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Thousands of students across the state are on pins and needles, as are their teachers and principals, over a private company’s delays in delivering this spring’s FCAT scores.

The company, NCS Pearson, could face millions of dollars in penalties. And as Mike Vasilinda tells us, the company could end up paying hefty fines since it did not meet an end of May deadline to deliver.

Florida is spending 254 Million dollars this year just to grade FCAT tests. The scores were due at the end of May but won’t arrive until the end of June. The company, NCS Pearson, is telling the state it is having data processing issues. The company’s contract calls for an increasing fine, now up to 250 thousand dollars a day. But the State’s Education Department says it just wants the scores now.

“We’re going to be looking at that now, our legal office is,” DOE spokesperson Tom Butler said. “And no determination on the amount, yet. But certainly we are going to be assessing those damages.”

Some critical sores for third graders who needed to pass to go to fourth grade are in…so are scores for high school seniors, who needed to pass FCAT to graduate. But everyone else is waiting.

The delay is a nightmare for school districts across the state. For one thing, they don’t know how many students to put into remediation.

The problem is critical for school administrators, who must hire teachers now to meet class size requirements.

“They’ll hire X-number of math teachers and Y-number of art teachers and all that may fall apart now because some students won’t be able to take art, as an example, and will have to take an additional math class,” Bill Montford, with the School Superintendents Association, said.

But not everyone is concerned. or wants to know their score. Katie Kennedy just transferred from a private school this year and doesn’t mind the delay.

“I might get grounded a little early and I don’t really want to get that,” Kennedy said.

Reporter: So you don’t care if they come back soon?

“Not really,” she said.

While late, the state says the scores it has been receiving are accurate.

The President of NCS Pearson is scheduled to appear and answer questions at the State Board of Education meeting tomorrow in Orlando.