BALTIMORE COUNTY — For decades, Baltimore County Public School teachers have dealt with a lapse in health insurance, delays in salary, and delayed certifications.
On Tuesday night, educators called on the new Board of Education members to make some changes.
The issue dates back pre-pandemic, even before a ransomware attack. According to the teachers, there's just simply not enough HR staff to keep up with paperwork, which is why educators have lost benefits and pay.
"There was an efficiency study finally done last year by a Public Works LLC, and even in that study it said only about 6% of the respondents said that HR was operating efficiently," said Erica Mah, Co-Chair of TAPCO.
Because of that, teachers say they get the short end of the stick yet again.
"We have children, dependents who are being dropped off of insurance for no good reason. People cannot get medical care, folks are paying for prescriptions out of pocket. People have delayed retirement funds because things aren't going through certifications that have not been updated. Folks were supposed to get pay increases that have waited anywhere from months to years," said Mah.
"We are the ones who are bearing the brunt of the staffing crisis, we are the ones who are working multiple jobs, who have extra students in our classroom, who are covering for each other when each other is out and so we want to bring great people to our district and we know that in order to do that, the most important thing we have to do is pay them and pay them the right amount and pay them on time," said Lena Amick, BCPS teacher.
BCPS sent out a letter saying they are taking immediate actions to address these concerns. Part of the letter read:
Effective Wednesday, December 7, 2022, 16 clerical staff will be temporarily reassigned to human resources as part of the clerical support project designed to address critical needs. Reassigned staff will receive training and will begin new duties Friday, December 9, 2022–additionally, new job postings have been advertised for 12 full-time customer service representatives, four-six part-time customer service representatives, and one supervisor to staff an onsite customer service center to respond to employee and retiree needs.
View full letter from BCPS below:
Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) is taking immediate and substantive action to address concerns raised by Team BCPS employees and retirees regarding human resources (HR) services.
On November 14, 2022, a cross-divisional team was established to implement innovative solutions that address ongoing technology concerns, staffing needs, and backlogs from manual processing impacting system operations. Specifically, the team was designed to:
- Improve customer service to BCPS employees and retirees related to benefits and leave administration.
- Launch a customer service center to respond daily to employee and retiree needs.
- Collaborate with the Division of Information Technology and BCPS-approved technology vendors to:
- Resolve benefit cancellations, expedite benefit change requests, and submission of ongoing add/drop files to vendors, state and county;
- Develop a technology reporting and systems support team focused on data integration and support; and
- Create an employee self-service platform that increases efficiency and integrates with existing technology to meet ongoing employee and retiree needs.
To date, the cross-divisional team has worked to:
- Identify barriers and redirect resources for support.
- Create a customer service center that will provide walk-in, e-mail, and phone support for Team BCPS staff and retirees.
- Develop technology project scope and acquire needed technology hardware and software to provide enhanced services for staff and retirees.
Current Status
Effective Wednesday, December 7, 2022, 16 clerical staff will be temporarily reassigned to Human Resources as part of the Clerical Support Project designed to address critical needs. Reassigned staff will receive training and will begin new duties Friday, December 9, 2022.
Additionally, new job postings have been advertised for 12 full-time customer service representatives, 4-six part-time customer service representatives, and one supervisor to staff an onsite customer service center to respond to employee and retiree needs. The job postings close Saturday, December 10, 2022. The customer service center will be open Monday – Friday with extended hours two days per week.
Clerical Support Project – Immediate Support
On December 1, 2022, meetings were held with division leadership to discuss needs related to the human resources clerical support project. Subsequently, 16 clerical staff have been temporarily reassigned to several offices within Human Resources. Training for these staff members begins on Wednesday, December 7, 2022. This reallocation will permit current Human Resources staff to maintain primary focus on daily processes related to hiring and employee development. These staff members will focus on addressing benefit needs, leave requests, certification/growth chart, and other record updates. Team BCPS staff and retirees can expect to receive a response to their inquiries within 48 hours.
Clerical support will be provided from December 2022 to February 2023 to the following offices in HR to address the backlog of employee concerns:
- HRIS
- Certification
- Leaves
- Benefits
- Retirees
Customer Service Center (Coming Soon)
Job postings were advertised on December 1, 2022, for 12 full-time customer service representatives, 4-six part-time customer service representatives, and one supervisor to staff an onsite customer service center to respond daily to employee and retiree needs. Postings close Saturday, December 10, 2022. View the posting for the Customer Service Representative positions here [track.spe.schoolmessenger.com]. View the posting for the Customer Service Specialist position here [track.spe.schoolmessenger.com].
Team BCPS staff and retirees will receive regular updates on the system’s work to enhance human resource services.