MONROE - Union Academy is suing the state for a share of lottery money and corporate income taxes.

North Carolina established charter schools in 1996, but limited the funds they could receive from the state. Charter schools are public, tuition-free schools funded by federal, state and local taxes to pay for teachers, textbooks and some operational costs. Union Academy’s operational costs are about $7 million per year, according to finance officer Lynn Kroeger.

The lawsuit seeks money from the state’s capital outlay fund, which comes from two sources. The Public School Building Capital Fund receives 14 percent of the money collected by the N.C. Education Lottery, and about 7.25 percent of corporate income tax, although the General Assembly diverted the income tax contribution until 2011.

Union Academy headmaster Raymond Reinsant said a share of that money could help provide a central location for all its students.

Union Academy’s goal is to move students from its lower campus on Old Charlotte Highway to its upper campus on North Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. With no capital funding, though, there is no money for another building, Reinsant said.

Union County and the Union County Board of Education are named as defendants in the lawsuit. Some Union Academy parents are listed as plaintiffs.

Six other North Carolina charter schools are parties in the lawsuit, listing their own counties and school boards as defendants. The suit was filed in Mecklenburg County.

Ed Davis, superintendent for Union County Public Schools, said North Carolina law has no provision for charter schools to receive capital funding, although the wording could be more explicit.

“We certainly are following the law as the law currently exists,” he said.

According to North Carolina law, the General Assembly “shall provide ... for a general and uniform system of free public schools, ... wherein equal opportunities shall be provided for all students.”

References to “uniform” and “equal” education are at the center of the dispute as charter schools say that should mean funding for every public school, including charters.

“The question is a point of clarity,” Reinsant said.

The Union County school board has yet to discuss the issue in depth, Davis said, but will talk about it in closed session at Tuesday’s meeting.

If charter schools win the case, he said, “It could be significant. It could take money that we have used for our building program and upkeep on our facilities.”

Attorneys Robert Orr and Jason Kay with the N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law are representing the charter schools. The institute is a nonprofit organization and does not charge for its services.

“It doesn’t mean any particular charter school will get capital funding,” Orr said, “but at least they can be considered.” Capital funding would help provide new facilities and renovations for the state’s 98 charter schools.

Orr added that some charter schools rely on private benefactors for funding or local governments to lease unused school facilities to them, but the schools still flip the bill for new construction and renovations.

“Parents want their children treated equally,” Reinsant said. “As taxpayers, they are looking for the benefits that come from taxes; for instance, education. ... Charter schools shouldn’t be left out of it.”

Still, after reverting thousands of dollars to the state this year, some UCPS officials are worried about having even less money to work with.

Orr said many school systems are behind in capital projects, but it is a challenge for everyone, not just traditional public schools.

“It’s not us versus them,” Orr said. “These are all public school students. If there was no charter school, they would be over in the traditional public school right now.”

Why is the lawsuit coming up 13 years after charter schools were established?

Orr said the N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law has existed for only five years and some people are just realizing that it is there to help with such disputes.

“Charter schools are relatively new,” Reinsant said, and still trying to “create a place for themselves ... as a public alternative.” Union Academy opened in 1999, three years after the charter school law was put in place. Reinsant took over as headmaster this summer.

CHARTER SCHOOLS SUING THE STATE

Union Academy, Monroe

Socrates Academy, Matthews

Sugar Creek Charter School, Charlotte

Metrolina Regional Scholars’ Academy, Charlotte

Community Charter School, Charlotte

Rocky Mount Preparatory School, Rocky Mount

Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy, Mooresboro