The Orange County Department of Education (OCDE) is preparing to process year-end payroll for about 77,800 employees in Orange County’s school districts and community colleges. This process is managed by OCDE’s Business Services division, which works with district payroll teams and the Information Technology division to ensure accuracy and compliance at the end of the calendar year. OCDE’s payroll system covers nearly 37,000 certificated staff, including teachers, counselors, and librarians, and about 41,000 classified employees. The department will also generate around 100,000 W-2 forms for the 2025 tax year.
Zubia Villacorta, Executive Director of Business Services, said the division aims to provide support and guidance to local education agencies throughout the county. Certificated employees will receive their December paychecks on Friday, January 2, 2026, which is the first business day of the new year. This schedule is intended to avoid creating a year with 13 paychecks, which could affect tax reporting. Any change to this schedule would require collective bargaining and agreement among all districts.
OCDE has informed district leaders and payroll managers of year-end deadlines and requirements, including a memo sent on September 25, 2025. The Information Technology division will post reminders on the Employee Information System starting December 5. Some employees may see earlier direct deposits, but these are determined by individual banks…