Amboy School District is so strapped for transportation money that it keeps close tabs on its students' 16th birthdays.

The district is one of many coping with reduced and delayed payments from the state. Some are deficit spending in their transportation fund, dipping into reserve funds and contemplating consolidating bus routes, which would lead to more time travel time for students.

Amboy is trying to go a second year without replacing buses as it deals with decreased state funding, Superintendent Jeff Thake said. Officials are communicating closely with families to find out when students will get their driver's licenses and drive themselves to school, so the district might cut roads from routes.