Education

Some charter schools could get back-payments

Durham and Wake county school systems recently began issuing additional allotments for schools, following a 2009 North Carolina Court of Appeals decision that funding formulas for charter schools were incorrect.

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Education Funding
DURHAM, N.C. — Charter schools across the state could be receiving more funding from local school districts.

Durham and Wake county school systems, among others, recently began issuing additional allotments for schools, following a 2009 North Carolina Court of Appeals decision that funding formulas for charter schools were incorrect.

Figures weren't available Friday for Durham Public Schools, but $29,111 in additional funding – at a time when the system is looking to cut hundreds of jobs – was welcome news to Gail Taylor, principal of Carter Community Charter School.

"Every dollar counts," she said Friday. "For us, it means keeping a staff member."

The appeals court decision, stemming from a 2008 lawsuit against the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, prompted school systems across the state to go back and review allotments over the previous years.

"This is an accounting issue," Taylor said. "I don't think there was any intentional underfunding."

The Wake County Public School System has already paid nearly $1.5 million in retroactive payments to 30 charter schools.

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