School board addresses payroll

by David Boyle
News Director
Members of the San Juan School Board discussed mental health grants and payroll preferences at their latest meeting.
At the April 10 meeting, members of the San Juan School Board voted to survey staff on their preferences for the frequency of payroll.
The decision came after a continuation of the discussion that started at the March school board meeting as to whether the district should change payroll from monthly to twice a month.
At that meeting, Business Administrator Tyrel Pemberton recommended the district not make a change, noting the cost of resources to implement the change.
In the April meeting, Pemberton outlined the costs at a minimum would include restructuring the office and could require additional staff to implement the change. Still Pemberton said the request is doable, “if we feel that the benefit to those employees of receiving the pay twice a month instead of once a month outweighs those additional burdens that it places on and the additional resources that may be needed. As a business office. We are here to support decisions made as a school board.”
Pemberton asked the board that if a change were approved, they hold off making the change in payroll structure until July 2025 to allow district staff to familiarize itself with other changes being made with district payroll software and tasks.
At the meeting, board member Steven Black shared some information he gathered, noting that according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, monthly payroll is in the minority. Less than 10 percent of healthcare and education organizations do payroll monthly, meaning more than 90 percent receive payments more frequently than monthly.
In the March meeting, it was pointed out that the current pay periods run from the 19th to the 18th of the next month. Classified employees who start work in the new school year on August 16 are paid for just three days of work in the August payroll and work for over a month before seeing a more sizable paycheck in September.
Board member Nelson Yellowman brought the request to the board to increase frequency of payments earlier in the year. Yellowman shared it’s a common request he’s heard from district staff. He noted a recent fire that destroyed a home in the Monument Valley area and left a family of eight without a house while a district employee receives payments once a month.
During public comment, the board heard a few public comments related to payroll, with one staffer saying that more frequent payments would add difficulty to budgeting her household and others asking for survey feedback from fellow staffers. Members of the board voted to survey staff regarding the frequency of payroll.
At the meeting, members of the board also approved a plan for the district to pursue a School-Based Mental Health Services Grant Program from the U.S. Department of Education. Members of the board authorized district staff to explore the grant but reserved approval of a letter in support of the grant.
Board members plan to review the letter and grant application at their upcoming May meeting.
Members of the board also approved annual school land trust spend plans for the upcoming academic school year. The plans are submitted after review and input from staff and community members represented on each school’s School Land Trust Council.
At the meeting the district also recognized two employees with a San Juan Sweet Job award. Districtwide technology employee Mason Lyman and Transportation employee Kerry Sallee were both recognized for their work at the board meeting.