Hello Katie,

Following those steps should fix the issue, but perhaps there are too many measures in the system to make music spacing look like it did anything. You say that the final setup is important, so maybe it may not be an option, but you could try reformatting the systems so that there are fewer measures on each system.

If possible could you post either a DropBox link with the file and/or a screen shot of your music so we can see what's going on?

Your systems are locked, which forces the lyrics to overlap. Unlock your systems, in Document Options/Music Spacing, make sure lyrics are checked to be included in spacing options, then apply music spacing and update the layout.

But looking at that second system, It might still be too crowded. You might have to go with just 2 measures in that system.