Payday failed to arrive Wednesday for the majority of the 980 employees of the Franklin Pierce School District.

The specific cause of the glitch � which temporarily held up payroll for employees whose money is directly deposited into their bank accounts � is not yet known, district spokesman Willie Painter said. But he said the error was fixed and employees should be able to access money in their accounts by Thursday � a day later than usual.

The district pays employees monthly, and Painter said some employees reported that they incurred overdraft fees as a result of the mix-up.

He said the school district will cover those fees for employees, then seek reimbursement from whoever is responsible for the problem.

�We are still trying to locate specifically what happened,� he said. �But we know for sure it wasn�t the district.�

He explained that funds used to pay employees � about $2.5 million � pass electronically through many hands, originating in Pierce County, then flowing to a state cooperative, the Educational Service District, Bank of America and the Federal Reserve. Funds are then transmitted to employee accounts at 127 different financial institutions.

Only employees whose pay is direct deposited were affected, Painter said. But he said they comprise the majority of district employees.