South County Superintendent of Schools Antonio Santana will address the community at a board of education workshop tonight about the district's spending beyond what it had allocated for the current school year.

The meeting comes in the middle of an ongoing external probe into the district's finances that the board authorized earlier this month.

Last month, the district sent a letter to the community alerting them that their expenses exceeded the amount they had budgeted for. Officials still have not provided an exact amount or said where the money went.

At its meeting on Oct. 8, the South Country Board of Education hired a forensic auditor to look into the district's finances. This comes as more than 150 members of the South Country community sent a letter to New York Comptroller Tom DiNapoli's office calling for a state-level independent investigation.

A spokesperson for the school district acknowledged the letter, adding: "If the comptroller does move forward with such a review, the district will, of course, fully cooperate in that effort."

Community members have raised concerns about how the overspending could impact their taxes during this upcoming budget season and what it means for their kids' education.

As News 12 reported, the district was already facing a tough fiscal outlook last year as it went through difficult rounds of budget negotiations.

Last spring, voters approved the district's $147 million spending plan that cut 51 positions, including teachers, librarians, teaching assistants, safety officers and a custodian.

At that time, school officials blamed a combination of unforeseen spending increases, declining student enrollment and a loss of federal funds for the cuts.