NEW ORLEANS — Schools in New Orleans could lose $36 million in funding because of an accounting error, according to Nola.com.
The Orleans Parish School Board is trying to devise a plan to compensate for about $20 million of the deficit, but it's unclear what the district will do about the remaining $16 million shortfall.
School leaders told Nola.com that the school board will vote next week on a plan to allocate up to five million dollars of the district's funds.
According to Nola.com, last month district officials said the tax revenue projections given to the schools in March to help them budget for the following year "were likely inflated due to a miscalculation."
Charter school groups estimated the inflation was $20 million, however, a letter sent to school leaders on Friday estimated the projections were off by $36 million.
The City of New Orleans still has yet to provide the district with an updated "estimate of sales and property tax receipts", so the number is not final. According to our partners, the board's letter stated since Oct. 9, the district has been working with the city to confirm the sales and property tax receipts.
The schools would have to pay that $15 million back over the next three years.
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