Education logo

My Little Home State

A current issue in one counties education system

By DC HopePublished 2 years ago 4 min read
Like

My little home state is growing in infamy, or at least one area. Twice in the past month Chilton County School have come under scrutiny. 

First, was a senior prank that showed just how much teachers really pay attention to students. I will be covering that in a separate article. Now, a member of the lunchroom staff is being strong armed by the Board of Education because of a mistake that was not the employee’s fault.Christie Payne, a child nutrition manager at Verbena High School, received a letter on April 12 from Chilton County Schools outlining an alleged overpayment to the tune of $23,000 and a plan to pay back the money.

Ms. Payne made a post on Facebook with a photo of the letter attached, asking for help and advice.

Picture of the letter that was posted by Ms. Payne on Facebook

She wrote, “I need help. I just received this in the mail. Had no idea this was happening. Now I have seven days to fix a six-year mistake made by (the) payroll department.” She was warned in the letter that she would face a penalty of $254 per month for every month the $23,465.40 error “is not taken care of,”.

So, you screw up and you pentalize the person that has become your victim? This is like getting and your insurance company telling you that you have to pay the thief.

The letter went on to explain that the employee went from assistant manager to manager and should have started at step 0 on the manager schedule but was given years of experience as an assistant. If she has years of experience in a managerial position why does she need to start at the bottom of the pay scale? The letter gave Mrs. Payne three options to repay the money

1. $325.91 monthly for 72 months

2. $3,910.90 annually for the next SIX YEARS

or

3. pay in one lump sum.

This third one kind if irks me… because obviously a school worker makes enough to pay over 20k in a lump sum. Teachers and other school faculty every where deal with miniscule salaries but that’s a story for another time.

In an interview Ms. Payne said, “I called payroll when I received the letter. They acted like I did it, I work in the lunchroom. I only know about food and lunchroom duties, I don’t know anything about the payroll department.”

Mr Chilton County Superintendent Jason Griffin declined to comment about the issue when news stations attempted to interview him.

“Due to employee privacy issues, Chilton County Schools will not be commenting on your inquiry,” Griffin wrote in an e-mail response.

I think this employee already made her “privacy” not so private. His response sounds like it should translate to, “we screwed up and are taking our mistake out on an innocent employee. Due to our own guilt we plea the fifth”.

News networks went to the Chilton County Board of Education offices and were told that Griffin was not in the office. In other words, he was hiding.

Tracy LeSieur, the Alabama Education Association’s UniServ director for District 13, has been in contact with Ms. Payne. (I actually had no clue what that was and had to Google the definition. UniServ Director works with and on behalf of Association members to fight for public education. So… a union like rep.)

“I met with the employee this morning, and we filled out the proper paperwork and are gathering all the documents that will be sent to the AEA legal department and they will review it and assess it,” LeSieur told news networks in an interview.

Thankfully a lawyer is getting involved, but as anyone who has dealt with lawyers will tell you this is going to be a long and strenuous process. Since Ms. Payne has decided to fight this I foresee some back lash from the higher ups.

My opinion…This is NOT the employees fault. It should go without saying that lunch room staff know how to prep food, teachers teach and payroll staff pay the staff. This woman had no control over the check/direct deposit she was receiving. I know life isn’t fair but to put all the blame on this woman is asinine. Another point is… why was she supposed to start at the bottom of the pay scale? This is a faithful employee who worked her way up and attained years of experience as an assistant manager before she was promoted. 

Do those years as an assistant manager not count according to Chilton County? Unless her contract specifically stated that experience would not transfer, and that she would start at the bottom of that positions pay scale in the event of a promotion her experience should have been taken into consideration.

As I was getting ready to submit this i had to do a quick update. As it turns out Ms. Payne is not the only one to fall victim to the Chilton County Bored of Educations poor management. A second employee has come forward saying they have also received a letter demanding a repayment of over thirty THOUSAND dollars from yet another "pay roll" mistake. Is it time for the state department to get involved and do an audit of this county's education system? 

**Authors Note: I will be following this situation closely as it unfolds and will write a follow up article as more information comes out. As always, I want to thank all my amazing readers. I would love to hear what all of you think as well. Please be sure to leave your opinions on my Facebook page under the post with this article linked.

teacher
Like

About the Creator

DC Hope

I am a mother, a wife and all the things that comes in that pretty package. i have a passion for romantic and paranormal fiction and psychology. i write for my own sanity and to give a little bit of an escape to those that want to get lost.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.