South Dakota is seeking to recoup millions of dollars from a disgraced Platte educational cooperative and more than a dozen school districts that used its services.

A lawsuit filed by the state Thursday in Hughes County asks Mid-Central Educational Cooperative to repay $4.3 million, and it says 14 public school districts in central South Dakota are potentially on the hook for damages, too.

The complaint points to audits earlier this year that found Mid-Central failed to document matching funds for federal dollars as required in its contract. It asks the cooperative, which was set to dissolve Friday, to provide documents and return unmatched money.

Mid-Central administered South Dakota's Gear Up program until 2015, when the state Department of Education decided to rescind the $4.3 million contract amid mounting questions about the group's accounting practices. The program was intended to help Native American students prepare for college.

More: The story so far: S.D. Gear Up investigation

In September 2015, Mid-Central's business manager Scott Westerhuis shot and killed his wife Nicole and their four children before setting their Platte home ablaze and turning the gun on himself. The now defunct cooperative has been marred in litigation since then, including criminal charges against three of its former employees for alleged roles in financial crimes and civil lawsuits seeking to recover missing funds.

According to the complaint, audits found that Mid-Central’s board of directors, comprised of representatives from 14 member school districts, failed to provide proper oversight of the cooperative's financial activity.

The state is also seeking about $97,000 reimbursed for overbilled salaries, unsupported food expenses and unapproved travel expenses.

It's the first time member school districts have been listed as defendants in state lawsuit related to the Gear Up scandal. The districts named are Armour, Burke, Colome, Corsica, Ethan, Gregory, Kimball, Mt. Vernon, Plankinton, Platte-Geddes, Stickney, Wessington Springs, White Lake, and Wolsey-Wessington.

Most of the districts listed in the lawsuit were not reachable for comment Friday. White Lake Superintendent Bob Schroeder and Armour Superintendent Andrea Powell declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Burke Superintendent Erik Person was unaware of the suit until he was contacted by Argus Leader Media.

"We have not been contacted about any lawsuit," Person said.