A banking error has caused dozens of Florida teachers to see their state-issued $1,000 bonus checks bounce, officials said Friday.
Disaster relief payments issued to about 50 of the 176,000 educators who received checks were affected by the JPMorgan Chase error, according to a statement from the Florida Department of Education. Officials said they’re working to fix the problem.
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“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,” JPMorgan Chase spokesperson Allison Tobin Reed said in an email.
State Sen. Jason Pizzo, D-Miami, brought attention to the error Friday morning when he tweeted a photo of a teacher’s return item notice that was received after trying to deposit the check.
Funded by federal COVID-19 relief money, the bonus payments to teachers, principals and first responders received bipartisan support in the Florida Legislature this past spring. But some criticized Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis for hiring a private company to print and mail the checks, along with a letter signed by the governor, instead of sending money to local school districts to distribute.
Pizzo tweeted later Friday, “Teaching moment: The individual political benefit in spending $3.6 million to print and send thousands of checks with your name on it, is outweighed by the more efficient and fiscally responsible option of direct deposit.”
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The Associated Press contributed to this article.