ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Hundreds of employees in the Rochester City School District (RCSD) have not been paid just days before the new school year begins. Several board members expressed frustration at a meeting last night, saying, “Sorry won’t get people paid.”
“The crisis that we’re facing causes hurt to our community and to the families and to our staff,” RCSD Commissioner Isaiah Santiago said. He emphasized the importance of accountability and action in response to the challenges.
RCSD School Board president Camille Simmons explained the board’s decision not to waive the 48-hour rule to introduce a last-minute resolution due to legal implications. She emphasized the need for legal conversations around the topic.
“I think it’s important that we recognize that we are a seven-member board and that we need to work collectively as a body,” Simmons said. “And when you don’t work as a body, it impacts the district.”
Santiago, along with board members Cynthia Elliott and Beatriz Lebron, wanted to propose the below resolution:
Whereas, the RCSD board and RCSD Administration were aware of potential challenges outlined by the vendor and were ill-prepared to implement these new systems, and
Whereas, whether negligence or incompetence, many RCSD frontline staff have not been paid accordingly, resulting in hardship for families in our community, and
Whereas, we are preparing for the start of the 2025-26 academic year with employees returning to work, and
Whereas, the Rochester City School District remains unprepared to correctly meet payroll for its employees, and
Whereas, the RCSD’s successful transition from PeopleSoft to Oracle may take months, if not years, to resolve, and
Whereas, it is unreasonable, unfair and illegal that employees go unpaid or paid inaccurately for the work that they do, and we are ill prepared for the chaos that may come with a full return to work, be it therefore
Resolved, that the Superintendent of the RCSD be directed to explore a contract with a reputable third-party payroll processor. This temporary contract, lasting up to one year, would allow internal payroll staff to receive proper training on the new Oracle system, including troubleshooting and processing payments. The contract must not negatively impact the number of permanent payroll positions or any current employees.
Resolved, that the Superintendent of the RCSD be directed to negotiate with all collective bargaining units to establish a compensation package for all employees adversely affected by absent, delayed, or inaccurate pay. This package should ensure the timely reimbursement of all costs and damages, including interest for any delays.
Resolved, that the RCSD hire an independent firm to conduct a thorough investigation of the RCSD’s contracting, expenditures, and experience with Oracle, to include the exorbitant costs and the unsuccessful rollout of the payroll processing systems, such that we can hold leadership accountable.
However, it was sent to the board at the same time it was sent to News10NBC, just hours before the meeting. Santiago explained that the resolution was delayed because it takes time to gather information and create a legally sound plan.
RCSD’s legal counsel advised against bringing up the resolution, citing collective bargaining concerns.
Not everyone is confident paychecks will go out for the start of school.
“We were very encouraged by the information we received last night at the board meeting around the progression and remedies that are taking place,” Simmons said.
Santiago added, “I’ll be extremely happy if all of our teachers are paid on time. But we’re not hearing that from any of our other partners on this project, including our unions.”
Superintendent Eric Rosser said the district will evaluate whether Oracle is a suitable fit. Santiago and Simmons seemed to prefer fixing Oracle rather than scrapping the $50 million project.
The below letter was sent to the state’s comptroller requesting an audit of Oracle. It was signed by Santiago, Elliott, and Lebron. Simmons expressed her desire to have been informed about the letter before seeing it on the news.
The entire board did discuss an external audit at Thursday’s school board meeting.
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