Relief could be on the way for school systems strapped with the financial burden of drastically higher summer school enrollments.

The Georgia Department of Education will ask the state school board to approve $1.4 million to ease the burden on local school systems, which are preparing for drastic increases in summer school enrollment because of dismal math scores on standardized tests.

Preliminary figures show that 40 percent of the state's eighth-graders failed the math portion of the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests. Pupils must pass this test or win an appeal to advance to the ninth grade.

Although it's not mandatory, school officials urge children who failed a required portion of the CRCT to attend the summer sessions so they are prepared for the retest given afterward. Pupils must attempt the retest to be eligible for an appeal.

Local school systems are unsure exactly how many pupils will show up for summer school, but they anticipate the numbers to be much greater than initially expected.

"I suppose everyone is scrambling now," said Virginia Bradshaw, Richmond County's assistant superintendent for instructional services.

On Wednesday, officials were pinning down which pupils plan to attend summer school, Dr. Bradshaw said.

When the county set its budget a year ago, it allocated money for summer school based on enrollment from previous years, not expecting the widespread problems with the math test this year.

"If we know we're going to get more money, we could hire more teachers," Dr. Bradshaw said.

State Department of Education spokesman Dana Tofig said the $1.4 million could be approved as soon as the state board's June meeting. The state department is also asking local systems to document their summer school expenses so it can make a pitch to the General Assembly for more funding.

Officials in Richmond, Columbia and McDuffie counties expect to incur greater costs because of the summer school spike.

Columbia County, for instance, has already hired 12 additional math teachers, which will cost about $32,000.

In McDuffie County, eighth-grade math summer school classes have doubled since last year, according to Barry O'Neill, the assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction. This year's enrollment in those classes is 88, up from 46 last year.

Although Jefferson County also expects an increase in enrollment, school officials don't expect it to come with a hefty cost.

Staff Writer Betsy Gilliland and Morris News Service staff writers Lynn Davidson and Parish Howard contributed to this story.