Settlement reached: CDS,Inc. reimbursed student funds withheld by Brunswick County Schools
September 3, 2015– Ending litigation ongoing since 2011, a settlement has been reached between nonprofit charter school operator Charter Day School, Inc. (CDS, Inc.) and Brunswick County Schools. CDS, Inc. filed the suit in 2011 after a law changing disclosure requirements for school districts allowed them to discover that, since 2001, the Brunswick district had been misusing the state-mandated funding formula that determines the per-pupil allocation of funds public charter school students receive. CDS, Inc. CPA’s found that the amount of funds withheld from public charter school students at Leland’s Charter Day School over the ten-year period amounts to $1,097,673.68.
The recent settlement sees Brunswick County Schools reimbursing CDS, Inc. $605,379.00 for the years 2007-2011, the span of years obligated by the statute of limitations. Last October, more than 800 Brunswick County residents and CDS, Inc. parents petitioned the Brunswick County Board of Education to not claim this “legal loophole,” but to “do the right thing” and reimburse all of the funds withheld from public charter students in Brunswick County who already receive only .73 cents on each per-pupil dollar allocated to a district public school student.
CDS, Inc. chairman, Robert Spencer issued the following statement:
“After four years of litigation and nearly fifteen years of withheld student funding for our Brunswick County students, we have accepted Brunswick County School’s most recent reimbursement offer. These funds will help replenish our fund balance, which has been used to provide for Charter Day School students during this era of funding disparity. I am pleased to announce that these funds will also allow us to consider a number of technology projects and upgrades, much deserved by our students who—despite receiving 73% of the funding district schools receive even when properly funded—again proved to be the highest-scoring elementary and middle schools in Brunswick County for the most recent 2014-2015 academic year.”
CDS, Inc. operates four tuition-free, public charter schools that any NC student may choose to attend. The family of schools offers a classical curriculum and includes Charter Day School in Leland, Columbus Charter School in Whiteville, Douglass Academy in Wilmington, and South Brunswick Charter School in Southport. The open-enrollment period for the 2016-17 school year will run the month of January, 2016 for all schools. For more information, please visit www.rogerbacon.net
