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Public Education Goals & Guiding Principles <br /> PE-3: Support legislation to fully fund state-mandated edu- <br /> cation programs from state revenue sources. <br /> • State law stipulates that counties are responsible for build- <br /> ing, equipping and maintaining public school facilities and <br /> the state is responsible for funding salaries and school op- <br /> erations from state revenues. <br /> • Counties supplement state funding for school operating ex- <br /> penses, and that amount continues to grow. During FY 2011 - <br /> 12, counties spent more than $2.5 billion to augment state <br /> school operating dollars, leaving only $700 million for main- <br /> tenance and construction. <br /> PE-4: Seek legislation to repeal the statutory authority un- <br /> der NC G.S. 115C-431(c) that allows local school boards to <br /> file suit against a county board of commissioners over coun- <br /> ty appropriations for education. <br /> • G.S. 115C-431(c) expressly authorizes school boards to sue <br /> counties over "sufficiency" of current expense or capital <br /> funding levels, leaving courts to determine sufficiency. <br /> • School boards are not expressly permitted to sue the state <br /> or federal governments for lack of sufficient funding, and no <br /> other entity is specifically granted this power to sue a taxing <br /> authority over funding sufficiency. <br /> • This statutory authorization creates an adversarial relation- <br /> ship between the school boards and the boards of county <br /> commissioners and has cost taxpayers hundreds of thou- <br /> sands of dollars in legal fees and litigation expenses. <br /> 2015 Legislative Goals <br /> 24 North Carolina Association of County Commissioners <br />