School staff tell Essex supervisors payroll problems persist; board pledges follow‑up

A school staff member told the Essex County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 9 that after‑school tutoring employees have experienced repeated payroll problems — missing stipends, delayed payments and incorrect EA (employee association) deductions — since August and that email and phone attempts to resolve the issue yielded limited response.

"We were not paid ... we were not paid on top," the commenter said, describing several months of missed payments, lost timesheets and incorrect deduction calculations. The commenter said centralized services had been a point of contact but that communication failures persisted and requested a meeting involving school representatives, the superintendent and the board to resolve outstanding payroll and deduction issues.

Board members replied that staff had responded to an earlier email chain and that the superintendent (Dr. Jones) had indicated he would reach out to set up a meeting. One supervisor apologized for the apparent communication lapse and asked the commenter to follow up so county staff could confirm and coordinate next steps.

Why it matters: The complaint concerns timely pay and correct deductions for school employees, which affects staff livelihoods and county payroll operations. Board intervention or clear staff follow‑up was requested during the meeting.

What’s next: The commenter said they would follow up with Dr. Jones, and the board committed to getting a response and scheduling a meeting to identify the source of the problem between centralized services and the school payroll process.