RN-T.com – Georgia Supreme Court weighs charter school funding

ATLANTA — In a case that could impact all charter schools in Georgia, the Georgia Supreme Court heard arguments Monday on how local school districts divvy up their funds between charter schools and traditional campuses.

Atlanta Public School System appealed a Fulton County court order, which was ruled in essence that the system’s charter schools can receive $900 more per student than students who attend traditional Atlanta schools. Local charter schools are public schools that operate under the authority of the local school system.

In May 2012, the school system decided to take $38.6 million from its local revenue to satisfy a shortage of funds in its pension plan since the 1980s. That money funds both the charter schools and the system’s traditional schools.

The charter schools’ share of that reduction comes to $2.8 million or about $900 per student. In August 2012, the charter schools believed they should not have to suffer a loss due to a liability that occurred before they existed, and so they sued the school board. They filed a petition to force the school system to distribute its local revenue without a reduction to cover the pension system.

The Atlanta Public School System played a major role in the start up of charter schools by having the most of any system in the state.

via RN-T.com – Georgia Supreme Court weighs charter school funding.