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Charter School Sues Union County, N.C., Public Schools Over Funds

Posted on: Thursday, 7 July 2005, 18:00 CDT

Jul. 7--Union County's sole charter school has sued the county's public schools, saying it is not getting as much money as it should.

The suit, filed Friday by Union Academy, says Union County Public Schools isn't giving the school a large enough share of a supplemental education tax. The academy says it is owed at least $200,000.

The academy wants a portion of the tax for all its students, regardless of where in the county they live. County school officials said because Union Academy is in Monroe city limits, it has been receiving money based on the number of students it has from Monroe.

The charter school is a public school open to all students in Union County. It receives money from the county school system, but operates independently of it.

County school officials say the correct funding of Union Academy is up to legal interpretation. They say the system asked for state assistance in understanding the law earlier this summer.

N.C. law says charter schools will receive money from a supplemental tax when a charter school is located "in the tax district for which these taxes are levied and in which the student resides."

Union is one of three counties in the state with a countywide special schools tax, and the tax has evolved as the county has changed. Back when the county had two school districts, Monroe and Union County, the Monroe district had a supplemental tax as high as 15 cents per $100 valuation to help support the district.

In 1990, voters in the county school district approved a supplemental tax of their own.

When the districts merged before the 1993-94 school year, the tax was capped at 7 cents countywide. But the county maintains two taxing districts, so the county schools still know what money is coming in from the former Monroe school district limits.

Since then, the school tax has existed on top of the county's base rate, bringing the district more than $12 million last year. The money is used primarily for teachers' salary supplements.

Staff writer Jen Aronoff contributed to this article.

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Source: The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)

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