Time clocks may help cut Elk River school costs

July 23, 2008

This fall, the Elk River school district's non-teaching employees will start punching the clocks. It's part of an effort to save money and make sure the district's cooks, janitors, teacher's aides, and some other employees are getting paid exactly for the hours they work.

District officials, who have to shell out $87,000 in startup costs for the computerized program, and $10,000 a year for the software licensing fee, hope to save close to $100,000 a year by cutting out payroll errors and controlling overtime costs. Teachers are not part of the system because they are not paid hourly.

The 662 affected district employees won't literally be punching the time clocks, said Michelle Vargas, manager of finance for Elk River schools. They'll be flashing their security badges to an electronic reader, which will log them in for the work day. Vargas said 25 time clocks will be installed in the district's 20 buildings.

Employees are already using an electronic system to put in for their time off, but still have to use the old-fashioned paper-and-pencil method of calculating their hours worked, Vargas said.

The time-clock system, Vargas said, can help managers control overtime costs, as well as pinpoint exactly how much time employees work. The system can prevent employees from being paid either too much or too little, either as a result of clerical errors, or, the possible padding of time sheets.

"There could be the possibility of that happening," Vargas said. "We're not saying there is, but the flexibility in the system now could allow that to happen. We feel there are also some people who are working more than what they are turning in. There is that issue of accountability on both sides."

Other districts that have either just bought or are already using the computerized time clock system include Hopkins and St. Michael-Albertville, she said.

Industry estimates show an error rate of about 1 percent in entering work hours manually on time sheets. For a company of between 250 to 500 employees, that equates to an annual savings of $97,000. Such a savings, Vargas said, would mean the system will have paid for itself after its first year of operation.

The employees contacted about the new system have been enthusiastic about it, Vargas said, because it cuts down on paperwork and allows them to more easily monitor their work hours and vacation time.



Star-Tribune
Norman Draper