MARBLEHEAD — The Marblehead Education Association said that the school district’s administration failed to update pay rates for educators returning to work, angering staff in the district.
On Sept. 3, educators and students returned to the classroom. In a press release, the association said that the pay rates for educators had not been updated and that stipends and paychecks were withheld from employees who had worked over the summer.
MEA Co-President Jonathan Heller said in the release that his phone has been “ringing off the hook” because of these issues.
The release added that for the first time in years, employees in the district have returned to work after the expiration of their contracts on Aug. 31. Negotiations between the MEA and School Committee throughout the summer failed to yield new contracts.
“While school committees in other districts are stepping up with better contracts and working conditions, Marblehead’s elected school leaders refuse to budge,” the release reads.
Interim Superintendent John Robidoux said that the lack of compensation for summer work was the result of an “unfortunate clerical error.”
Human Resources Director Kelley Ferretti apologized via email, saying that the department had seen a large influx of hires that required onboarding within the district.
In a statement from Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Mike Pfifferling, he said that the issues regarding payroll stemmed from loading staff into the payroll system, which affected 90 staff members, an estimated 30% of the 10-month teaching staff.
“As soon as we received the first notification from our staff, we immediately investigated and began working towards a quick resolution,” the statement reads.
It added that the district’s business office and the town’s finance department had recalculated and reentered the payroll differences for those affected.
The statement said that all staff have received payment via direct deposit, but “some staff were not paid the amount they anticipated as outlined in their collective bargaining agreement.”
Labor Day made for a shortened payroll-processing week, the statement said. It added that the business office takes responsibility for the error.
“Errors like this should not occur,” the statement reads.
It said more processes will be implemented to prevent similar issues from occurring in the future.
“We appreciate the staff who informed us of the issue and thank them for their patience and understanding. We realize that some of our staff members have not received a paycheck since late June and understand their frustration,” the statement reads. “We are grateful to the town’s finance office for working so closely with us to resolve the issue.”
The release stated that the next bargaining session between the union and the School Committee will be held on Sept. 10 at 4:30 p.m. and will focus on Unit A, which includes teachers and service providers.
