Some Detroit Public Schools’ employees will receive their paychecks one or more days late this week after a snow day forced offices to close last week, delaying the mailing of paychecks, district officials said today.

The delay comes at the worst possible time, said Detroiter Denise Beard, who works in the cafeteria at Henry Ford High School.

“I got people crying on the phone because they need that money for their kids’ Christmas,” said Beard, who planned to use her check to buy last-minute purchases for her holiday dinner and a gift for her 17-year-old son.

District spokesman Steve Wasko said the school system regrets that the delay has inconvenienced some families. But he cautioned that the delay did not occur because of the district’s ongoing financial troubles, which has been a concern of some employees.

“This is a delivery issue — not a financial issue — and one that trails back to a snow day,” he said.

The checks were supposed to be mailed Friday, but the mailing was delayed until the next business day — Monday — because of the weather emergency that closed all schools and the district offices, Wasko said. The scheduled payroll distribution was supposed to be Tuesday.

Employees whose checks are directly deposited into their accounts received their money on time, he said.

Many employees whose checks were mailed should have received them Tuesday, or will receive them today or Friday, Wasko said. There will be no mail on Thursday because of the Christmas holiday.

The explanation is no consolation to Beard. She said district officials should’ve made every effort to mail the checks by Friday, or the district officials should’ve come to work on Saturday to mail them.

“I think it was wrong,” Beard said, adding she was depending on her check for nearly $300. “I’m very upset.”