Teachers at The North Bronx National Council of Negro Women Child Development Center say they have not been paid in over a week.
“We have often said they are lucky to have us because someone else would have said, ‘No, I’m just going to stay home until I get paid,'" said teacher Ann Joseph.
The Child Development Center, located on White Plains Road, has a contract with the city's Department of Education. It provides services for infants, toddlers, 3-K and pre-k.
Joseph worked for the center for seven years. She says payroll problems began when the school started working with the DOE.
“Somewhere along the way, DOE took over, and that’s where everything started to fall apart," said Joseph.
Joseph says the issues began in July 2024 when she received an email from the director of her school, notifying colleagues that checks would be late due to "Great difficulty with DOE approving enrollments and the Headstart Budget."
“At first it was technical, then we were told the funds are there, but for some reason DOE is having problems releasing the funds," said Joseph.
News 12 reached out to the DOE about the latest payroll issues and a spokesperson responded with the following statement:
“We are working closely with this program to ensure they are paid. The program’s budget information and required insurance documentation were not finalized and uploaded until July 18, which delayed the start of invoice processing. Since then, the program has certified attendance and submitted four invoices, which are now undergoing standard review. To avoid any future delays, we advised the program to submit any remaining attendance and invoices as soon as possible.”
There's no word when the teachers will be paid.
