Wake bus drivers, cafeteria staff would get paid more often if school board gets its wish

Few school employees in North Carolina are paid twice per month. State law establishes a once-per-month paycheck and requires the vast majority of school employees to stick to that. At least 10 school systems, according to the Wake County school system, have implemented a twice-per-month paycheck for the few school employees who are eligible.

State law only allows for hourly employees — such as bus drivers, bus safety assistants and school cafeteria workers — to be paid more often than once per month. Teachers and other salaried employees would not be affected by the possible change; they can only be paid once per month.

The suggested Wake pay change would affect those bus and cafeteria positions, which make up about 6% of all school system staff. Those positions have been some of the hardest to fill, with hundreds of vacancies. Bus driver vacancies have forced existing drivers to take on extra duties this year, transporting hundreds of students to school after the morning bell rings.

Board members view the change as critical for employee recruitment and retention, while school system staff cautioned that it’s not a simple change and there’s no documented benefit to the change.

Board Member Tyler Swanson had asked the school system in the fall to look into how to make the change. He said Tuesday he wished the system had done more to gauge employee interest on the issue, rather than say no research had been done on the issue. He and other board members said that was dismissive of the numerous employees who had told board members they wanted to see the change.

Neter suggested the school system survey employees to see if they would prefer the change.

Swanson said he planned to call for a vote to make the change as early as the board’s March 19 meeting, saying the school system had made “enough excuses.”

“One of the struggles I hear … is that we take so long” to act, board member Cheryl Caulfield said. Sometimes, waiting is necessary to ensure something is done right, she said, but sometimes, the waiting goes on too long.

In weighing risk and reward, Caulfield said, “this reward is worth it.”

While employees’ wages would not change, the school system would need to spend more money to implement a twice-per-month paycheck schedule. That would include some money to customize software, some costs to split third-party benefit payments more often and some new employees.

It’s unclear what the costs would be. The school system is also in the midst of moving to a new human resources software and is already short-staffed in the human resources department. It hasn’t added human resources staff in at least 15 years, despite adding dozens more schools and thousands more students and employees.

Some time would also be required to implement the new payment process, including some months of testing. District officials said implementing the new process before full migration to the new human resources software later this year could pose risks to all staff payroll.

Superintendent Robert Taylor said he had no problem moving to twice-monthly paychecks but said officials needed to be prepared to avoid payroll problems that have shaken up other school districts.

Rachel Wells, secretary and business agent for Teamsters Local 391, said she’s been talking with district staff for six years about making the change to twice-monthly paychecks. She’s been hearing complaints from bus drivers and bus safety assistants for years.

“It’s really a financial hardship,” Wells told the school board.

That pushes away new recruits, she said, and some go looking for other jobs that can pay them faster.

“Folks are just not going to be able to make that work,” Wells said.