I am a teacher for a small school district in Georgia. I earned my master's degree in August of 2004 and by the time all the paperwork had been processed I finally recieved my raise in October.

Yesterday I was given a paycheck considerably lower than what I had been paid for the past ten months $973 lower as the matter of fact. I also got a summons to come to the board office on Monday and meet with the assistant superintendent. I called and asked if I could meet earlier, because I was of course distressed. I ended up meeting with the payroll clerk and the superintendent.

I was told that when they gave me my raise they backdated it to the date I received the masters and somehow or other the computer picked up the back-date as my new pay rate and I was given that lump sum each month for the last ten months. They have now adjusted my pay back to the amount it was supposed to have been all along, which was a huge shock because I had gotten used to that pay.

AND they want me to repay what I have been overpaid, $9,743.00.

None of this was given to me in writing, because they are meeting with me earlier than they expected to and the assistant superintendent who was supposed to have handled the situation was out of town.

They told me I have several options with repayment and they gave me a few days to think about it.

1. I could repay lump sum. I immediately told them that was not an option for me.

2. I could repay in increments of $300 over the next 30 months.
That is really not an option for me either, because with the paycut I have already gotten (even though it is not money I had coming to me, it was money I had gotten used to getting, I have already suffered a financial blow)

I could repay, but not that much money at a time. I was told the money would be taken out of my paycheck and they would have me sign some paperwork saying that was okay. They said they would not have anything to do with taxation, because I had already paid taxes on the money. I would need to consult my tax people for that information.

I was also told, in the course of this conversation that there were 4 other people working for the school system who had this happen, one was an administrator, and the other were teachers. If there mistake is in the neighborhood of mine that would be close to $50,000. So that makes me wonder a number of things.

The superintendent indicated that all the mistakes were people who had gotten a pay raise due to a new degree. She said that most of the people were almost due to complete another degree. I am also pursuing another degree, but unlike the others, it is not a 6 year degree. I am pursuing a doctoral degree and won't be finished until 2008. The people that are close to getting another degree, they are just letting them wait until after that to figure out what to do.

1. Do I have to repay according to their terms or do I have the right to request my own terms. This was totally their mistake, not mine.

2. Do I have the right to request that they pay for me to seek tax advise for something that was caused by their mistake?

3. What rights do I have in this situation, I am a single parent trying to put myself and my son through college. I also have a younger son who has extensive medical expenses. This is going to be a major hardship for me.

4. What could happen if I refuse to sign their paperwork? Can I be terminated?

5. I have been a good employee with no blemishes on my record. I have letters of recommendation from previous employers. One saying that in the past 28 years of his profession I am in the top 10% of people he has worked with. I wanted to stay with this district and advance so I am not wanting to burn bridges.

I was wondering if it would be a reasonable request to ask that they put me to work during the summer months or after school on some sort of duty. I was a secretary before I went back to school to be a teacher so I could do afterschool duty that way or tutor a child or afterschool study hall. I just cannot afford this kind of paycut though.

I understand I have to repay, I just don't want to be railroaded. I am a single mother trying to get ahead. I pursued a masters degree for that reason and now it seems like it is setting me back further than I was before. Thank you.

1.) You have the right to negotiate the terms; you do not have the right to set them. I understand that you are not at fault but that doesn't mean you get to set the terms. It was their mistake but it is also their money.

2.) You have the right to make the request. They have the right to refuse.

3.) You have the right to try to negotiate with them. You have the right to seek legal advice. You do not have the right to decide how and when you will repay them.

4.) You can be terminated and sued for the repayment.

5.) You can ask them to do anything you want; you can ask them for any terms you want; you can ask them to provide you with any kind of summer work you want. They have the right to refuse any request.

I understand that this is a hardship for you but this is simply not a matter you get to control.

Okay. Here is my next question regarding the overpayment.

I have already paid taxes on these wages. Is there something different I will need to do in order to show that I had to pay it back, because that means I will be getting less money this year? They shouldn't reflect that payback on my paycheck right?

Also, do we have any repercussions against the individual who made this huge mistake. We are talking about a mistake of over $50,000 totaled. Some of the people had been overpaid for several years. Is there a statute of limitations on this?

I'll let Patty answer the tax question; she's better at that than I am.

I'd hesitate to consider trying to take any legal action against the person who initally made the mistake. One of the first questions you'll be asked is just exactly how it was that you didn't notice a mistake that was almost $10,000 in your favor by the time it was noticed elsewhere - surely you were told how much your raise would be?

Today I found out that there were several people that were underpaid as well several being overpaid. In fact, there are district wide meetings explaining the paystubs now and even after the explanation, many people were somewhat unsure, because there are several arbitrary issues about how the district figures length of service. I was not ever given any paperwork telling me how much my raise was going to be. I was told it would be on my next paycheck. I only knew that it was going to be a substantial raise, because I had gone up a degree level. I now know I could have gone online and found out the state pay schedule. I found this out at today's meeting. Also, I now know that my length of service is not figured the way it was where I worked before in another state. The contract I signed did not have a dollar amount anywhere on it.

I totally understand that I have to repay the money, it is tax payer's money. I am beginning to realize that I don't have many rights either. Is that the way this matter would be treated in every state? Just curious.

I would appreciate information on my tax questions if you can help me there.

Thank you,

I cannot answer your tax questions.

Yes, you would have the same obligations to repay in every state; no state would give you the right to determine when and how you would repay it.

How this is handled on your W-2 form depends upon whether the repayment is made in the same year as the overpayment, or in a subsequent year. The best thing to do, really, is see a tax advisor. And they do not have to pay for that.