News

Triple Duty
Chicago Public Schools (CPS) comprises more than 600 schools and serves nearly a half a million students. It employs approximately 62,000 people and operates within a budget approaching $3.6 billion. Prior to the 2003-2004 school year:

• each school in the district issued its own employee identification cards.

• different cards were used for tracking time and attendance.

• paper paychecks were issued to each employee.

This year CPS embarked on an innovative card program designed to consolidate three functions:

• Standard ID Cards

• Automated time and attendance system cards

• Debit cards

"Rather than have three cards, we have one card serving three functions," says Mike Edwards, Director of Payroll for Chicago Public Schools. "Now we have a uniform card across the entire system."

The cards, printed on high-end Zebra 720i CM printers, include a magnetic stripe that allows employees to access their individual ATM accounts; a barcode that they swipe through a reader to record time and attendance; and Maestro, Cirrus, and CPS logos. 

Debit cards in lieu of paper paychecks
A pilot program this past summer proved the success of using debit cards in lieu of paper paychecks. In addition to being more convenient for employees, the district expects to save a significant amount of money by not printing paper checks. Approximately 80 percent of CPS employees choose to have their paychecks deposited directly into their bank accounts. The 7,000 CPS employees without bank accounts will save money, too, as check cashing services often charge exorbitant fees. 

The debit cards will also cut down on classroom disruptions. “Currently if an employee doesn’t get paid, they leave the school and come to our facility to get a check. Once the cards are in place, if we need to pay someone, we simply fund the card and tell them to go to the closest ATM and get their money. That doesn't leave a classroom uncovered," Edwards reports.

Creating the Cards
CPS hired a Chicago company, Identatronics, to create the new ID/eCash cards. Identatronics, a long-time Zebra Premier Partner, had the domain expertise to integrate information from numerous companies with multiple technologies onto one card. Identatronics had to ensure the new card worked with the district's time and attendance software and the Maestro-Cirrus ATM networks.

"We started working with Identatronics early on. They helped us get approval from MasterCard so the debit card would be accepted," Edwards says. 

Mike Grzegorek, Vice President of Elk Grove Village based Identatronics, said, “Using our IDimage software and three Zebra 720i CM printers running in a printer farm, we were able to print upwards of 50,000 cards on schedule.” 

Each dual-sided top-of-the-line color printer prints and laminates about 100 cards per hour. The printers also encode the magnetic stripe and print the bar codes.  Zebra’s intelligent card printing system, which automatically detects the ribbon type and configures the driver, eliminates extra steps and potential errors. It also gives fuller, richer colors, and advanced image data processing for greater detail, sharpness, and control.

The CPS cards are laminated on the front and on three-quarters of the back, up to the signature stripe. The district's old cards looked worn after just a few months of use, but the new laminated cards look more professional and will last much longer. 

Identatronics, which expects to print between 500 to 1,000 replacement cards each month, says it often makes sense for large organizations to outsource card printing. Grzegorek articulates, "Our entire marketing niche is providing solutions. Whether we are providing a printer & software package, or acting as a service bureau, we can take the burden off customers such as the Chicago Public Schools and provide the expertise they need to get the job done."