San Francisco Unified School District set to scrap old payroll system after numerous issues
SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco United School District hopes to switch its current payroll, finance, and human resources systems to a new model after multiple issues with its previous system.
Frontline Education's California Enterprise Resource System, also known as an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, would replace the district's previous model, EMPowerSF, the district said Thursday.
The district first implemented EMPowerSF in January 2022. Following the change, many teachers and district employees reported receiving inaccurate paychecks or nothing at all, some for multiple months. The flawed system also could have hampered the district's recruitment and retention efforts along with low starting salaries, according to a civil grand jury report released last June.
"Getting rid of EMPowerSF is an important step towards building back trust and repairing the tremendous harm done to educators," Executive Vice President of United Educators of San Francisco Frank Lara said in a statement Thursday. "We hope the painstaking lessons learned while stabilizing EMPowerSF will be applied when moving to the new system."
Frontline Education's California Enterprise Resource System is the most used ERP system in the state, according to the district.
"This decision was made after thoughtful and careful consideration of what kind of ERP system we need as the third largest employer in San Francisco," Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne said. "We are taking lessons learned from our switch to EMPowerSF in 2022 as we plan for this transition. I am confident that this change is in the best interest of our employees."
San Francisco United School District will present a contract regarding the new system to the school board March 12 for approval. They hope the system will be fully implemented by July 2025.
