Judge says state will pay millions to schools

RALEIGH -- A Wake County judge said Thursday he will make the state surrender as much as $768 million that will be used to buy new computers for every school district in North Carolina.

Wake County Superior Court Judge Howard Manning Jr. stopped short of issuing a formal order. He rejected most arguments aimed at limiting the payout and the number of districts that would receive money from a pot of civil fines collected by state agencies for almost a decade ending in 2005.

Those fines included penalties levied for not paying state taxes, fines paid by overweight trucks, and parking tickets issued at state universities. In 2005, the state Supreme Court ruled that the money wasn't being doled out to public schools as state law requires and sent the case to Wake County Superior Court to determine how much the schools should get.

Once Manning issues his order, the Wake County school system, now the largest in the state, could reap as much as a $70 million windfall.

Under state law, the pool of civil fines must be used to pay for new technology.

The judge's declared intent was cheered by Triangle school districts that helped spearhead the long-running lawsuit.

"It's fabulous," said Minnie Forte-Brown, chairwoman of the Durham school board. "Our wish list always includes things to enhance our programs."

Wake school board member Lori Millberg was skeptical.

"There is a long list of things we'd love to be able to fund with that money," Millberg said. "But I am a little pessimistic until I actually see the money."

Others were optimistic.

"It's a substantial amount of money," said Leanne Winner, director of governmental relations for the N.C. School Boards Association, which is one of the groups that had sued the state. "Technology is one of the greatest needs in schools today."

The total payout, along with the amount each of the state's 117 school districts will get, is still to be determined. Money will be paid based on the number of students in each school district.

Coming up with it

State officials did not say Thursday where they will find the money, but Manning said he expects it to be paid over several years.

Manning shot down a last-minute attempt Thursday by the state to reduce the amount that will be paid. Dale Talbert, a special deputy attorney general, argued that only the six districts that sued the state -- including Durham, Johnston and Wake -- are entitled to the money. That lawsuit resulted in the state Supreme Court's 2005 ruling.

Manning refrained from a formal order because he wants more information from both sides.

The Wake, Durham and Johnston school systems had joined three other districts and the N.C. School Boards Association in a lawsuit against the state in 1998. They argued that all civil fines and penalties paid to state agencies must be given to primary and secondary schools under the state constitution. Criminal fines already must be turned over to schools. But the 2005 state Supreme Court ruling greatly expanded the types of civil fines that had to be turned over.

Several details still must be finalized.

Manning agreed that all districts are entitled to money withheld between when the General Assembly created a statewide civil fines and forfeitures fund Sept. 1, 1997, and when the court ruled in July 2005.

Manning said he isn't sure whether only the six districts that sued are entitled to fines collected between Jan. 1, 1996, and Sept. 1, 1997, the period prior to the state's forfeiture fund.

Also to be finalized is how much of the $768 million will be taken out for collection fees by the state agencies. State officials estimated that they would need $21 million, which would bring the payout to about $747 million.

(Staff writers Kinea White Epps and Samiha Khanna contributed to this report.)