MPS erroneously paid thousands in unemployment

In the last fiscal year, Montgomery Public Schools paid out more than $134,000 in unemployment compensation, much of it to former employees who didn't deserve it.

That number, and the fact that MPS provided unemployment compensation to some former employees who had quit or voluntarily resigned, came from MPS payroll director Pamela Wooden, who told the Montgomery County Board of Education during a Tuesday work session that the system had simply failed to supply the Alabama Department of Labor with the necessary paperwork to prevent the payments.

To qualify for unemployment compensation, Alabama residents must have been terminated without cause or have resigned due to a work-related matter. Wooden said many of the former MPS employees did not meet those requirements.

"I called (the Department of Labor) and asked why we had paid this much," Wooden told the board. "They said no one from this system had contacted them in at least five years. They haven't received anything from us challenging the employees' requests (for compensation) in that time. People who had quit were getting money."

Wooden said that after discovering the issue and working with the Department of Labor, she was able to cut the MPS unemployment payments by nearly half from one quarter last year to the next.

Wooden's comments came during a presentation by a representative from the Kronos corporation, which was pitching the board on a $300,000 automated payroll system that would help it track employee hours and pay. It also would help automatically generate the appropriate paperwork for terminated employees.

"It's a very good system that will help us manage many things," MPS Superintendent Margaret Allen said.

The Kronos pitch is part of a broader move by Allen and the board to streamline a number of processes and digitize those processes wherever possible.

So far, MPS has revamped its hiring process, moving a number of tasks to an Internet system and allowing principals to be primarily responsible for the hiring of their own staff.

Instead of submitting paper resumes and applications for generic job listings at undisclosed schools, applicants now go online — either at home or at a kiosk located at the central office — and fill out applications for specific openings at specific schools. They also can submit resumes electronically, and MPS officials have the ability to schedule interviews through the system.

Those changes were made using mostly existing software with little cost to the district.

A bit more expensive was the purchase recently of the eBoards Solutions software, which will allow board members to receive meeting materials and other items electronically via tablets. That software cost MPS $24,120, but board members said they expect it to pay for itself in time.

"It really is a great system that will save us a ton on paper," board member Melissa Snowden said after the measure was approved.

The board also heard a pitch from Allen during Tuesday's work session for a product called Compliance Director. Among other tasks, Compliance Director tests employees on ethics and rules and educates them on proper compliance.

Allen and MPS attorney Vernetta Perkins told the board the system possibly could save the district thousands by avoiding lawsuits.

Overall, Allen said the shift to more digital processes was an effort to solve a number of lingering issues and to save money.

"We're trying to move the system forward," Allen said. "There are a lot of these little issues that need to be addressed and this move (to digital) will help with a number of things, particularly in saving money. And we need all the money we can get to help us educate these students."