Long Island school district overpaid teachers for 3 years

ROCKVILLE CENTRE (WABC) -- A teacher pay controversy brewing on Long Island after Rockville Centre school officials overpaid dozens of faculty members over the past three years.

Now, the teachers are being asked to return the large chunk of money.

District officials believe they overpaid 44 current and former faculty members over the last three years, costing taxpayers more than $250,000.

They say the problem started during the 2011-12 school year, and that checks were only corrected this year.

An error in the execution of the collective bargaining agreement between the school board and the teachers' union is being blamed, and lawyers for the district are trying to figure out how to get the money back.

They have already reached out to current faculty members and say they "appreciate their cooperation in helping us recover the funds."

It is unclear if any of the teachers have agreed to repay the money, and district officials say they are in the process of contacting past employees.

In a formal statement, officials told Eyewitness News that this is "an unfortunate situation, and we offer our apologies to our taxpayers. We pledge that all due diligence and urgency will be exercised in the recovery of the funds, along with implementing any necessary corrective action."

The Board of Ed also says they are also disturbed over the three years with which this went on, as well as how long it took to catch the problem.

The superintendent has thus far refused to go on camera.