 403(b) accounts, the retirement contributions have been submitted through June.

On-site payroll specialist from Oracle

In addition to continuing to work with technical support from CherryRoad Technologies, we will have on-site support from Oracle for the next month.  The on-site payroll specialist from Oracle, who will be working alongside our finance/payroll employees, as well as an off-site Oracle support team are focusing specifically on Gaston County Schools to assist with correcting outstanding issues, including issues related to excess deductions, longevity, and withholdings.  The Oracle support personnel also are working to improve our system efficiency to help with future pay runs.  Additionally, our finance/payroll employees are having regular virtual meetings with Oracle support representatives to discuss on-going payroll issues.

Specific issues being addressed   

The following specific issues have been or are being addressed currently:

• For school nutrition employees who worked this summer and were paid at the standard rate rather than the higher summer rate, the pay adjustment has been made in Oracle, and we are working to get payment in an upcoming pay run.
• For EPI (Educational Partners International) teachers in our district, we are in the process of refunding the excess FICA and retirement deductions.
• Employees who did not receive their longevity pay in July should see a deposit into their bank account on either Friday, October 21 or Monday, October 24.  Please note that not all employees receive longevity pay.  
• Classified employees received a pay increase in the state budget.  The pay increase for classified employees has been entered in Oracle, and the increase should be reflected on classified employees’ payslip.  The pay increase is paid retroactively to July 1, 2022.

Customer service team

The customer service team, which is acting as a liaison between employees and the finance, payroll, and human resources departments, continues to visit schools to meet with employees who have experienced a payroll-related issue.  As of Monday, the team had visited 36 schools, and the team is scheduled to visit all schools by the end of October.  The team also will be available to meet with central level employees who have experienced an issue.

Employees with an issue or concern may meet voluntarily with a customer service team member, who can answer questions, gather information, and receive documents that may be necessary to research a payroll issue.  While the team members do not have the ability to correct an issue in Oracle, they are able to provide information to the appropriate department (finance, payroll, and/or human resources).  

Once an employee meets with a team member, the employee’s issue is reviewed and categorized based on the type of issue.  Then, the determination is made whether the issue can be fixed as a global issue (a global issue is when employees are experiencing a similar situation that can be corrected collectively) or if it must be fixed on an individual basis.  Issues that have to be corrected individually take more time to address.  If you have met already with the customer service team, please know that we have documented your issue.  

Presentation to the Board of Education

Monday evening, we gave a presentation to the Board of Education about our School Business Systems Modernization project.  Click here for a link to the presentation.

Reminder about handbook

We would like to remind employees about the resources available in the GCS Employee Oracle Handbook.  You will find a link to our Frequently Asked Questions on page 27.  The Frequently Asked Questions section answers some of the questions that employees have asked members of the customer service team.  We encourage you to review the Frequently Asked Questions section as you may have the same questions as some of your colleagues.  We also have videos that focus on how to review the employee payslip.  You will find links to the payslip videos on page 17.  It is our intention to continue to modify the payslip so that it is easier to understand.

We want all of our employees to know that we value what you do for our schools, our students, and our families.  You are the key to our overall success, and we appreciate your continued patience as we work to address all payroll issues.

Gary Hoskins, Chief Financial Officer