The Pasco County School Board has to find another $1 million in an already stretched budget to pay for a mandatory extra hour of daily instruction at three elementary schools.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, the board had planned to include the extra reading lessons in the standard six-hour day at low-performing Cox, Gulfside and Lacoochee elementary schools. But the Florida Department of Education issued an interpretation of state law last week stating the schools' learning days must be longer.

The $1 million the board needs includes about $14,000 for added bus routes and about $963,000 in salary expenses.