Editor's note: This story has been updated with a statement from US Bank in which the bank apologizes for the human error on their part which caused the MPS payroll issue.
Milwaukee Public Schools employees did not receive their paychecks Friday for work performed from December 7 through December 20, according to an anonymous email received by TMJ4.
TMJ4's Megan Lee spoke with at least a dozen teachers throughout the day who confirmed they were not paid. They woke up Friday morning to find their paycheck not deposited, and some even reported overdraft fees because bills and union dues came out as scheduled.
“This is my first time in 14 years not getting paid on time, and I just cannot let that slide," MPS teacher, Angela Harris said.
Harris said that she checked her bank account when she woke up Friday morning and nothing was deposited.
"It’s the first of the month, our mortgages are due. Rent is due. And to not to have the money that we so consistently rely upon is simply inexcusable," Harris said.
Harris said her paycheck came through Friday evening.
According to an email the district sent MPS employees, the delay was caused by an error by US Bank that led to payments only being partially processed.
MPS noted the error has been corrected, and all payments were processed by 2:30 p.m. Friday.
Watch: MPS employees face paycheck delays right before weekend
The email read, in part, that:
"US Bank, the bank Milwaukee Public Schools uses, confirmed at approximately 2:30 p.m. that funds have been issued to all of your designated banks or credit unions. We are working with several financial institutions to ensure these funds are accessible to you as soon as possible.
Here is the background on the situation: Milwaukee Public Schools submitted payroll today, Friday, January 2, 2026, in order to follow federal tax regulations that prevent employees from accessing 2026 wages in 2025. This plan was shared with employees in a December 18 communication via MPS Express. We confirmed with US Bank earlier in December that this would be taking place and that same-day payroll would be processed without issue today. This morning, we sent out payroll as planned at approximately 6 a.m., and US Bank confirmed that payroll was received. We followed up by phone for additional confirmation — and it was again confirmed. At about 11:30 a.m., US Bank contacted us and confirmed an error on their end and that payments were only partially processed."
An MPS spokesperson said some financial institutions may take additional time to post deposits.
On Monday, US Bank provided the following statement in response to the payroll issues:
“Dear MPS Colleagues, We received an apology letter Monday afternoon from our partners at US Bank after Friday’s payroll issue. After a thorough investigation, they found that a human error on the bank's part was the cause. US Bank does not anticipate that MPS employees would have incurred any fees because the money was sent to your banks Friday. However, US Bank has offered to reimburse overdraft or returned item fees based on the timing of the MPS payroll deposit. If this happened to you, email a copy of your bank statement or returned item notice (showing the fee and the date) to Kerri G. Stoner, Senior Vice President & Relationship Manager, at kerri.stoner@usbank.com. US Bank will review each case promptly. We appreciate their response, and we continue to thank you for your patience. We know this was disruptive and frustrating. I also want to thank my team members in Human Resources and colleagues in Finance for their quick action in working with US Bank to ensure that payroll was issued on payday. The full letter from the bank to MPS is attached, should you wish to review it. Our teams will continue to work with US Bank to ensure this does not happen again. Thank you for all you do each day to support our students and this district.”
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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