School workers were overpaid for years. Now Alabama district wants them to pay it back
At least three employees of an Alabama school district have received letters informing them they have been overpaid for years. Now, they need to pay back the district.
On April 21, Christie Campbell Payne, an employee at Chilton County Schools, posted a startling letter from the superintendent.
“I need help!!! Just received this in the mail,” the woman wrote in a Facebook post.
In the letter, the superintendent told Payne she had been overpaid by $23,465.40 starting in the 2016-17 school year, and she now needed to pay it back.
At least two other employees have come forward and shared similar stories.
Payne’s letter explained that the overpayment was due to her promotion from an assistant manager to a manager position, citing that she should have “started at step 0 of the manager schedule but was given years of experience as an assistant.”
“Had no idea this was happening. Now I have 7 days to fix a 6 year mistake made by payroll dept,” the woman said in her Facebook post.
Superintendent Jason Griffin told the employee in the letter that every month the payment “is not taken care of” will add $254 to her total.
The school district offered to let Payne pay $3.910.90 every year for the next six years, to have $325.91 deducted from every paycheck for the next six years or to pay a lump sum.
Griffin said he could not comment on “specific personnel matters” but said that “the Chilton County Board of Education recently discovered several overpayments.”
“These overpayments date back several years, and were initiated prior to the tenure of the current Finance Department, Superintendent, and Board,” he said in a statement.
“Under Board policy and the law, board officials are required to recoup any overpayments. We are mindful of the financial impact that this matter can have on our employees, and we are working to balance that impact with our obligation to recover the funds,” the statement said.
Another Chilton County schools worker received a similar letter after the district overpaid her about $33,000 over the last four years, according to Alabama.com
A third employee who worked as a bus driver for the school district told WBRC he was also asked to pay back the district after he was overpaid.
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