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The state Supreme Court has refused to hear Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' appeal of a ruling that says the district owes local charter schools millions.
Richard Vinroot, lawyer for 10 charter schools in and near Mecklenburg County, said he sent CMS a letter Friday saying the debt comes to just over $5.9 million – with a further yet-uncalculated bump in payments for the current school year. Vinroot says the Supreme Court decision ends a legal battle that has dragged on for 4 1/2 years.
“For the little charter schools, it's a huge victory and a huge amount of money,” he said today.
CMS officials said today they're aware of the decision and will have their lawyers brief the school board on Tuesday. Until then, the district declined comment.
Charters are independent public schools licensed by the state, which requires local school districts to pass along a per-student share of local money for education. The charters that sued CMS say the district improperly pulled part of its budget out of the calculations before giving charters their share. Since the first ruling against CMS in January 2008, the number of schools suing has grown from four to 10, and the debt has gone from $1.3 million to Vinroot's current calculation of $5.9 million.
Vinroot says the money is due immediately, with some of it dating back to 2001. The charters have not been awarded interest during the time CMS has appealed, he said.
The Supreme Court decision does not affect a separate lawsuit filed by the N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law against CMS and other districts this September, seeking local money for construction.
