MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — "I didn't know when I would be paid or why I had not been paid," Bettina Thomas, a teacher for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, said.
Thomas told WCNC Charlotte's Tradesha Woodard she's not the only one being impacted by the late payments.
"I know that a lot of people keep quiet, but if we as teachers would speak up, things would be better because [CMS] doesn't even know about some of the things that we're going through," Thomas said.
After weeks of suffering financially, Thomas finally broke her silence. She said her pay was processed, but she’s still left paying the price.
"They told me they would help me and they did," Thomas said. "I'm so grateful for that. I didn't think that one paycheck could put me this close to being homeless. There's still lots and lots of late fees and those fees that have accumulated into a large bubble expense that I didn't plan for."
WCNC Charlotte is always asking "where's the money?" If you need help, reach out to WCNC Charlotte by emailing money@wcnc.com.
As Thomas works to clean up the financial mess left behind, she's now left with one question -- where to start?
"I don't know that I can get everything caught up before things start reporting 30 days late," Thomas said.
Thomas is now encouraging others who are experiencing the same delays to speak out, she says it just might prevent someone else from facing a debt sentence.
"It just breaks my heart to see teachers walking away. If we share our experiences we can all come to the table collectively and find a solution," Thomas said.
WCNC Charlotte reached out to CMS about the issue and they’re encouraging folks to make sure they have their information coded in correctly to avoid payroll errors.
CMS encouraged anyone who needs help with this issue to contact them.
If you would like to help Thomas click here.
Contact Tradesha Woodard at twoodard1@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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