Agenda - 05-04-1999 - 7e - Laserfiche WebLink

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�6 .f 164 COUNTY GovERNMENT IN NORTH CAROLINA Bu unit's total membership is its projected average daily membership as determined Either board may appeal and certified to the unit and the county commissioners by the State Board of , # Court of Appeals. If such a Education. The per -pupil amount resulting from this calculation must be the lay in levying taxes for the same for each school unit in the county. commissioners to appropn. unit's current expense fur revenues, to equal the total RESOLVING DISPUTES OVER THE SCHOOL BUDGET ing G.S. 115C -431 An appeal of the school Article IX, Section 2, of the state constitution requires the General Assembly the normal process of levyi to provide a general and uniform system of free public schools and authorizes usually begins to prepare t it to assign to units of local government such financial responsibility for the school get and set the tax rate. A: system as it may deem appropriate. The General Assembly has made the county on September 1, and mos governments responsible for raising much of the money needed for school capi- before that date. Interest c tal outlay purposes and a significant share of the funds to pay the current oper- ary 6. Clearly, the tax levyil ating costs of local school systems. Furthermore, the state permits school boards while the county waits for t and boards of county commissioners to supplement this basic educational pro- If it seems likely that a fi gram mandated by the state. As was noted earlier, this system of school finance to mail tax notices by the r offers an ideal forum for a clash between citizens' demands for improved educa- to adopt a budget and lev tional services and their demands for lower taxes. North Carolina law provides will prevail in the litigation a curious and possibly unique way of resolving this kind of conflict over the school the commissioners make z budget: a court trial on the issue of how much money the schools need for a may require and sets out certain year. If the school board finds that it cannot fulfill its responsibility to provide an COMMUNITY COLLEGE adequate school system with the amount of money the county has made avail- able, it may invoke a special procedure set out in G.S. 115C -431 for protesting County appropriations the appropriation. The procedure begins with a formal determination by the rent Fund budget and its school board that the appropriation is inadequate. Then, the chairs of the scbool current expense and capit board and the board of commissioners arrange a joint meeting of the two boards. general the fiscal interrel: This meeting must be held within one week after the commissioners have made community college truster their appropriation decision. At the joint meeting, the boards review the entire With respect to the co, school budget again and make a good -faith effort to resolve their disagreement. sentially free to exercise t If they cannot work out a compromise, either board may refer the matter to state executive departme, arbitration by the clerk of superior court. This step must be taken within three the commissioners to apl days after the joint meeting. The clerk has ten days to make an award. sion for voted supplemen Within ten days after the clerk's decision, either board may appeal to superi- { tionment statute for schoo or court. In court, either board may request a jury trial. The issue for the court to allocate their commu to decide is what amount of money is needed from county appropriations in project. The allocation l order for the school unit to maintain a system of free public schools in the county. those that apply to scho If the court finds for the school board in this litigation, the judgment will be that the board of commissioners is to appropriate a specific amount of money Appropriati to the school unit. The court will order the commissioners to levy such taxes on property as may be necessary to make up this sum after other available The budgeting relatiol revenues are taken into account. Ij of social services and he i