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MPS payroll issue, staff paychecks missing
Where is the money? That is the question many Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) employees asked on Friday, Jan. 2, after they did not get a paycheck in their bank accounts.
MILWAUKEE - Where is the money? That is the question many Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) employees asked on Friday, Jan. 2, after they did not get a paycheck in their bank accounts. MPS said those employees were warned.
MPS payroll concerns
What we know:
It was an end to winter break that MPS teacher Angeline Selkridge was not expecting.
"I checked my bank app, no pending deposit or anything," Selkridge said.
Angeline Selkridge
Selkridge's paycheck was missing from her account. She quickly learned she was not alone.
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"A lot of us colleagues were communicating with each other, ‘Hey, did you get paid? Did you get paid?’ Nobody’s gotten paid," Selkridge said.
Angeline Selkridge
School district warning to employees
Dig deeper:
MPS officials said they warned staff this could happen. That warning was in an email sent on Dec. 18. It explained that "some financial institutions may take additional time to post deposits" because of federal tax regulations at the start of the year.
Selkridge said the information came buried at the bottom of a weekly email.
"There should’ve been more communication," Selkridge said. "Usually high-importance emails usually have some red in there."
MPS sent another email to employees on Friday saying, "at approximately 2:30 p.m...funds have been issued" to staff banks and credit unions. Officials explained it sent out its planned payroll at 6 a.m., but an error occurred at US Bank hours later and "payments were only partially processed."
Employee frustration
What they're saying:
"Somebody’s dropping the ball here. There are about 9,000 staff in MPS, and we are all in a frenzy," Selkridge said.
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Selkridge is watching her account closely, hopeful the money will come soon. At last check (Friday afternoon), her money was not yet in her account.
Complete statements
What they're saying:
In an email, MPS Chief Human Resources Officer Dominick Maniscalco sent the following message to MPS staff:
"As you may know, today’s paychecks are being deposited later than they typically would. We know this is a challenge for everyone impacted. It has been our top priority today to resolve this delay urgently.
"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 this 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. By approximately noon, they gave us the confirmation that funds would be issued by the end of the day. Again, US Bank has now confirmed that funds have been sent to your financial institutions.
"We understand how disruptive and frustrating this delay is. We thank you for your patience as we work with US Bank to address this issue and ensure all employees are paid."
Ingrid Walker-Henry, president of the Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association (MTEA), issued the following statement:
"It is unacceptable for MPS to fail to pay their workers on time, especially right after the holiday season. This failure does not inspire confidence in the MPS Office of Finance. MTEA expects that Superintendent Cassellius will apologize to our members and take immediate steps to ensure this never happens again."
The Source: Information in this post was provided by Milwaukee Public Schools and MTEA.