School districts want UNC system to give up $18M

RALEIGH -- Local school districts want the University of North Carolina system to put $18 million into a school technology fund in response to a court case. The North Carolina School Boards Association said Tuesday it had asked a Wake County judge to order the UNC system's 16 campuses to transfer money designed to benefit local public schools. Judge Howard Manning said last year that state agencies owe local school districts $750 million, but he said he couldn't force the money to be paid. The state Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that agencies failed to forward certain fees they collected for nearly a decade. The association's motion said the university money sits in escrow and should be transferred. The Attorney General's Office declined to comment. (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)