Oklahoma education officials are attempting to claw back at least $290,000 in bonuses they mistakenly paid out to several teachers.
After awarding them bonuses of between $15,000 and $50,000 each last fall, the Oklahoma State Department of Education earlier this month demanded at least nine unintended recipients to return the funds by the end of next month, watchdog organization Oklahoma Watch reported last Thursday, citing interviews it conducted with affected employees. A total of $185,000 went to teachers who didn’t qualify for the program at all, and $105,000 was overpaid to teachers who qualified for a lesser amount, the outlet reported.
The errant payments were awarded to educators who applied for the bonuses last fall through a statewide program designed to recruit teachers for hard-to-fill roles in Oklahoma schools through pay-based incentives, according to the outlet. Oklahoma’s education department made the payments in error because its staff did not sufficiently vet the information provided in the applications, the watchdog reported.