Banking error causes some teacher bonus checks to bounce

About 50 educators had problems cashing their pandemic bonus checks because of a banking error, according to the Florida Department of Education.

State Sen. Jason Pizzo tweeted a photo of one of the $1,000 bonus checks that bounced because of “not sufficient funds.”

“Any Florida teachers out there whose bonus check bounced?” the Miami Democratic state senator wrote in a tweet on Friday, posting a photo of a notice received by an educator.

The banking error by JP Morgan Chase affected about 50 of the 176,000 bonus checks sent to educators, Brett Tubbs, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Education, wrote in an email.

“The impacted individuals have been identified and we are diligently working to correct this banking error expediently,” he wrote. “JP Morgan Chase has indicated they will be reimbursing all penalties and fees associated with this banking error.”

Tubbs did not elaborate on what caused the banking error.

JP Morgan Chase issued a statement that read: “We are aware of an error we made that impacted check payments to a small number of people out of 176,000 payments made. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused and are working to correct it, including refunding any fees incurred by the recipients as a result.”

At least one educator in Central Florida was affected. State Rep. Travis McCurdy, D-Orlando, said his office assisted an Orange County educator whose bonus check bounced, causing her to incur a $15 fee from her bank and spend two days on the phone trying to straighten out the issue.

The educator tried to get the issue resolved this week through the Department of Education and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office with no success, but her local school district was able to help her get her money, McCurdy said.

“It seems like the state is literally writing checks the people can’t cash,” he said. “It’s unfortunate because President Biden provided the money to the state so why are the checks bouncing?”

DeSantis and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran signed the checks. The envelope included a letter written by DeSantis thanking educators for their service during the pandemic.

The money for the bonuses came from federal COVID-19 relief funds.