More than 17,000 low-achieving children are on a waiting list for tutoring in math and reading -- some for as much as a year -- even though not all of the state money allotted for the program has been spent.

Part of the problem is that some parents applied for certificates from the program called Classroom Plus, received them and then didn't use them, thus tying up money others could have used.

State officials are hoping changes will make the program more efficient and the dollars more available. Deadlines have been set for spending the certificates, and parents must show tutoring has started within 90 days of receiving them.

It is the only state-funded tutoring program open to students in any public or nonpublic school.

To participate, parents of low-achieving students in kindergarten through ninth grade must apply for a certificate for services from a state-approved provider. After receiving a certificate, parents pay for the tutoring themselves and then seek reimbursement for up to $500 from the state.

Classroom Plus served 6,182 students last school year and is the smallest state-funded tutoring program in the state. Two other state programs last year served a combined total of more than 189,000 students, but they were limited to students in certain districts.

Begun in 2001-02, Classroom Plus initially was expected to serve 50,000 students and was budgeted for $23.6 million.

However, demand was lower than expected. Only $5.9 million in certificates were issued that year, and just $3.9 million redeemed.

As the years passed, the budgeted amount was reduced, finally to $4 million last year and again for the coming year.

But the problem of too few certificates being redeemed continued.

In 2005-06, certificates were issued for all $4 million budgeted, but only $2.9 million have been redeemed, although some could still be redeemed by Sept. 30.

So while all the money hasn't been spent, it was committed, resulting in both an underused program and a waiting list.

"There's a question of the true demand," said Mike Storm, spokesman for the state Department of Education, who noted the program was started by a previous administration.

Many of the tutoring providers did not give the state enough data to determine whether the tutoring helps.

But of the 1,336 students in 2004-05 whose progress could be evaluated, an average of 66 percent made progress in reading and 73 percent in math, Mr. Storm said.

The students studied used 65 providers who offered an average of 16 hours of help in reading and 14 hours in math.

The state's two most popular tutoring programs are limited to certain districts.

The biggest one is the educational assistance program, which last year budgeted $66 million for 157,750 students in 175 struggling districts and career and technology centers. The same amount is budgeted for this year.

Other tutoring is supported through state accountability block grants. School districts statewide will have $250 million this year in such grants, which they can spend on a variety of education initiatives. It's estimated that $7.7 million will be spent by 92 districts on tutoring. The state has 501 school districts.

Last school year, 74 districts used $5 million of the available $200 million in state block grant money to tutor 31,431 students.