DeKalb school payroll review uncovers payments to non-employees
A review of school system payroll records in DeKalb County found payments to people who were not actually employees, officials announced over the weekend.
The school district is investigating over payments of nearly $50,000 to two people who were no longer employees, plus five who were on improperly recorded leave, system spokesman Walter Woods said.
The names of those who received the payments were not immediately available. Those seven people were among 148 whose employment status could not be verified after a systemwide check of records.
Over the past several weeks, Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson has conducted a review of the system's roughly 15,000 employees. Teachers, administrators and other staff had to show identification in person and fill out a form confirming their employment status.
The review turned up 148 "non-verified" employees. Most of those whose employment status came up as "non-verified" were substitute teachers or part-time coaches, who were not necessarily being paid.
"I think this goes to the determination of the superintendent to get tot he bottom of all of the problems in the DeKalb County school system," school board member Paul Womack said. Another board member, Pam Speaks, said she was glad to hear that the review found improper payments to only seven people.
"That doesn't sound like a lot to me," Speaks said, "although the hope would be that it would be zero."
The system's legal affairs office is investigating and will try to recover the unearned payments, which came to about $47,500.
Atkinson, who took over the system last fall, ordered the verification process in February. She said the process will occur annually " to let the public know that our payroll and personnel records are accurate and up to date.”
About the Author
Ty Tagami is a staff writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Since joining the newspaper in 2002, he has written about everything from hurricanes to homelessness. He has deep experience covering local government and education, and can often be found under the Gold Dome when lawmakers meet or in a school somewhere in the state.
