Organization Overview
Oklahoma City Public Schools (OKCPS), the largest school district in Oklahoma, serves approximately 45,000 students across 21 high schools and middle schools. Managing payments for officials and event workers was a time-consuming, costly, and frustrating process—until they switched to Arbiter Pay.
By automating payments, OKCPS eliminated manual check processing, reduced administrative burdens, and ensured officials and event workers were paid within 24 hours of an event.
Oklahoma City Public Schools (OKCPS) is the largest district in Oklahoma, serving more than 45,000 students across 21 high schools and middle schools. Like many large districts, OKCPS managed hundreds of athletic and event workers—but relied on manual, outdated payment processes.
The Challenge
Before Arbiter Pay, OKCPS faced growing issues tied to its manual check-based system:
- 📬 Delayed Payments: Officials often waited days or weeks to receive checks.
- 🧾 High Admin Burden: Tracking hours, issuing payments, and reconciling 1099s was time-consuming.
- ⚠️ Compliance Risk: Manually collecting and storing tax info added complexity and risk.
- 😡 Frustrated Officials: Payment delays affected worker satisfaction and staffing reliability.
The Solution
OKCPS became the first district in Oklahoma to implement Arbiter Pay for paying officials and event staff. The transition allowed them to:
- Improved Efficiency: The finance department eliminated manual check tracking, freeing up time for higher-priority tasks.
- Fast Payments: Officials and event staff were paid within 24 hours of working an event.
- Lower Costs: The district saved hundreds of hours and significantly reduced the cost of processing paper checks.
- Automated 1099s: Officials completed W-9s online, and Arbiter Pay handled tax compliance.
“Using Arbiter Pay we can pay all of our event workers within 24 hours of an event and take hundreds of paper checks off our desks.
— INDY NORDYKE, District Assistant Athletic Director.
The Results
The Results
- ✅ 100% of event payments now processed digitally
- ⏱️ Officials and game workers paid within 24 hours
- 🔐 Improved data handling and 1099 compliance
- 💬 Positive feedback from staff and officials alike
- 🧑💼 Reduced workload for the finance office
Becoming a Statewide Advocate
OKCPS didn’t stop at internal success. After seeing the impact firsthand, the finance team began sharing their experience with other districts in Oklahoma—quickly becoming a resource and reference for others considering the platform.
NOT ONLY HAVE WE ADOPTED THE ARBITER PAY SYSTEM, we have become advocates for the product, helping four surrounding districts adopt the payment platform. Once you get the ArbiterPay system up and running in your district, it’s really, really good. It’s efficient, convenient, and saves us a lot of time.
— CINDY NORDYKE, District Assistant Athletic Director.
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