A mistake in SMSD payroll shorted the Sept. 20 paychecks of several district teachers, according to Shawnee Mission NEA President Linda Sieck.

Sieck spoke during the public comments section of the regular board of education meeting Sept. 24, alleging that several teachers who coach sports or sponsor activities were not paid the additional supplement their contracts grant them for being a sponsor.

“They received no communication from the district to explain why they were not paid,” Sieck said in her speech. “The only way employees learned about this was to examine their paychecks.”

SM East band director Alex Toepfer was one of the teachers affected by this mistake.

“I receive almost about 20 percent of my income from my supplemental contract,” Toepfer said in a speech before the school board. “When I saw my paycheck on Thursday morning was missing about 20 percent, it was shocking and very disruptive to me personally.”

Toepfer emphasized not only the financial burden this mistake places on teachers, but the effect on morale as well.

“When I see my paycheck and I see that I’m not being paid for the work that I’m doing, it hurts and it affects me personally,” he said. “It was kind of a blow to my finances, but also to my morale as a teacher.”

Sieck believes the mistake originated with the new system the district is using to keep track of teacher contracts.

“I think it has to do with the change over to the new software system,” Sieck said. “It’s a new system with a lot of contracts to process.”

Superintendent Michael Fulton responded to Sieck’s and Toepfer’s speeches with an apology.

“I apologize that this happened,” Fulton said. “It shouldn’t have occurred, but it did. We’re doing everything we can right now to work with our new vendor to make sure we get this corrected as quickly as possible.”