Isom said the district needs financial assistance -- and needs it fast. He said plans have been made to ask the state for help in digging out from a large budget deficit.

"We don't have the necessary funds to complete the current school year," Isom said. "We will be $800,000 in the red by the end of this school year."

Isom said there are many contributing factors to the deficit, which was projected to be about half the amount at the beginning of the school year.

"There have been increased expenditures across the board without revenues to match those expenditures," Isom said.

"Our state funding consistently arrives up to 60 days late, and we continue to spend an inordinate amount of money to keep our buildings open. The infrastructure has deteriorated a great deal."

Isom said that both the elementary school and junior high school are more than 50 years old. The high school is only 22 years old, but more than $1.7 million has been spent on renovations.

"If we can't pay our salaries or make the necessary repairs to our buildings, this district will be in complete disarray," Isom said. "And if that were to happen, you worry about what would happen to the students."

Isom said he will take part in a teleconference Thursday morning with representatives of the Illinois State Board of Education to discuss the problem further.

"We will be asked to provide the board with evidence of our financial difficulties," Isom said. "That won't be too hard to do. This district has been in a deficit spending mode for several years. We've borrowed money. We've transferred funds ... We can't continue to do that and operate an efficient school system."

More than 900 students attend Cairo schools. The district has approximately 65 full-time teachers and more than 20 teacher aides.