CCSD accidentally sends money to some employees, then demands it back

Superintendent Jesus Jara apologized in a Tuesday message to affected employees for the “payroll mistake,” as well as the tone of an earlier district message about the issue.

The district provided the Las Vegas Review-Journal with a copy of Jara’s message, but didn’t respond to inquiries seeking additional details, including the dollar amount of the overpayment and how many employees were affected.

“While it is true that an overpayment occurred because of a coding error as indicated in the email you received, it was not your fault that this mistake occurred,” Jara wrote. “So I am writing to apologize for the error and the tone taken in the letter.”

Jara wrote that he appreciates everything employees do to serve students and the district strives to provide support in pursuit of that objective.

“I may not be able to prevent every error or mistake, but I can assure you that we will treat you with kindness and understanding and transparently explain when mistakes occur,” he wrote. “We appreciate you working with us as we work to correct this situation.”

The Clark County Education Association said in a Thursday statement to the Review-Journal that it “does not believe employees should be obligated to pay for CCSD’s negligence.”

“This is what happens when CCSD breaks the law and unilaterally hands out bonuses without fulfilling their legal obligation to bargain this issue with CCEA,” the teachers union wrote.

The union filed a complaint against the district in May with the state’s Government Employee-Management Relations Board over incentive payments.

The complaint alleges the district notified school principals that they’re allowed to use their strategic budgets to pay incentives within certain parameters to licensed employees, but that terms weren’t negotiated with the union.

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.