The N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law has sued the state and seven counties on
behalf of several charter schools, parents and students, saying the schools are
entitled to capital funding. The charter schools receive public funding for operating
expenses and per-pupil allotments just like traditional schools, but have been frozen
out of construction and maintenance money. That leaves the schools with less
"money for teachers and other supplies," said Jason Kay, an attorney for the
institute, a Raleigh-based advocacy group. Cleveland, Edgecombe, Halifax,
Mecklenburg, Nash, Union and Rutherford counties are named as defendants in the
lawsuit.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Peter Gorman and a county attorney
have said state law does not give counties or public school boards power to give
charter schools capital funds. A 1998 advisory opinion from the state Attorney
General's office concurs. The N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law sent a letter to
Mecklenburg commissioners in August, questioning the dearth of capital funding for
charter schools. In the suit filed in Mecklenburg Superior Court, the group argues
the state constitution mandates "sound basic education" and similar funding. "This
seeks to make sure public charter schools have a seat at the table," Kay said. "They
have never had a seat before."(Fred Clasen-Kelly, THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER,
9/22/09).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
3 comments:
This is very interesting. I will stay tuned to see how this plays out in court.
It is very disappointing the funding has been cut for the charter schools. However, we all have suffered due to the budget cuts. The people who suffer the most in both situations, are the children. We as educators need to continue to teach our students regardless of what resources we're not getting this year. All of us have been taught to adapt and modify. We are just going to have to modify a little more now...even the charter schools.
The article isn't talking about a "cut" for charter schools, it's stating that charter schools do not get funding for construction and maintenance. This wasn't a budget cut, rather something that charters have never been allowed to have...yet they are still held accountable to providing the same opportunities for students that traditional public schools have to. I personally will be following this closely and would love to see funding come through.
Post a Comment