The lunch lady that was ordered to repay thousands is not alone

Christie Payne, child nutrition manager at a high school in Chilton County, Alabama, has been ordered to repay over $23,000 after a payroll mistake went unnoticed for six years.

Payne says she was unaware that there was any issue with her pay until she received a letter in the mail from the superintendent.

The letter, signed by Superintendent Jason Griffin, said that the overpayment totals $23,465.40 and began during the 2016-2017 school year.

“The employee went from assistant manager to manager,” the letter said. “The employee should have started at step 0 or the manager schedule but was given years of experience as an assistant.”

Furthermore, the letter states that Payne will be charged an additional $254 every month that the debt is not repaid.

“I had no idea this was happening,” Payne said. “Now I have seven days to fix a six-year mistake made by the payroll department.”

The next week, a second employee of Chilton County School District came forward with a letter received from the Board of Education stating that she owes more than $32,000.  That employee was a nurse who transitioned into a teaching role during the same time frame as Payne.