ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- Everyone agreed it was something that ought to happen when the Orange County School District promised the family of a murdered student $15,000 for his funeral, but Channel 9 found out the district may not be able to pay up.

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VIDEO: Offer To Victim's Family May Not Be Legal

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Orange County school board members said they wanted to do something for the family of 15-year-old Michael Nieves. But after Channel 9 started asking questions, Eyewitness News learned it's not clear where the money will come from.

Tuesday night, the school board decided unanimously that giving the money to the Nieves family was the right thing to do. But now the district is looking into if the gesture of sympathy is even legal.

Though no amount of money could bring back their son, school board member Tim Shea thought the school board could offer Michael Nieves' family $15,000 to help with whatever expenses they might have during the difficult time.

"I just decided we really needed to do something in helping to heal the community rather than focus on the negative aspects of this," Shea said.

Investigators said Michael Nieves was stabbed and killed by 17-year-old Kelvin De La Cruz during a fight over a girl at University High School. The tragedy hit the school system hard, especially since both Nieves' parents work at Audubon Park Elementary School.

Michael's father and mother have been with the school system for 11 and seven years each.

"If they weren't [Orange County Public School] employees, I probably would not have made the proposal," Shea said.

Sympathy aside, the school board now must find a way to pay the money out. The legal department is looking into if the funds can come out of a non-recurring budget, used to pay for one-time expenses.

The school board says about $20 million is available in that pool every year.

"The family did not ask for this. It was just something I thought we should do to assist in the healing process," Shea said.

If it is legal to pay out the money, the school board said there are no legal strings attached on the Nieves' behalf to accept the funds.

Superintendent Ron Blocker will arrange how the money would be given to the family. Meanwhile, employees at Audubon Park Elementary have raised more than $2,000 for the family.