Board approves payroll schedule change after staff briefing and member questions

The Orleans Parish School Board voted to approve an amendment to OPSB payroll procedures after a staff explanation of how semimonthly and biweekly pay schedules will be implemented.

Board member questions focused on whether the change would move all employees to the same cycle and how it would affect 10-month versus 12-month employees. "Semimonthly is, like, twice a month, whereas every other week is biweekly," payroll staff explained, clarifying that 26 pays refers to the biweekly schedule and semimonthly means two pays per month.

According to payroll staff, the district plans to adopt a standard 26-pay schedule for regular 12-month employees and to pay school-based staff on a semimonthly schedule to reduce errors across diverse pay types (paraprofessionals, child nutrition workers, teachers). Board members pressed for clarity about how ten-month contracts would be paid over a 12-month timeline; administration confirmed school-based employees would receive pay spread across 12 months in the semimonthly structure.

After the explanation and questions, the board moved and seconded the item and approved the payroll-procedures amendment.