Say What Now? 225 Teachers Must Pay Back More Than $280,000 to School District After Accidentally Receiving Bonuses

A North Carolina school district is asking 225 teachers to each pay back $1,250 in bonuses they received on their paychecks due to a payroll error.

via People:

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) district has apologized to the English teachers for the Jan. 12 payroll error, which CMS caught five days later on Jan. 17 and notified the teachers on Jan. 18, according to a statement provided to local media outlets WCNC, WBTV and WSOC-TV. 

PEOPLE has reached out to CMS for details about the $281,250 mistake.

The 225 teachers “will have the option of repaying the bonus in a lump sum from their February check or may choose a payment plan with deductions over three months,” per the statement. 

The district claimed that these bonuses were intended only for new teachers as an incentive to recruit them to work at CMS schools.

“We understand the challenges this error may have caused, and we are committed to working closely with each of the teachers impacted,” the statement said, per WCNC. “We value the work of all CMS employees and sincerely apologize for any distress or inconvenience.”

CMS, which has 184 schools throughout Mecklenburg County, employs more than 20,000 teachers, support staff and administrators, according to the district’s About CMS page on its website. 

The way teachers are underpaid, they should be able to keep it — and then some.

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