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'An unfortunate oversight': Over 200 CMS teachers must pay back bonuses they were mistakenly issued

CMS says 225 high school English teachers received $1,250 bonuses that were only intended for new hires.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — More than 200 high school English teachers have to pay over $1,000 to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools after they were mistakenly issued bonuses that were intended for new teaching recruits.

The teachers received recruitment bonuses of $1,250 on Jan. 12 in an off-cycle paycheck. These bonuses were only meant for new teachers as an incentive to help fill critical teacher vacancies. None of the teachers who received the bonus were new hires.

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The CMS compensation department discovered the mistaken payments on Jan. 17 and notified the teacher the next day. 

The teachers who mistakenly received the bonuses have the option to repay the funds in a lump sum taken out of their February paycheck, or they can choose to repay the funds over a three-month payment plan.

CMS teachers do receive a $200 monthly "retention" bonus because of the critical teacher shortage.

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WCNC Charlotte reached out to CMS about the incident and a spokesperson for CMS said, in part:

We understand the challenges this error may have caused, and we are committed to working closely with each of the teachers impacted ... We value the work of all CMS employees and sincerely apologize for any distress or inconvenience. If employees have any questions related to this situation, they may contact the CMS Human Resources Division.

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