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District moves to Skyward TrueTime timekeeping; principals and staff raise payroll and tracking concerns
Summary
Sullivan County Schools presented plans to expand Skyward’s TrueTime timekeeping to secretaries, bookkeepers and hourly staff. Staff said the change would reduce paper time sheets and streamline payroll but principals warned about approval bottlenecks, accuracy for salaried employees and liability questions.
District staff described a plan to expand TrueTime, a time-clock module within the Skyward financial management system, across schools to replace paper time sheets and to provide electronic approvals.
Ingrid (district staff leading the TrueTime pilot) described TrueTime as "a time clock system" that allows employees to clock in and out on iPads or personal devices and routes approvals electronically "so they don't have to sit there and hand key every single paper time sheet."
Why it matters: Staff said the change would improve payroll accuracy, reduce the physical work of collecting paper time sheets and provide an auditable electronic time record. The district proposed moving school secretaries and elementary bookkeepers to 8 hours per day, 205 days per year to reduce overtime and ensure front-door coverage; staff estimated that change would cost about $179,000 if approved.
Principal and board questions focused on operational details and edge cases. Board members and principals raised concerns about:
- Approval delays: If principals are on vacation or sick, their delayed approval could hold up payroll for employees who report to them. - Salaried employees and extra duties: Principals asked whether salaried staff such as coaches or administrators would be required to clock in and whether doing so could create unintended workers'-compensation or overtime issues. - Accuracy and local connectivity: Staff said TrueTime requires district IP addresses and local network access, which prevents employees from clocking in from offsite commercial Wi‑Fi. - Exceptions and local practices: Principals noted some employees still fail to record time in Skyward and asked how the district would handle leave entries, sick days (which count toward retirement), and ad hoc duties.
District staff said the rollout will be phased: administrators and office staff piloted the system; the plan is to prioritize hourly employees next because their pay is most affected and then expand to other groups. Staff emphasized they do not need to buy a separate time system; TrueTime is part of their existing Skyward contract and was presented as a no‑new‑cost option.
Board direction and next steps: Staff said they intend to continue piloting, provide principals with training and proceed cautiously to avoid a payroll disruption. The board asked staff to return with details on policies for salaried employees, coaches and off‑campus work and an implementation timeline for the next school year.
