Union leader and employees say new Oracle payroll rollout left district staff unpaid; district pledges fixes

Angelo Palmerini, president of BENTE Local 2419, told the Rochester Board of Education on July 31 that the district’s July 2 switchover to an Oracle payroll and human‑resources platform has left some employees without timely pay and has produced errors in timekeeping and retirement deductions. "RCSD has spent $46,600,000 on consultants to implement Oracle Fusion," Palmerini said, calling the rollout a "complete mess" and describing delayed direct deposits, time entries that did not process and retirement contributions treated post‑tax instead of pre‑tax.

The district acknowledged the disruption. Chief of Human Capital (Chief Miller) apologized and said the transition affects payroll, benefits and many linked systems. "We understand that payroll issues and failings are not just administrative, but they are personal ... we are truly sorry," Miller said, outlining a high‑priority triage structure, virtual office hours, an "immediate response room" for critical cases, and a goal of first responses within 24 hours and resolution within 48–72 hours.

Superintendent Dr. Eric J. Rosser said the district has deployed temporary customer‑service staff, added on‑site manual check printing capacity and is running off‑cycle pay runs to make affected employees whole. Miller told the board that some issues stem from users still learning Oracle, mislinked position or workflow records, and complex summer compensation records that did not translate cleanly into the new system. The district also reported delays to vendor transmissions that affected 403(b) and 457 retirement deposits.

Board members pressed for concrete help for employees who may not have reliable district email or online access. Commissioner Griffin suggested continuous manual paychecks or other interim measures for affected staff; Miller replied the district does not yet have full capacity to print all paper checks in‑house but is using off‑cycle pay runs and manual checks where needed and will compensate employees once individual problems are brought to the payroll team’s attention.

Palmerini asked the board to meet weekly in person with unions until the problems are fixed. The district said it is coordinating with labor partners and external consultants (named in public comment) to escalate technical fixes inside Oracle and to improve customer service and communications. Chief Miller also said the district is working to strengthen ticketing, add guided learning and small‑group practice for staff before the fall opening.

The board heard the Oracle update as unfinished business; after additional discussion the meeting lost quorum and was adjourned, with the board planning to continue business at its next meeting.