Duval County Public Schools violated federal law for the past three years by using Title I funds to pay teacher salaries in Title I schools to comply with class-size requirements instead of providing enhancements for the low-income students, a state audit found last year.
The district was cited by the state in October for using $2.7 million in federal funds last school year to pay teacher salaries in 17 of its Title I schools, a fact the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's Jacksonville chapter brought to light Wednesday.
The district must restore the $2.7 million to its Title I funding, which it will do in the next school year. It's unknown how much money was spent in similar circumstances in the previous two school years.
Title I is a federal designation used for public schools primarily serving low-income students.
"You have asked the churches, you have asked the private sector and everybody else to help fund these schools and you keep coming up with these budget issues," said the Rev. R. L. Gundy, the local chapter's president. "That's a problem."
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