Denver Public Schools has agreed to pay the federal government more than $2.1 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged the district misused AmeriCorps funds.

The agreement was announced Tuesday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado.

As part of the settlement, the district paid $2,123,811 to the government and agreed to pay an additional $614,000 in outstanding AmeriCorps education awards at a later date, federal prosecutors said. 

AmeriCorps is a federally funded network of national service programs that address critical community needs such as increasing academic achievement, mentoring youth and fighting poverty.

Volunteers – or members – commit to working between three and 12 months in exchange for a living allowance, education awards and other benefits. Grant recipients, such as Denver Public Schools, are supposed to verify and certify those hours are completed. 

The federal government alleged that the district falsely certified that a significant number of its AmeriCorps members had performed the service hours needed to qualify for an education award in 2015 and 2016.

According to the lawsuit, the district recruited its employees for six programs that were not eligible to receive over $550,000 in AmeriCorps funding. As a result of those programs, $858,674.18 in education awards were granted on false certifications, federal prosecutors said.

“By enrolling teachers as AmeriCorps members, DPS deprives its at-risk students of the additional educational support they were entitled to receive from national service members,” AmeriCorps Inspector General Deborah Jeffrey said in a news release. “Double-counting teachers’ aid work as national service hours meant that the community received no net benefit from AmeriCorps funding.”

In a statement, Denver Public Schools said it agreed to settle to avoid a lengthy court process and that the settlement does not contain any admission of liability. 

“DPS maintains its actions were in alignment with its core mission of educating youth,” the statement read. “Once DPS became aware of certain irregularities, it paused the program, investigated practices, and took steps to improve its procedures and process.”