Atlanta Indep. Sch. Sys. v. Atlanta Neighborhood Charter Sch. Inc.

The plain language of the statutory funding formula set out in the Charter Schools Act of 1998, O.C.G.A. § 20-2-2068.1 subsection c, does not authorize a school system to deduct its unfunded pension liability expense from the amount of local revenue to be distributed to start-up charter schools.

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This appeal involves interpretation of the Charter Schools Act of 1998 the “Act”, OCGA § 20-2-2060, et seq., regarding the authority of the Atlanta Independent School System “APS” and the Atlanta Board of Education to deduct a $38.6 million unfunded pension liability expense before calculating the amount of local revenue funds to be distributed to start-up charter schools within APS.1 Appellees the “start-up charter schools” are all non-profit corporations which have been granted charters by APS to operate start-up charter schools.2 In May 2012, APS for the first time announced it was subtracting $38.6 million from local revenue before calculating the amount of local revenue to be distributed to its schools. The stated purpose for the change in funding was APS’s need to pay down a large, unfunded pension liability for current and former APS employees that has been accruing since at least the 1980s.3

In response to the announced change, the start-up charter schools filed a petition for writ of mandamus seeking to compel appellants4 to distribute local revenue to the start-up charter schools without any deduction for APS’s unfunded pension liability. The trial court granted the requested mandamus relief, finding the statutory funding formula set out in the Act does not authorize appellants to subtract the $38.6 million from its calculation of local revenue. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

Atlanta Indep. Sch. Sys. v. Atlanta Neighborhood Charter Sch. Inc.

The plain language of the statutory funding formula set out in the Charter Schools Act of 1998, O.C.G.A. § 20-2-2068.1 subsection c, does not authorize a school system to deduct its unfunded pension liability expense from the amount of local revenue to be distributed to start-up charter schools.

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