Teachers and staff press SFUSD for fixes, audit as payroll 'Empower' problems persist

Teachers and district staff used public comment time at the San Francisco Board of Education meeting to press the district for immediate solutions to ongoing payroll failures tied to the Empower system.

Multiple speakers from Roosevelt Middle School and other sites said first-year teachers, staff on parental leave and other employees had not been paid correctly for months. Rachel Klaus, a teacher-librarian and parent, said staff ‘‘have still not received paychecks for the full time work that they did in August’’ and described ongoing help-ticket delays.

“Everyone involved with the running and managing and overseeing of this district should prioritize right now the paying of all of the SFUSD school teachers,” Klaus said.

Several commenters demanded an outside audit of the Empower contract. One public speaker, identified as Charles, asked, “Who was enriched? Why was the contract written so poorly?” and said the failures were harming retention and forcing some employees to consider leaving.

Superintendent Wayne acknowledged payroll problems in his report and said staff used off-cycle or alternative payments to get checks to employees when the main payroll did not function: he said about 5,000 monthly-paid employees exist in the payroll population, roughly 3.5% required off-cycle checks, and the district issued more than 70 alternative checks to cover payday shortfalls. He said staff are working on communications protocols and promised a follow-up timeline, including an expected special meeting to bring in resources to address the problem.

Public speakers asked for concrete remedies: interest on late payments, a 72‑hour target to resolve help tickets, and clearer processes for submitting complaints. Some requested that the board place Empower or payroll problems on a future agenda and called for external oversight of the contract.

The board recorded public concern and said staff would follow up; no immediate vote to commission an external audit was recorded in open session.