North Carolina General Statutes 115C-218.105. State and local funds for a charter school
(a) The State Board of Education shall allocate to each charter school:
(1) An amount equal to the average per pupil allocation for average daily membership from the local school administrative unit allotments in which the charter school is located for each child attending the charter school except for the allocation for children with disabilities and for the allocation for children with limited English proficiency;
Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 115C-218.105
- Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of a statute, shall be construed to mean the section next preceding or next following that in which such reference is made; unless when some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- Local school administrative unit: means a subdivision of the public school system which is governed by a local board of education. See North Carolina General Statutes 115C-5
- month: shall be construed to mean a calendar month, unless otherwise expressed; and the word "year" a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed; and the word "year" alone shall be equivalent to the expression "year of our Lord. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- property: shall include all property, both real and personal. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- Superintendent: means the superintendent of schools of a public school system or, in his absence, the person designated to fulfill his functions. See North Carolina General Statutes 115C-5
(2) An additional amount for each child attending the charter school who is a child with disabilities; and
(3) An additional amount for children with limited English proficiency attending the charter school, based on a formula adopted by the State Board.
In accordance with N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115C-218.7 and N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115C-218.8, the State Board shall allow for annual adjustments to the amount allocated to a charter school based on its enrollment growth in school years subsequent to the initial year of operation.
In the event a child with disabilities leaves the charter school and enrolls in a public school during the first 60 school days in the school year, the charter school shall return a pro rata amount of funds allocated for that child to the State Board, and the State Board shall reallocate those funds to the local school administrative unit in which the public school is located. In the event a child with disabilities enrolls in a charter school during the first 60 school days in the school year, the State Board shall allocate to the charter school the pro rata amount of additional funds for children with disabilities.
(b) Funds allocated by the State Board of Education may be used to enter into operational and financing leases for real property or mobile classroom units for use as school facilities for charter schools and may be used for payments on loans made to charter schools for facilities, equipment, or operations. However, State funds shall not be used to obtain any other interest in real property or mobile classroom units. The school also may own land and buildings it obtains through non-State sources. No indebtedness of any kind incurred or created by the charter school shall constitute an indebtedness of the State or its political subdivisions, and no indebtedness of the charter school shall involve or be secured by the faith, credit, or taxing power of the State or its political subdivisions. Every contract or lease into which a charter school enters shall include the previous sentence.
(b1) Counties may provide funds to charter schools by direct appropriation as set forth in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 153A-461 These funds shall be used only for the following purposes:
(1) The acquisition of real property for school purposes, including, but not limited to, school sites, playgrounds, and athletic fields.
(2) The acquisition, construction, reconstruction, enlargement, renovation, or replacement of buildings and other structures, including, but not limited to, buildings for classrooms and laboratories, physical and vocational educational purposes, libraries, auditoriums, and gymnasiums.
(3) The acquisition or replacement of furniture and furnishings, instructional apparatus, technology, data processing equipment, business machines, and similar items of furnishings and equipment.
(b2) If a charter school uses funds provided in subsection (b1) of this section to acquire or improve property, the amount provided by the county shall be evidenced by a promissory note and secured by a deed of trust on the property acquired or improved by the funds. The county may subordinate the deed of trust to other liens to facilitate the acquisition or improvement of the property secured by the deed of trust. In the event that a charter school repays the county in the amount of the capital funds provided, the county shall, for the property acquired or improved by the funds, execute and file a deed of release or other documentation of satisfaction showing the charter school repaid the county in the amount of the capital funds provided.
(c) If a student attends a charter school, the local school administrative unit in which the child resides shall transfer to the charter school an amount equal to the per pupil share of the local current expense fund of the local school administrative unit for the fiscal year. The per pupil share of the local current expense fund shall be transferred to the charter school within 30 days of the later of (i) the receipt of monies into the local current expense fund or (ii) the receipt by a local school administrative unit of the enrollment verification and transfer request document as provided under subsections (c2) and (c3) of this section from the charter school. Charter schools shall send the enrollment verification and transfer request document to the local school administrative units on a monthly basis. If the local school administrative unit receives additional monies into the local current expense fund following the initial transfer to the charter school, the local school administrative unit shall transfer the per pupil share of those additional monies to the charter school within 30 days of receipt of those monies.
(c1) If a local school administrative unit receives written notice directed to the superintendent and school finance officer from a charter school that the per pupil share of the local current expense fund has not been transferred as required by subsection (c) of this section, the local school administrative unit shall pay a late fee of three percent (3%) on the amount if the monies are not electronically transferred or, if mailed, not postmarked within 15 days of the notice. Interest on the amount owed to the charter school shall accrue at eight percent (8%) annually until the transfer is made. A local school administrative unit shall not owe late fees and interest on (i) any amounts not owed under subsection (c) of this section or (ii) per pupil amounts owed for any student whose information is ultimately shown to be materially incorrect on the enrollment verification and transfer request document shared with the local school administrative unit. A local school administrative unit shall be given an additional 30 days to make the transfer of the per pupil share of the local current expense fund to a charter school for any month in which the charter school fails to send the enrollment verification and transfer request document with the information required by subsection (c2) of this section.
(c2) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall, in consultation with charter schools and local school administrative units, create a standardized enrollment verification and transfer request document that each charter school shall use to request the per pupil share of the local current expense fund from the local school administrative units. Charter schools shall only be required to list the name, age, grade, address, date of charter enrollment, date of charter withdrawal, district of residence, and student identification number of each student as provided to the charter school by the student’s parent or guardian in the enrollment verification and transfer request document that the charter school submits to the local school administrative units. A charter school, in its discretion, may take further steps to confirm the student’s residence in a particular local school administrative unit.
(c3) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall, in consultation with charter schools and local school administrative units, create a standardized procedure that local school administrative units shall use when transferring the per pupil share of the local current expense fund to charter schools. The standardized procedure for transfer of the per pupil share of the local current expense fund shall require, to the extent practicable, that the local school administrative units make the transfers by electronic transfer.
(c4) The local school administrative unit and charter school may use the process for mediation of differences between the Review Board and a charter school provided in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115C-218.95(d) to resolve differences on calculation and transference of the per pupil share of the local current expense fund. In the event the local school administrative unit and the charter school disagree on the amount owed to the charter school, the local school administrative unit may delay transfer of the disputed amount but shall not delay the transfer of the undisputed amount. The amount transferred under this subsection that consists of revenue derived from supplemental taxes shall be transferred only to a charter school located in the tax district for which these taxes are levied and in which the student resides.
(d) The local school administrative unit shall also provide each charter school to which it transfers a per pupil share of its local current expense fund with all of the following information within the 30-day time period provided in subsection (c) of this section:
(1) The total amount of monies the local school administrative unit has in each of the funds listed in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115C-426(c).
(2) The student membership numbers used to calculate the per pupil share of the local current expense fund.
(3) How the per pupil share of the local current expense fund was calculated.
(4) Any additional records requested by a charter school from the local school administrative unit in order for the charter school to audit and verify the calculation and transfer of the per pupil share of the local current expense fund.
In addition, the local school administrative unit shall provide to the State Board of Education and the Review Board all of the information required by this subsection for each charter school to which it transfers a per pupil share of its local current expense fund. This information shall be provided to the State Board of Education by November 1 of each year. The State Board shall adopt rules, as recommended by the Review Board, to govern the collection of this information. The State Board shall issue a letter of noncompliance to a local school administrative unit that does not provide the State Board and Review Board with the information required by this subsection.
(e) Prior to commencing an action under subsection (c) of this section, the complaining party shall give the other party 15 days’ written notice of the alleged violation. The court shall award the prevailing party reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in an action under subsection (c) of this section. The court shall order any delinquent funds, costs, fees, and interest to be paid in equal monthly installments and shall establish a time for payment in full that shall be no later than one year from the entry of any judgment.
(f) Charter schools may request appropriations directly from cities, as authorized by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160A-700
(g) With respect to the receipt, deposit, and disbursement of moneys (i) required by law to be deposited with the State Treasurer or (ii) made available for expenditure by warrants drawn on the State Treasurer, charter schools are subject to Article 6A of Chapter 147 of the N.C. Gen. Stat..
(h) Notwithstanding N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115C-218.15(b) and solely with respect to the North Carolina Medicaid program, a charter school that is approved in accordance with this Article as a public school pursuant to this Article shall be deemed a local government entity that is responsible, or assumes responsibility, either directly or indirectly through an agency or other political subdivision, for the payment of the nonfederal share for reimbursable medical services, if any, provided by the charter school. The nonfederal share shall consist exclusively of public funds. For purposes of this subsection, “reimbursable medical services” means services, including administrative activities related to those services, that are medically necessary and for which federal payment is available under the North Carolina Medicaid Program established under Part 6 of Article 2 of Chapter 108A of the N.C. Gen. Stat.. For the purposes of this subsection, “nonfederal share” means the share of expenditures for the reimbursable medical services that draws down federal financial participation. (1995 (Reg. Sess., 1996), c. 731, s. 2; 1997-430, s. 7; 1998-212, s. 9.20(f); 2003-423, s. 3.1; 2006-69, s. 3(f); 2013-355, s. 1(h); 2014-101, ss. 5.2, 5.6, 7; 2016-79, s. 1.6; 2017-173, s. 7; 2018-5, s. 38.8(d); 2021-79, s. 1; 2021-170, s. 4(c); 2021-180, s. 9D.21; 2023 107, s. 6(b); 2023-110, s. 1(p).)