JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Five area suspended-student centers scheduled to open on Monday were unable to due so because the city was withholding grant money.

The centers are designed to carry on the learning environment despite behavior problems and out-of-school suspensions, but city officials said they're concerned about how students will get to the centers.

The idea is to create a school for kids suspended from school who may otherwise consider their punishment a holiday from class.

The suspended-student centers can house as many as 150 delinquent students, but the program has hit a bump in the road, and the doors to the centers won't be opening just yet.

"We're talking about opening five new facilities -- you're bound to have some complex issues," said Duval County School Board spokeswoman Jill Johnson.

She said the city has several concerns about the suspension centers.

Any student suspended for three or more days would have to report to one of five new facilities. The idea is to get the delinquent students off the street and back into a learning environment. However, the city did not approve of the school system's ideas and opted not to give the project the green light.

"You're talking about spending a million and a half of tax payers dollars, you want to make sure that it's being done correctly," said Johnson.

One of the city's concerns about the project is transportation. Under the program the suspended student would have to find his or her own ride to and from a center, which the city saw that as a flaw.

"They're not complaints, but they are questions that had to be answered," said Linda Lanier, the executive director with the Children's Commission. "Any reasonable person would say, ' Gosh, you want to these kids to come to an out of school suspension program but you're not going to give them transportation?'"

"We've noticed in a number of other counties that it hasn't been a concern, so we'll play that by ear," Johnson said.

Other counties in Florida, including Bradford and Palm Beach counties, are using the out-of-school suspension center with success and without added transportation.

A $1.5 million grant is on the table. School officials said the delay is just part of the process when creating something new. They said they hope to open the doors to the new centers by March.