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."