Atlanta Charter Schools Will Not Have to Help Pay for Pension Debts

Judge rules the school district cannot withhold fund from their budget

Atlanta's charter schools will not be required to help fund the school district's unfunded pension liability, thanks to a Sept. 22 Georgia Supreme Court ruling.

The pension debt, which had been accumulating since the 1970s, was around $550 million, and in May, Atlanta Public Schools announced plans to deduct $38.6 million from the charter schools' portion of the budget before allotting it.

The school system does not have the authority to do that, the court ruled.

"This is a tremendous relief," said Nina Rubin, director of communications for the Georgia Charter School Association.