MANSFIELD — Mansfield City Schools union employees will not receive their bi-monthly paychecks on Friday.
Instead, they’ll have to wait until Monday, thanks to an apparent issue involving the district treasurer’s office.
“I’m not happy,” Brad Strong, president of the Mansfield Schools Education Association, said Thursday afternoon on his way to meet with Supt. Stan Jefferson.
The union contract states members are meant to be paid twice a month, on the 8th and 23rd day of the month. If those dates fall on weekends or holidays, they are to be paid the Friday of that week, Strong said.
On Tuesday evening, the school board voted 5-1 not to renew the contract of Treasurer Robert Kuehnle, who was then dismissed from the meeting. He was placed on paid administrative leave immediately and ordered to turn in all keys and key fobs for the district’s buildings.
Strong said there is a code that only the treasurer knows that is used to release the funds for payroll. Kuehnle has reportedly not released the code.
“Due to timely circumstances in the hiring of an Interim Treasurer, the pay day of Friday, February 21, 2020 will be moved to Monday, February 24, 2020,” said Jefferson. “The board will approve the hiring of an acting Treasurer early tomorrow morning. After approval, Edge, our check-signing software company, will enter the acting Treasurer’s signature in the software and the payroll department will be able to run the pay. We apologize for this delay and any hardship this may cause.”
“People are disappointed,” Strong said. “You perform an action; you expect to be compensated. I appreciate Stan Jefferson taking care of this matter as quickly as he can, but I’m disappointed this happened.
“We have single parents and people who need to buy medicine,” Strong said.
Strong said this is the second time since 2017 the MSEA has not been paid on time. The MSEA is still expected to report to work tomorrow, he said.
