DeKalb County School Board Awarded More Than $110 Million in Suit Against State of Georgia.

Business Editors

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 25, 2002

Judge Bensonetta Tipton Lane, of the Superior Court of Fulton County (Georgia), awarded the DeKalb County School District (DCSD) more than $110 million in damages, in the DCSD's suit against Linda Schrenko, State School Superintendent (DeKalb County School District, et al. v. Linda Schrenko, et al. Civil Action File No. 2001CV3545).

At issue in the case was the definition of O.C.G.A. 20-2-188, which statutorily requires the state to pay certain student transportation costs associated with busing students to schools outside of their regular districts in order to remedy segregated schools under Georgia's Quality Basic Education Act. DCSD's Majority to Minority and magnet school programs were designed to do just that.

Georgia law requires the State to calculate transportation funding based on the distance between a student's home and the school "to which [the student is] assigned." The State argued that the school to which the statute refers is the neighborhood or zone school regardless of whether the student actually attends that school. This interpretation results in less transportation funding for school districts such as DCSD, which bus a significant number of students to attend schools other than their zone schools. For over two decades then, based on their interpretation of the law, the State withheld funds from DCSD and failed to pay the proper costs associated with DCSD's busing program.

The Court found, however, based on both a common sense reading of the statute as well as legal theories of statutory interpretation, that the school "to which [the student is] assigned" for purposes of transportation funding is the school that the child actually attends.

Because the State had violated state law by funding transportation on the basis of its erroneous interpretation of the statute, the Court ordered the State to pay the DeKalb County School District $68,070,433 in transportation funds wrongfully withheld from DeKalb since 1978 plus interest in the amount of $42,315,501 through September 16, the date of the judgment. Thereafter, interest will be payable on the principal at the post-judgment rate under Georgia law of 12% per annum (approx. $22,000 a day) until the judgment is paid.

Dr. Johnny E. Brown, Superintendent of the DeKalb School System said, "We couldn't be happier. When provided, these funds will mean added resources for instruction of our students in important areas such as reading and math. The children of DeKalb are the true winners in this case."

"We're obviously very pleased with Judge Tipton Lane's decision and this is an incredibly significant victory for DeKalb," said Al Lindseth, a partner in the law firm of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, and lead lawyer for the DCSD. "The State's refusal to pay for what the law clearly said they should pay for has for too long deflected needed funds from the DCSD. For example, from the interest earned in just two days alone (more than $44,000), DeKalb could pay one new teacher's salary for an entire year," he added.

The judge further ordered the state to "calculate and pay the state transportation allotment" for the DCSD for 2002 and beyond.

Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP is a national law firm known for solving challenging business problems and resolving unique legal issues for many of the nation's largest companies. Founded in 1924, the firm has grown to more than 350 lawyers with offices in Atlanta, Austin, New York, Tallahassee and Washington. For further information about the firm, please visit: http://www.sablaw.com.