School board considering direct deposit mandate
In an effort to reduce overhead costs, the Riverhead School Board is expected to vote on a pair of agreements tonight in which non-union district employees and teacher assistants will only receive pay through direct deposit starting next year.
If approved, all employees not represented through a bargaining unit will only receive their pay through direct deposit starting Feb. 1, 2014. If an employee fails to set up a direct deposit account by the deadline, the district “shall have their pay held in the Trust and Agency account until such time as a valid direct deposit account shall have been established,” according to the resolution.
The move aims to improve efficiency while reducing costs within the payroll process, according to Superintendent Nancy Carney.
“Direct Deposit is safe, efficient and reliable. The costs of printing pay stubs on plain paper for direct deposit employees is significantly cheaper than the cost of printing paychecks on check stock,” she said via email.
It’s not immediately clear how much the measures are expected to save the district. In the future, Ms. Carney said, the district is hoping to be able to email pay stubs to employees, eliminating paper in the process altogether. Of about 1,000 district employees, the superintendent said about 65 have yet to sign up for direct deposit.
In addition to the payroll plan, the school board is expected to vote on several change orders pertaining to capital improvements at Phillips Avenue and Riley Avenue elementary schools and the high school.
There’s also a presentation scheduled to discuss Common Core practices in fourth-grade English Language Arts and math subjects. At recent school board meetings, elementary school administrators and teachers have also given presentations about how Common Core is begin implemented in grades K through 2 and third grade.
The public portion of the meeting is at 7 p.m. in the high school cafeteria.
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Riverhead school board meeting agenda, Dec. 10, 2013
