Beginning Jan. 1, 2016, all Chilton County School System employees will receive their pay in the form of a direct deposit.

Some employees currently are issued hard copy checks at the Central Office off Lay Dam Road in Clanton, but this practice will end with the beginning of the new year after a narrow vote Tuesday by the Chilton County Board of Education.

At a regular meeting, the board voted 4-2 in favor of Superintendent Tommy Glasscock’s recommendation to make direct deposit mandatory.

Board member Jim Shannon asked if the move was legally required, to which Glasscock responded that it is not.

Shannon and board member Keith Moore voted against the measure.

“I can assure you it’s going to hurt somebody,” Moore said about employees who still rely on checks.

Glasscock cited the time spent on issuing checks and the confusion it can cause.

Chief Financial Officer Steve Yeargan added that most systems are adopting the proposed model as a way to streamline payroll, and assure that employees receive pay quickly and accurately.

Board members Lori Patterson, Linda Hand, Joe Mims and Pam Price voted in favor of the measure.

Board member Curtis Smith was absent from the meeting.

The board also elected officers for 2016.

Patterson was re-elected as the board’s president, and Mims was re-elected as vice president.

No other board members were nominated.

Patterson was nominated by Mims, the motion was seconded by Shannon and passed unanimously.

Mims was nominated by Shannon, and the motion was seconded by Moore. The vote was 5-1, with Price opposed.