GALESBURG, Illinois -The Illinois budget crisis comes with a dire warning from Galesburg schools.
"Without our $16 million in general state aid, we will not be able to go through the entire school year," said Assistant Superintendent Jen Hamm.
That's why District 205 needs to collect nearly $217,000 in late student fees.
These are unpaid fees that date back some five years.
Required fees that help to pay for things like textbooks and classroom materials.
"It's a substantial amount of money that we could get to benefit our students," she said.
Reasons why the district may turn to a collection agency.
It's also a costly process.
Galesburg schools might only get back about $50,000.
But every little bit helps for a district that's struggling without a state budget.
It expects to run out of reserves by February 2017 without a deal.
"That's additional days, additional support that we can provide our students as long as possible," she said.
For its part, District 205 is making fees consistent at each school.
Its school board will consider the collection agency idea in coming weeks.
"We're literally piecing together what we're considering a doomsday scenario for our budget for next year," she said.
Thanks to the state stalemate, Illinois schools are trying to survive.
"How long can we continue with this uncertainty?" she concluded.
In Galesburg, trying to collect fees to buy some time.