- March 11, 2026
Over 9,000 Volusia County Schools employees received an excess amount of retroactive pay last year, a technical mistake the district says was caused by its recently implemented software.
District staff reported during the School Board meeting on Tuesday, March 10, that the retroactive pay was put into the district's FOCUS system — implemented seven months ago — as a separate payment last year. The technical error caused impacted employees to receive close to double, and, in some cases, triple the slated amount of retroactive pay.
Of the over 9,000 employees, the district was unable to recover funds from 152; bank accounts in these cases had been depleted or were in an overdraft status. In some cases, these accounts incorrectly received over $1,000.
"There were a small number where we couldn't get it out of their bank account, and so we're working individually with those individuals to come up with a plan on how to recoup the money from that very small number of people," said Matt Kuhn, chief technology officer for VCS.
This was one example of the district's ongoing issues with FOCUS, payroll errors and problems with "timely and transparent communication," said Volusia United Educators union president Elizabeth Albert.
"These are not isolated incidents but are repeated and widespread issues affecting multiple job categories across this district," Albert said. "This system, I believe, was meant to improve efficiency, but instead has created instability, anxiety and confusion and has broken the trust that employees should have in their employer's ability to pay them correctly for the work that they do."
Albert said 300 employees in the transportation department learned they had received excess overtime funds in September when they didn't receive their retroactive payment in February. Of those 300 employees, 118 learned that their retroactive pay wasn't enough to cover the overpaid funds they had received, resulting in a dock of their regular paycheck.
Employees understand they must repay the funds, Albert said, but the district's decision to "demand immediate lump-sum repayment without speaking to employees is inappropriate."
"This is not a glitch," Albert said. "This is a financial crisis and hardship."
Teacher Robin Bradshaw said ongoing issues with the FOCUS system have placed consequences on the backs of employees.
"For many of us, our paycheck is not just a number on a screen," she said. "It determines whether we can pay our rent, our mortgage, buy groceries, cover gas to get to work and provide for our families. When payroll errors occurs, even small ones, they can create a domino effect in our lives. Bills do not pause because FOCUS makes a mistake."
This isn't the first time the district has had issues with its Enterprise Resource Planning system. Superintendent Carmen Balgobin said the last two "failed attempts" with past systems cost taxpayers thousands of dollars.
The district had to change to FOCUS when its last ERP system became outdated, with no more technical support.
When the payroll issue arose last year, she met with FOCUS to address it.
"We told them — we were very clear — that we need to have systems in place and we needed the supports in place," Balgobin said. "There are four other districts in Florida that I know ... that are implementing FOCUS as well. So at that point in time, their support system was very thin."
FOCUS assured the district that they would hire an additional systems engineer, dedicated to Volusia County. The district also hired a project manager.
Since the last event, she said, the district has discussed implementing proactive measures to prevent this from happening again. She suggested the board hold a workshop on the issue.
"I want to say to our employees who have experienced the discrepancies with their paychecks, with tax deduction — I know it's not easy and it takes a toll on your family," Balgobin said. "So we're very sorry for that, and we will do everything from our end to ensure that those measures, additional measures, are in place to deduct any possible mistakes that could be made in the future."
