Caddo Parish School Board fields staff concerns over new UKG time-and-attendance system

Superintendent Burton asked HR staff to present the district's new time-and-attendance system, UKG Ready, and spent much of the Caddo Parish School Board meeting answering questions after a presentation from HR staff. The rollout, which began in 2023, uses wall-mounted clocks and a facial-scan option but district officials said employees may sign in with an employee identification number or—eventually—badges.

The presentation: why the district says it was needed

At the board meeting Superintendent Burton said the district had employed “50 plus versions of timekeeping systems” and needed a single system that would feed directly into payroll. Ms. Stanford, who led the presentation for HR and implementation staff, told the board the system is “centered around efficiency, empowerment, and safety.” She described features staff can use to request leave, see leave balances and run reports showing who is on campus during an emergency.

“Everything is on that button, and you are in control of your own timekeeping,” Ms. Stanford said during the presentation. She also told the board “No images or personal identifiable information is stored in this system,” and that the vendor stores only an employee’s name, position and location, which she said are public records.

What staff and public commenters asked

Board members and more than a dozen employees addressed the system’s mechanics, costs and privacy safeguards. Union and classroom leaders, paraprofessionals and bus drivers said communication about the rollout had been inconsistent, that some employees felt pressured to complete facial scans before a December break, and that the system did not yet reflect school-day realities for teachers or transportation staff.

Jordan Thomas, president of the Caddo Federation of Teachers and Support Personnel, told the board the rollout had damaged morale: “This program... is perceived as intrusive, cumbersome, unprofessional, lacking a policy, transparency, and training,” he said in public comment.

Operational details and alternatives discussed

Officials described practical workarounds and next steps. Ms. Stanford said of full-time employees, 4,570 had completed the facial scan and that the district was offering alternatives for employees who opted out: sign-in by employee identification number and a planned badge option. She said the district was working with finance and IT to add badge support and that bus drivers and bus aides were not yet in the system.

Finance staff and board members pressed for costs and vendor details. Miss Willis (finance) said the district expected an annual licensing cost of about $200,000 and that the clocks were purchased largely with ESSER funds; Mr. Howard (purchasing/finance) estimated the one-time clock purchase in the “400-and-something thousand” range and said the annual system fee was included in the 2024–25 budget. Officials identified the district payroll system that receives data from UKG as Business Plus.

Privacy and legal questions

Board members asked whether the vendor and hardware meet federal restrictions and state law. Miss McLean asked whether the system is NDAA-compliant (a federal procurement/security standard) and requested the vendor’s certificate of compliance; staff responded that UKG is a U.S. company and that the vendor was procured under state contract, and committed to provide the requested documentation and contract-cost details. Ms. Stanford and other staff repeatedly said facial-scan templates are encrypted and cannot be reverse-engineered into an image.

How the district plans to adjust rollout and handle exceptions

Superintendent Burton acknowledged communication missteps and said staff have altered procedures after hearing employee concerns. He said the district had reversed an initial hard requirement to force facial scans and that employees who emailed HR could be given alternative sign-in methods. Staff also said the system will eventually support tracking extra-duty hours (after-school programs and extracurriculars) but that feature had not yet been turned on.

Visitors described practical problems on the ground: transportation staff said multiple clock-ins during vehicle swaps or long out-of-town runs do not map cleanly to drivers’ existing pay practices; paraprofessionals and teachers described waiting in lines at time clocks and inconsistent school-level practices. Multiple speakers asked whether a badge or fingerprint option would be offered; staff said badges were being planned as an option and fingerprints would require additional procurement.

Votes at a glance (related board business on the Jan. 21 meeting)

- Final bond purchase agreement and sale of general obligation school bonds, Series 2025: motion to adopt resolution carried (mover: Miss Bell; second: Miss McLean); vote recorded as 12 in favor, 0 opposed; outcome: approved. - Revisions to CPSB policy FEA (architectural and engineering services): motion carried (mover: Miss Trammell; second: Mr. Rochelle); vote recorded as 11 in favor; outcome: approved. - Establish two open-enrollment preK–8 campuses at Broadmoor STEM Academy and J. S. Clark Academy (maintain attendance zones): motion carried (mover: Miss Yates; second: Miss Tharpe); vote recorded as 10 in favor; outcome: approved.

What officials promised next

Superintendent Burton asked staff to keep working on communications and to provide more written Q&A material. Multiple board members asked that the presentation and FAQ be posted online so employees who missed the meeting can review it; board staff and district administration agreed to provide requested figures, contract details and an FAQ on the district site. Ms. Willis (finance) and Mr. Howard (purchasing) committed to deliver the vendor cost/contract information that board members requested.

Why this matters

The system affects all district employees’ daily workflow, payroll accuracy and emergency accountability. Board members said the aims—to streamline payroll and help identify who is on each campus during an incident—are legitimate, but several employees said the district must prove the system’s benefits and fix errors before full enforcement or punitive measures are used. Many speakers asked the board to balance safety and efficiency with employee privacy and trust.

Next steps

Board members asked administration to provide documented answers to requests about contract cost, NDAA compliance certificates, the number of employees who have opted out and the badge rollout timeline. Staff said they will continue to work with affected departments—transportation, school bookkeepers and payroll—to refine processes and to communicate changes to employees in writing.