A teacher in the San Francisco Unified School District said he has been working since mid-August and has yet to see a paycheck. He now hopes an online funding site will help him pay for classroom supplies.
The teacher, who asked not to be named or to reveal which school he works at, said he was not the only one waiting for their first inspection.
“I do have a small savings account,” the teacher said. “It’s completely dry now. All the things I’ve saved from previous jobs.”
Every day, the bills keep piling up, including his money to buy school supplies for the classroom, such as markers and loose-leaf paper.
He has since started a GoFundMe page to help cover the cost of the supplies and give him a roof.
“I was looking at my bank account and I realised that if I don’t receive a payment at the end of the month, I’m directly unable to meet my financial obligations,” he said. “I can’t pay for housing. I can’t pay for food.”
Payroll issues are nothing new to San Francisco Unified. Back in March, teachers held a sit-in after waiting two months for their paychecks.
At the time, the school district blamed the new wage system. Now, it’s doing the same thing.
In a statement, the district said it was “committed to and has been actively addressing payroll-related issues, including technical and process issues, resolving individual employee cases, and establishing systems to provide our employees with clearer information and information. .”
The district did not say how many teachers were missing checks, but said it was allocating additional resources to deal with the payroll issue.
“I just felt really powerless,” the teacher said. “I felt like I had nowhere to go. It was stressful too.”
The district said it hoped to issue checks to teachers as soon as possible, but did not provide a date.