The Santa Barbara school board agreed Tuesday night to a $16,000 contract for an outside consultant to thoroughly review the operations of the district’s payroll department.

Deputy Superintendent Eric Smith said there have been problems for some time that clearly came to a head with the payroll check errors in September and resignation of the district’s payroll coordinator.

At the beginning of the school year, 182 employees were underpaid on Sept. 30, many by several hundred dollars, the district said in a statement. The issue was soon corrected, but it intensified the staff’s feeling that an outside agency should be involved in reviewing the payroll procedures.

The Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team — which has been used multiple times by the district, including an in-depth list of recommendations for the special education and child development departments — will be awarded the contract.

Its review will look at staffing, compliance with state regulations and ensuring there are no unauthorized changes.

— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk or @NoozhawkNews.