HomeMy WebLinkAboutC.054.93011_0336NCGS §115C-431. Procedure for resolution of dispute between board of education and board of
county commissioners (contd.)
At the joint meeting, the entire school budget shall be considered carefully and judiciously. and
the two boards shall make a good -faith attempt to resolve the differences that have arisen between them.
County commissioners have the right to consider budget requests submitted by the board of
education on a line -by-line basis even where requests of the board of education, if granted, would
require no additional tax levy. • Wilson County Board of Education v. Wilson County Board of
Commissioners
NCGS §115C-431. Procedure for resolution of dispute between board of education and board of
county commissioners (contd.)
(c) Within five days after an announcement of no agreement by the mediator, the local board of
education may file an action in the Superior Court division of the General Court of Justice. The courtshall
find the facts as to the amount of money necessary to maintain a system of free public schools, and the
amount of money needed from the county to make up this totaL Either board has the right to have the
issues of fact tried by a jury.
Yarborough said the last time he tried a case under G.S. I I5C-431, the county had cut the
school system's budget. He said that in Iredell's case, the board of education was just
dissatisfied with what was appropriated, even though there was an increase.
NCGS §1150-431. Procedure for resolution of dispute between board of education and board of
county commissioners (contd.)
(d) if an appeal is taken to the appellate division of the General Court of Justice, and if such an
appeal would result in a delay beyond a reasonable time for levying taxes for the year, the judge shall
order the board of county commissioners to appropriate to the local school administrative unit for deposit
in the local current expense fund a sum of money sufficient when added to all other moneys available to
that fund to equal the amount of this fund for the previous year.
Yarborough said that due to the Iredell-Statesville education budget not being cut, and in
fact it was increased, this statute would indicate the dispute was baseless. He said the budget
may not have been increased as much as the board of education members would have liked, but
the funding was within the discretion of the county commissioners.
NCGS §115C-431. Procedure for resolution of dispute between board of education and board of
county commissioners (contd.)
(e) if, in an action filed under this section, the final judgment of the General Court of Justice is
rendered after the due date prescribed by law for property taxes, the board of county commissioners is
authorized to levy such supplementary taxes as may be required by the judgment, notwithstanding any
other provisions of law with respect to the time for doing acts necessary to a property tax levy. Upon
making a supplementary levy under this subsection, the board of county commissioners shall designate
the person who is to compute and prepare the supplementary tax receipts and records for all such taxes.
NCGS §115C-431. Procedure for resolution of dispute between board of education and board of
county commissioners (contd.)
On appeal of dispute between the county board of commissioners and the county board of
education concerning an item submitted in the board of education budget and disapproved by the county
commissioners, the trial court was required to rind whether the item requested was necessary for
maintenance of the schools. - Wilson County Board of Education v. Wilson County Board of
Commissioners
Yarborough stressed that it was the Iredell-Statesville School Board that initiated the
legal proceedings and not the Iredel_l commissioners. He said that if the dispute were taken to
court, the trial court would be charged to find that the item requested was necessary for
maintenance of the schools -- not necessary to meet certain goals of the system. He said the
children of Swain County were graduating from high school where the funding was at $632 per
pupil compared to IredeIl's $1,766, and by this, it would appear that if money had anything to do
with the quality of education, then the children of Iredell were receiving superior educations. He
said it was really unfortunate, that the location of where a child was born in North Carolina,
dictated his or her quality of education, and this was the premise of the Leandro case.