As the school year rapidly approaches, many teachers in the Hopkinton district have spent the final month of their summer vacation advocating with a federal senator for help in receiving their IRS tax refunds, according to a congressional spokesperson and the president of the teachers union.

“Our office is working with teachers and the IRS to help the issue reach a conclusion,” a spokesperson for Sen. Ed Markey stated in an Aug. 20 email to the Independent. “However, because of individual privacy reasons, we cannot discuss specifics on constituent cases any further.”

Becky Abate, president of the Hopkinton Teachers Association, told the Independent in a recent interview that more than 100 Hopkinton Public Schools teachers and School Department employees were affected by the delayed payments, and she holds the town at least partly responsible.

“I don’t get a refund, but I facilitate it for people who do,” she explained. “This summer, more and more people complained because they received a second letter from the IRS. It said they have 60-90 days for the situation to be rectified with their employer, which is the town. So I sent a letter to all members telling them to contact Ed Markey.”

She added that Markey’s office reached out to her seeking information in mid-August “to coordinate a bulk mailing to fill out a release form for the IRS to release the records to his office.”

Abate noted that some teachers filed their tax returns as early as January but have yet to receive refunds.

Said Abate: “They were hoping to use their money for things like home repairs and summer vacations.”

She also said that a similar situation occurred last year, with some teachers not receiving their federal tax refunds until the late summer or early fall.

“There has been no apology from the town,” Abate emphasized. “What steps will the town take to make sure this doesn’t happen again? That’s the question I want answered.”

Superintendent, town finance director respond

School Superintendent Evan Bishop addressed the issue in an email to the Independent on Aug. 14.

“While I can’t speak to the IRS’s internal processes or speculate on the reasons for certain refund delays, I can share that we have been working closely with Senator Markey’s office to assist HPS staff in expediting their 2024 federal tax returns,” Bishop stated.

“In June, we identified that two deductions, vision and dental, were not reflected in the W-2s originally issued this year,” Bishop continued. “This was promptly communicated to staff, and corrected W-2s were issued. It’s essential to note that, although Box 12 may have been inaccurate, taxable income was not impacted.”

This statement corroborated information Abate told the Independent.

“We understand how important these refunds are to individuals and their families, and we share in the frustration this situation has caused,” Bishop stressed. “We are hopeful that this matter will be resolved soon.”

Kyla LaPierre, the town’s finance director, shared more details in an email to the Independent on Aug. 14.

“We have been notified by both school and town employees that refunds have been delayed this year,” she stated. “While some employees have received their refunds, others have not, and there isn’t a consistent driver for the delay.”

She noted that she was “not aware of a clerical error that is impacting the tax refund delays.”

“There are a few employees with delayed refunds that called the IRS and shared the outcome with the town,” LaPierre shared. “Each situation was a bit different, but none of the reasons for the delay were due to clerical errors from the town.”

Added LaPierre: “We are not aware of a delay that was due to a town error last year either.”

LaPierre stated that Markey’s office called the Finance Department in early August. She provided clarification at that time about the department’s response to the situation.

“The town is not aware of any clerical error that would impact tax refund delays,” she insisted. “The town has called the IRS multiple times, and the IRS has confirmed we are up to date on all of our tax filings.”

While the IRS “will not talk to the Finance Department about individual tax returns,” it “has repeatedly offered assistance if the employee calls the number provided on their letters from the IRS.”

“The dental and vision deductions were not originally included in the W-2,” she confirmed. “However, this has been an ongoing issue for years and was just discovered and corrected this year.

“This does not impact an employee’s taxable income,” continued LaPierre. “The employee communication that was issued stated that fact very clearly.”

The Independent reached out to the IRS for comment on Aug. 14. It also emailed Abate on Aug. 21 to see if any progress had been made in resolving the issue. No responses were received to these inquiries as of Aug. 25.