Cloquet board hears business‑office case for moving hourly staff from spread pay to timesheet pay

The Cloquet Public School District board on Nov. 10 heard an extended presentation from the business office about shifting hourly employees from the district’s historical “spread” or annualized pay option to straight timesheet pay, a change staff said would reduce manual payroll work and ease state reporting burdens.

Adrian Strickland, the district accountant, told the board the district previously annualized hourly pay under policy 423.1 and that on Aug. 14, 2023 the district moved new staff toward a two‑week/prior‑period payroll delay to simplify reporting. He said return to timesheet pay for more staff could cut manual calculations needed for unemployment, ACA reporting and the new ESST/paid‑family‑medical obligations and reduce the need for manual payroll overrides. "We could just set the codes to be what the hourly rates are for the different things," Strickland said, explaining how timesheet pay would let the payroll system calculate pay more reliably.

Payroll staff described the current workload for a two‑person payroll office handling roughly 700–800 employees and warned of under‑ and overpayments when staff pick incorrect pay codes. Adrienne, a payroll specialist, said manual overrides create both underpayment and overpayment risks and complicate compliance. "There's potential for significant under or overpayment to that individual for any given payroll," she said, adding that overpayments raise legal and recovery issues.

Board members asked how many employees this would affect and what alternatives exist. Payroll staff estimated roughly 120 employees would need to switch to complete the transition and described contractual constraints for some units (PARA/AIE/COTA/nurses) that reference pay periods in their agreements. When asked about the cost to add a central office staffer instead of changing pay practices, staff gave a range: a full‑time hire could cost about $40,000–$60,000 in salary plus benefits, with total employer cost roughly $80,000–$100,000 depending on benefit elections.

Union representatives and hourly employees urged caution. In public comment, Nicole Malewski, who works in the American Indian Education Program, said many hourly staff rely on the autopay/spread pay option to budget year‑round and warned that removing it would impose hardship. "We just want to keep the same pay option," Malewski said. Tom Whiteside, legal counsel for AFSCME members, said union members would not willingly give up the option without a workable alternative and read a written statement from a paraprofessional describing how spread pay enables monthly budgeting.

District leaders framed the discussion as a choice between adding administrative capacity or changing pay practices. The superintendent said the board requested more information and that the business office will return to the next meeting with further detail. No formal action was taken Nov. 10; staff said Adrian will be back at the next board meeting to answer questions and the board will consider options after staff and employee feedback.