CINCINNATI -- Cincinnati Public Schools employees are paying the district back after a math mistake in 2014 put too much money in their paychecks.
Almost CPS 500 employees were overpaid, but according to Ohio Auditor Dave Yost's report, none of these employees are teachers.
CPS said it was in the process of changing pay schedules in 2014 to put all employees on the same bi-weekly pay schedule. Somewhere along the way, the computer system failed and paid almost $415,000 more than necessary. Some employees reported the glitch, Yost said, but the district assured them that the money had been allotted correctly.
“Here they were trying to simplify their payroll process so I give them kudos for that, but this is something that probably should have been caught or acted on when the employees came forward," Yost said. "I commend the employees who came forward voluntarily and raised the issue. Good for them. There are still honest people out there."
Employees are being asked to pay the extra balance back, either on a payment plan, in full, or by trading time off equal to the outstanding balance. Some employees owe a little over $1,000. CPS aims to have most of the money recovered by the end of the year.
In a statement, CPS said it "deeply regrets the error and inconvenience for the employees involved" and is "committed to taking all steps necessary to ensure that public dollars are spent appropriately."
