Trio Of Charter Schools Reach Settlement With Asheville System

The Asheville school district is striking a deal to pay three local charter schools $735,000 that the schools say they were shortchanged. The Asheville Citizen-Times reports the deal means the charter schools will get the money within 60 days rather than waiting up to three years. A judge ruled in January that Francine Delany New School for Children, Evergreen Community Charter School and ArtSpace Charter School were owed nearly $800,000. A key issue in their lawsuit was whether the city school system had to share money for pre-kindergarten and other programs that charter schools do not provide. The state Court of Appeals ruled last fall that school systems must share all funds in their normal operating account with the taxpayer-funded alternative schools.