APS Agrees to Temporarily Release Funding for Charter Schools

At issue: whether the district owes 10 charter schools a portion of local property tax money. The charter schools believe the money is owed to them by state law rather than helping fund the district’s unfunded pension liability.

In a recent letter (PDF), Superintendent Davis says he made the decision to start releasing the funding for the upcoming fiscal year after meeting with the schools’ leaders.  Davis says unless schools are given time to plan, it could damage their financial health. Stephen Alford is a spokesman for APS.

“Our primary goal is educate children. We have to make sure they have the resources necessary to be successful.”

But Alford says the district will seek to recover those funds if it wins in court. Attorney Rocco Testani is representing charter schools in the case. He says the schools appreciate the temporary release of the funding. But he says the district has not changed its mind or agreed to hand over disputed funds from the current fiscal year. Testani says its funding charter schools desperately need.

“Over time it will be debilitating and very difficult for the schools to be able to operate effectively.”

The lawsuit is scheduled to go before the state’s high court in June. In December, a Fulton county superior court judge ruled in favor of the charter schools. WABE’s broadcast license is held by the Atlanta Board of Education.