A metro Atlanta issue has found its way to the back steps of area schoolhouses.

The Georgia School Boards Association has presented a resolution to school boards statewide for consideration that would show support for three school systems that are challenging the ability of the Georgia Charter Schools Commission to allocate educational funding to individual charter schools without the approval of the local school board.

"In response to several inquiries from the GSBA membership, a sample resolution supporting those boards in litigation was drafted and sent to each school board," said Don Rooks, GSBA director of legislative services.

"GSBA (believes) and notified local school boards that the enabling statute appears to be in conflict with the provisions of the Georgia Constitution in relation to the authority of the locally elected board of education to control, manage and raise local funds only for the public school in their district."

According to GSBA officials, the Gwinnett County Board of Education was the first to file a suit challenging the commission's authority, but since that time, boards in Bulloch and Candler counties have also filed complaints.

In a suit filed with the Superior Court of Fulton County, the Gwinnett County school district claims the charter school commission violated the state constitution by giving funding to Ivy Preparatory Academy, a Norcross charter school that is not a part of the county school system. The Georgia Board of Education, the charter commission and Ivy Preparatory Academy are all listed as defendants in the case.

Locally, the Hall County Board of Education has already signed the resolution supporting the actions being taken by the Gwinnett board, while the Gainesville City School Board has not discussed adopting the resolution. The Jefferson City Schools Board of Education is expected to consider taking action during its meeting next month.

"The theory is that by going through the (charter) commission, the state stepped across the bounds of the constitution," said Ron Hopkins, Jefferson school board chairman during a recent meeting. "Signing the resolution would be symbolic at best. It would just show the state that we think they overstepped their bounds."

The Georgia General Assembly created the charter commission in 2008. Members are nominated by the governor, Senate president, speaker of the House of Representatives and appointed by the Georgia Department of Education. The commission acts as a type of statewide "local" board of education that oversees independent charter schools.

If a petition for a charter school is denied by the board of education of the local school system where the independent school will be located, petitioners still have the opportunity to have their school's charter approved. The denied request can then be submitted to the charter commission for possible approval. If the school will be admitting students from more than five counties, petitioners can skip the local boards and submit their petition directly to the charter commission.

In 2007, a petition was submitted to the Gwinnett County Board of Education for Ivy Preparatory Academy, designed to be a tuition-free, all-girls academy. The petition was denied by the board. One of the reasons given for denial was the board's concerns that approving an all-girls schools without providing the same for male students would violate the "equal protection clause" of both the state and U.S. Constitution.

After applying to the Georgia Board of Education, the group was then allowed to open for the 2008-2009 school year as a state chartered special school.

According to the complaint filed with the courts, the commission then voted to allow Ivy Preparatory to "receive an amount equal to the proportional share of local revenue from the student's home district using only state funds. The Georgia Department of Education has honored the charter commission's motion by funding Ivy Preparatory Academy with a proportional share of local revenue in addition to (Quality Basic Education) earnings."

Quality Basic Education, earnings also include "locally levied tax revenues." The QBE funds that would have ordinarily gone straight to the Gwinnett County Board of Education was then reduced by the amount allocated to Ivy Preparatory.

Although the courts haven't decided on the issue yet, Ivy Preparatory officials question the motives of the action.

"How can we ensure America returns to educational prominence on a global scale if public charter schools like ours are routinely the targets of lawsuits that denounce educational choice and equitable funding that follows each child?" said Nina Gilbert, head of the school.