ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – Schools across the state will be getting checks totaling $310,000 in the settlement of a milk pricing overcharge case brought by state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.

Nearly 130 school districts and six BOCES districts statewide will receive checks ranging from as little as $54 at Delhi Central School to more than $10,000 at schools districts including Hyde Park, Camden, Shenendehowa in Saratoga County, Schenectady, Ithaca and Wallkill. Dozens will get checks beginning this week and many have already received their compensation.

The Utica City School District, which like all districts statewide, is struggling after a year of reduced state aid, will get the largest check, one for $20,182.

“Every penny counts in a school district,” Spitzer said. “This settlement will provide compensation to school districts for overcharges and it will help the districts do a better job of monitoring contracts for milk and other dairy products in the future.”

The company Spitzer investigated, Crowley Foods based in Binghamton, agreed to the settlement in January. The probe in 2001 began when a tip from a competitor led to an audit that revealed at least six school districts were overcharged on milk purchases compared to the federally established wholesale milk price. Crowley then paid $55,000 to 30 school districts that it determined were overbilled.

The latest checks are the result of Spitzer’s settlement with Crowley for overcharges from 1997 to 2002 statewide.

Spitzer noted that Crowley was forthright and cooperated in the case. He has said there was no evidence of any attempt to defraud the schools. A request for comment to Crowley left Friday evening with a night operator wasn’t returned. The company had immediately conducted audits of all its school district accounts and promised to repay overcharges, plus 50 percent.