Teachers, staff feel the pay pain

Re “Payroll snafu’s costs soaring,” June 9

How would you like to work at a job where you didn’t know how you were going to be paid from month to month; where there was no one you could look to for help when things were wrong with your check; where the prevailing attitude is, “We are sorry, but just deal with it”; where even though you were paid $185 for a full 31 days of work, you were still expected to show up each day and do your job?

I haven’t been paid correctly for five months. I know what the Los Angeles Unified School District’s new BTS payroll system stands for: “Bitter Teachers and Staff.”

TOM IANNUCCI

Los Angeles

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The LAUSD’s payroll has not functioned well this year, but it’s news that it is falling behind on contributing to the state’s retirement system. Also, many employees and retirees are finding out that their health insurance has been terminated. It will probably be difficult for the district to recruit new employees for classified, certificated or administrative positions if it can’t promise them a monthly paycheck, health benefits or a retirement plan.

DONNA MADDEN

Redondo Beach

The writer is a retired LAUSD teacher.

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Re “Expensive advice,” editorial, June 12

Your editorial blames the wrong party. Rather than criticize school Supt. David L. Brewer for paying Deloitte Consulting more money, why not criticize Deloitte for doing a terrible job and not fixing it regardless of the cost? The LAUSD has every right to expect its contractors to do the job for which they are paid. If there are cost overruns, that is the contractors’ problem, not the taxpayers’ -- or in this case the hardworking teachers who can’t make their mortgage payments. Of course if government really were run like a business, most businesses would not be able to compete for the work. Deloitte is a perfect example of this. And if business really selected consultants on the basis of performance, Deloitte would soon be -- deservedly -- out of business.

LARRY PICUS

North Hollywood