photo by: Dylan Lysen/Lawrence Journal-World

Lawrence Public Schools district offices pictured in April 2021.

Paychecks for the Lawrence school district’s classified staff are arriving slightly late due to a processing error.

Wednesday is payday for the district’s classified staff members, which include paraeducators, custodians, food service workers, clerical and secretarial staff and other hourly workers. A classified staff member told the Journal-World on Wednesday that some staff members typically receive a direct deposit of their paychecks the day before the scheduled payday, but as of Wednesday morning the money had still not shown up. He said the district informed them that an issue had delayed the checks. The employee, who didn’t want his name published out of fear of losing his job, said that he lived paycheck to paycheck and didn’t have money for food for himself and his son until he got paid.

District spokesperson Julie Boyle said that Wednesday was the payroll date for classified staff who worked between July 31 and Aug. 13. Boyle indicated the issue had to do with a payroll processing error.

“There was an error in the final processing of the payroll; however, our Human Resources and Finance staff resolved it so pay will be deposited today, the payroll date,” Boyle said in an email. “The district has notified staff on this payroll.”

Boyle said that money is not typically deposited the day before the payroll date for employees who have direct deposit. The Journal-World asked whether the error in the final processing was a human error or a technical issue and whether the district could provide more information about what the issue was specifically. Boyle did not provide additional details about the nature of the processing error, but said at about 4 p.m. Wednesday that classified employees would receive their pay that day.

“Since banks deposit funds when they choose, we cannot predict when today other than by the end of the business day,” Boyle said. “We are hearing from staff that their funds have been deposited.”