Two Chilton County school employees have settled their lawsuit against the school district over the system’s demand to repay $56,000 in overpayments that the system only noticed years later, according to court records.

Chilton County Circuit Court Judge Sibley G. Reynolds on Wednesday dismissed the lawsuit filed by career tech teacher Shellie Smith and Verbena High School cafeteria manager Christie Payne against Chilton County Schools Superintendent Jason Griffin, citing a settlement.

Terms of the settlement was not disclosed, and efforts to reach Alabama Education Association attorneys representing the employees were not successful.

Payne and Smith received letters demanding repayment of $33,000 and $23,000, respectively. The overpayments were due to incorrectly giving the employees credit for years of experience they shouldn’t have been given, the demand letters said.

In Payne’s case, she had previously been the assistant manager and was incorrectly given credit for her years of experience in that position.

The employees’ suit claimed they were unaware of the overpayments and were not given due process, meaning they had no chance to contest the overpayment, and employees will suffer “serious, adverse financial harm through no fault of their own” if they are required to pay the money back.

In Payne’s case, the $23,000 error was caught after six years, while the mistake in Smith’s situation was noticed four years later, according to the AEA.

Griffin earlier told AL.com that the district was following the law by trying to recoup the overpayments.

“We are mindful of the financial impact that this matter can have on our employees, and we are working to balance that impact with our obligation to recover the funds,” he said in an interview last year.