{ "id": 4151702, "name": "BEAUFORT COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION v. BEAUFORT COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS", "name_abbreviation": "Beaufort County Board of Education v. Beaufort County Board of Commissioners", "decision_date": "2009-08-28", "docket_number": "No. 106PA08", "first_page": "500", "last_page": "518", "citations": [ { "type": "official", "cite": "363 N.C. 500" } ], "court": { "name_abbreviation": "N.C.", "id": 9292, "name": "Supreme Court of North Carolina" }, "jurisdiction": { "id": 5, "name_long": "North Carolina", "name": "N.C." }, "cites_to": [ { "cite": "656 S.E.2d 296", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "case_ids": [ 12640338 ], "year": 2008, "opinion_index": -1, "case_paths": [ "/se2d/656/0296-01" ] }, { "cite": "188 N.C. App. 399", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C. App.", "case_ids": [ 4155805 ], "year": 2008, "opinion_index": -1, "case_paths": [ "/nc-app/188/0399-01" ] }, { "cite": "639 S.E.2d 425", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "case_ids": [ 12637515 ], "year": 2007, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "428", "parenthetical": "quoting State v. Stanley, 288 N.C. 19, 26, 215 S.E.2d 589, 594 (1975)" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/se2d/639/0425-01" ] }, { "cite": "614 S.E.2d 479", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "case_ids": [ 12633154 ], "weight": 2, "year": 2005, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "485", "parenthetical": "quoting United States v. Salerno, 481 U.S. 739, 745 (1987)" }, { "page": "486" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/se2d/614/0479-01" ] }, { "cite": "656 S.E.2d 296", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "case_ids": [ 12640338 ], "year": 2008, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "307" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/se2d/656/0296-01" ] }, { "cite": "272 S.E.2d 861", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 2, "year": 1981, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "870" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "301 N.C. 532", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8569752 ], "year": 1981, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "548" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/301/0532-01" ] }, { "cite": "476 U.S. 1165", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 12444, 12982, 12847 ], "year": 1986, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/us/476/1165-02", "/us/476/1165-03", "/us/476/1165-01" ] }, { "cite": "310 S.E.2d 301", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1984, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "310" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "310 N.C. 61", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 2394579 ], "year": 1984, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "74" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/310/0061-01" ] }, { "cite": "215 S.E.2d 589", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1975, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "594" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "288 N.C. 19", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8564626 ], "year": 1975, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "26" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/288/0019-01" ] }, { "cite": "361 N.C. 200", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 3738287 ], "year": 2007, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "205", "parenthetical": "quoting State v. Stanley, 288 N.C. 19, 26, 215 S.E.2d 589, 594 (1975)" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/361/0200-01" ] }, { "cite": "4 Wheat. 316", "category": "reporters:scotus_early", "reporter": "Wheat.", "case_ids": [ 4702 ], "year": 1819, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "323-25" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/us/17/0316-01" ] }, { "cite": "17 U.S. 207", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "year": 1819, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "212-13" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "231 S.E.2d 614", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1977, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "616", "parenthetical": "citations omitted" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "291 N.C. 640", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8558867 ], "year": 1977, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "642", "parenthetical": "citations omitted" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/291/0640-01" ] }, { "cite": "75 S.E.2d 512", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1953, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "514" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "237 N.C. 442", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8613723 ], "year": 1953, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "444" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/237/0442-01" ] }, { "cite": "93 S.E. 1001", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "weight": 2, "year": 1917, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "1003" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "174 N.C. 469", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 11254446 ], "year": 1917, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "474" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/174/0469-01" ] }, { "cite": "488 U.S. 361", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 1494660 ], "weight": 3, "year": 1989, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "372" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/us/488/0361-01" ] }, { "cite": "500 U.S. 160", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 6219461 ], "year": 1991, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "165", "parenthetical": "citing Mistretta v. United States, 488 U.S. 361, 372 (1989)" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/us/500/0160-01" ] }, { "cite": "340 S.E.2d 720", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 3, "year": 1986, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "731" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "315 N.C. 474", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 4718753 ], "year": 1986, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "491" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/315/0474-01" ] }, { "cite": "481 U.S. 739", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 6222105 ], "year": 1987, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "745" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/us/481/0739-01" ] }, { "cite": "359 N.C. 554", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 3794414 ], "year": 2005, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "564", "parenthetical": "quoting United States v. Salerno, 481 U.S. 739, 745 (1987)" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/359/0554-01" ] }, { "cite": "188 N.C. App. 399", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C. App.", "case_ids": [ 4155805 ], "year": 2008, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "416" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc-app/188/0399-01" ] }, { "cite": "150 L. Ed. 2d 804", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "L. Ed. 2d", "year": 2001, "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "122 S. Ct. 22", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "S. Ct.", "case_ids": [ 9466962 ], "year": 2001, "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/br/269/0022-01" ] }, { "cite": "533 U.S. 975", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 9354636, 9354598, 9354711 ], "year": 2001, "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/us/533/0975-02", "/us/533/0975-01", "/us/533/0975-03" ] }, { "cite": "549 S.E.2d 840", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 2001, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "854" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "353 N.C. 696", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 135641 ], "year": 2001, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "717" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/353/0696-01" ] }, { "cite": "599 S.E.2d 365", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 2004, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "388" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "358 N.C. 605", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 2987054 ], "year": 2004, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "634" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/358/0605-01" ] }, { "cite": "488 S.E.2d 249", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 12, "year": 1997, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "256", "parenthetical": "emphasis added" }, { "page": "348" }, { "page": "255" }, { "page": "256" }, { "page": "347" }, { "page": "255" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "346 N.C. 336", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 139626 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1997, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "349", "parenthetical": "emphasis added" }, { "page": "349-50" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/346/0336-01" ] }, { "cite": "93 S.E. 1001", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "weight": 4, "year": 1917, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "1003" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "174 N.C. 469", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 11254446 ], "year": 1917, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "474" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/174/0469-01" ] }, { "cite": "657 S.E.2d 361", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "case_ids": [ 12640450 ], "year": 2008, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "366-67", "parenthetical": "holding that one factor to consider with respect to noncompliance with appellate rules is \"whether and to what extent review on the merits would frustrate the adversarial process\" (citations omitted)" } ], "opinion_index": 2, "case_paths": [ "/se2d/657/0361-01" ] }, { "cite": "639 S.E.2d 425", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "case_ids": [ 12637515 ], "weight": 2, "year": 2007, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "428-29", "parenthetical": "emphases added" }, { "page": "428-29" } ], "opinion_index": 2, "case_paths": [ "/se2d/639/0425-01" ] }, { "cite": "155 L. Ed. 2d 1074", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "L. Ed. 2d", "year": 2003, "opinion_index": 2 }, { "cite": "538 U.S. 1040", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 9088356, 9088262, 9088423, 9088327, 9088298, 9088395, 9088274, 9088471, 9088313, 9088285, 9088380, 9088253, 9088343, 9088447 ], "year": 2003, "opinion_index": 2, "case_paths": [ "/us/538/1040-09", "/us/538/1040-02", "/us/538/1040-12", "/us/538/1040-07", "/us/538/1040-05", "/us/538/1040-11", "/us/538/1040-03", "/us/538/1040-14", "/us/538/1040-06", "/us/538/1040-04", "/us/538/1040-10", "/us/538/1040-01", "/us/538/1040-08", "/us/538/1040-13" ] }, { "cite": "572 S.E.2d 108", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 2002, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "120", "parenthetical": "invoking Rule 2 to \"address defendant's contentions\" \"because these issues raise important constitutional questions in the context of a capital case" } ], "opinion_index": 2 }, { "cite": "356 N.C. 316", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 1511176 ], "year": 2002, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "332", "parenthetical": "invoking Rule 2 to \"address defendant's contentions\" \"because these issues raise important constitutional questions in the context of a capital case" } ], "opinion_index": 2, "case_paths": [ "/nc/356/0316-01" ] }, { "cite": "81 S.E.2d 256", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1954, "opinion_index": 2 }, { "cite": "240 N.C. 118", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8595299 ], "year": 1954, "opinion_index": 2, "case_paths": [ "/nc/240/0118-01" ] }, { "cite": "427 U.S. 97", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 6174831 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1976, "opinion_index": 2, "case_paths": [ "/us/427/0097-01" ] }, { "cite": "90 L. Ed. 2d 732", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "L. Ed. 2d", "year": 1986, "opinion_index": 2 }, { "cite": "362 N.C. 191", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 4149183 ], "year": 2008, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "200", "parenthetical": "holding that one factor to consider with respect to noncompliance with appellate rules is \"whether and to what extent review on the merits would frustrate the adversarial process\" (citations omitted)" } ], "opinion_index": 2, "case_paths": [ "/nc/362/0191-01" ] }, { "cite": "610 S.E.2d 360", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 2, "year": 2005, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "361", "parenthetical": "per curiam" }, { "page": "361" } ], "opinion_index": 2 }, { "cite": "359 N.C. 400", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 3799435 ], "weight": 2, "year": 2005, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "402", "parenthetical": "per curiam" }, { "page": "402" } ], "opinion_index": 2, "case_paths": [ "/nc/359/0400-01" ] }, { "cite": "540 S.E.2d 313", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 2000, "opinion_index": 2 }, { "cite": "353 N.C. 142", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 135912 ], "year": 2000, "opinion_index": 2, "case_paths": [ "/nc/353/0142-01" ] }, { "cite": "272 S.E.2d 861", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 2, "year": 1981, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "870-71" }, { "page": "870" } ], "opinion_index": 2 }, { "cite": "301 N.C. 532", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8569752 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1981, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "547-48" }, { "page": "548" } ], "opinion_index": 2, "case_paths": [ "/nc/301/0532-01" ] }, { "cite": "476 U.S. 1165", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 12444, 12982, 12847 ], "year": 1986, "opinion_index": 2, "case_paths": [ "/us/476/1165-02", "/us/476/1165-03", "/us/476/1165-01" ] }, { "cite": "310 S.E.2d 301", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 3, "year": 1984, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "310" }, { "page": "306-09" }, { "page": "310" } ], "opinion_index": 2 }, { "cite": "310 N.C. 61", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 2394579 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1984, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "74" }, { "page": "69-73" } ], "opinion_index": 2, "case_paths": [ "/nc/310/0061-01" ] }, { "cite": "215 S.E.2d 589", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 3, "year": 1975, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "594", "parenthetical": "citations omitted" }, { "page": "594", "parenthetical": "emphasis added" }, { "page": "594" } ], "opinion_index": 2 }, { "cite": "288 N.C. 19", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8564626 ], "weight": 3, "year": 1975, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "26", "parenthetical": "citations omitted" }, { "page": "26" }, { "page": "26" } ], "opinion_index": 2, "case_paths": [ "/nc/288/0019-01" ] }, { "cite": "361 N.C. 200", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 3738287 ], "weight": 2, "year": 2007, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "205", "parenthetical": "emphases added" }, { "page": "205" } ], "opinion_index": 2, "case_paths": [ "/nc/361/0200-01" ] } ], "analysis": { "cardinality": 1537, "char_count": 46799, "ocr_confidence": 0.76, "pagerank": { "raw": 1.095735314420694e-07, "percentile": 0.566813933939778 }, "sha256": "8ccfe5de56d3fc7e672f0ea172c1bf0eaf0010bab3ee6eb6ad064ba71e895975", "simhash": "1:810b906ab50d6abc", "word_count": 7445 }, "last_updated": "2023-07-14T21:19:39.869638+00:00", "provenance": { "date_added": "2019-08-29", "source": "Harvard", "batch": "2018" }, "casebody": { "judges": [ "Justice TIMMONS-GOODSON joins in this dissenting opinion." ], "parties": [ "BEAUFORT COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION v. BEAUFORT COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS" ], "opinions": [ { "text": "MARTIN, Justice.\nThis action arises out of a dispute between the Beaufort County Board of Education (the School Board) and the Beaufort County Commissioners (the County Commission) over the amount of funding necessary to operate the local school system for the 2006-2007 fiscal year (FY 2006-2007). The School Board requested $12,106,304 and the County Commission allocated $9,434,217. After complying with the negotiation and mediation procedures set forth in N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-431 (2007) (section 431), the School Board sued the County Commission. At trial, a jury found that the School Board needed $10,200,000 for FY 2006-2007 school operations. The trial' court entered a judgment requiring the County Commission to appropriate that amount to the School Board.\nOn appeal, the Court of Appeals found no error. Beaufort Cty. Bd. of Educ. v. Beaufort Cty. Bd. of Comm\u2019rs, 188 N.C. App. 399, 416, 656 S.E.2d 296, 307 (2008). We allowed discretionary review to determine whether \u201cthe statutory framework for resolving school funding disputes between the county board of education and the county board of commissioners [is] constitutional\u201d and, if so, whether \u201cthe statutory framework [has] been properly applied in this case.\u201d\nThe County Commission first contends that section 431 is unconstitutional on its face. We observe that a facial challenge to a statute is a \u201c \u2018most difficult challenge to mount successfully.\u2019 \u201d State v. Bryant, 359 N.C. 554, 564, 614 S.E.2d 479, 485 (2005) (quoting United States v. Salerno, 481 U.S. 739, 745 (1987)). A party must show that there are no circumstances under which the statute might be constitutional. See id. at 564, 614 S.E.2d at 486. We seldom uphold facial challenges because it is the role of the legislature, rather than this Court, to balance disparate interests and find a workable compromise among them. See Henry v. Edmisten, 315 N.C. 474, 491, 340 S.E.2d 720, 731 (1986). This Court will only measure the balance struck in the statute against the minimum standards required by the constitution. See id.\nThe County Commission alleges that by allowing the court system to play a role in deciding the level of funding for public education, section 431(c) impermissibly delegates the legislature\u2019s constitutional duty to \u201cprovide ... for a general and uniform system of free public schools.\u201d N.C. Const, art. IX, \u00a7 2(1). The County Commission argues that the statutory procedure in section 431(c) thus violates the constitutional requirement that \u201c[t]he legislative, executive, and supreme judicial powers of the State government shall be forever separate and distinct from each other.\u201d Id. art. I, \u00a7 6. Like the United States Supreme Court, however, we acknowledge that our separation of powers clause does not prevent the General Assembly \u201cfrom seeking assistance, within proper limits, from its coordinate Branches.\u201d Touby v. United States, 500 U.S. 160, 165 (1991) (citing Mistretta v. United States, 488 U.S. 361, 372 (1989)).\nIn analyzing the role of the judiciary under section 431(c), we begin by examining the statutory procedures preceding litigation. The local school board first creates a budget setting out its estimate of the cost of providing educatipn within its locale for the upcoming year and submits that budget to the county commission. See N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-429(a) (2007). The county commission then determines the amount of funds to be appropriated to the school board. See N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-429(b) (2007). If there is a dispute between the school board and the county commission, the two boards meet with a mediator in an effort to negotiate a compromise. See \u00a7 115C-431(a). If there is still no agreement, representatives from the two boards enter a formal mediation. See \u00a7 115C-431(b). If no agreement can be reached at the mediation, the school board may file an action in superior court. See \u00a7 115C-431(c). In any such action, the trial court is charged to\nfind the facts as to the amount of money necessary to maintain a system of free public schools, and the amount of money needed from the county to make up this total. . . .\n... When the facts have been found, the court shall give judgment ordering the board of county commissioners to appropriate a sum certain to the local school administrative unit, and to levy such taxes on property as may be necessary to make up this sum when added to other revenues available for the purpose.\nId.\nBecause the trial court must determine the amount necessary to fund \u201ca system of free public schools,\u201d id., we look to other provisions of Chapter 115C to determine the meaning of that phrase. The Chapter contains copious provisions setting standards, often in minute detail, to which local schools must adhere. The State Board of Education (the State Board) is given the general administrative and supervisory role over public education and is responsible for \u201cestablishing] policy for the system of free public schools.\u201d N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-12 (2007). The statutory provisions enacted by the legislature and guidelines adopted by the State Board, when viewed together, comprehensively define the phrase \u201ca system of free public schools\u201d used in section 431(c).\nSince the General Assembly has so exhaustively defined its desired system, the section 431(c) procedure does no more than invite the courts to adjudicate a disputed fact: the annual cost of providing a countywide system of education under the policies chosen by the legislature and the State Board. Such fact-finding falls within the historic and proper role of the judiciary. See, e.g., N.C. Const. art. IV, \u00a7 13 (discussing civil actions: \u201c[T]here shall be a right to have issues of fact tried before a jury.\u201d). After finding the facts, the trial court enters judgment against the county commission as directed by the legislature. See \u00a7 115C-431(c). It is the legislature, not the judiciary, which has assigned responsibility to local government by requiring that judgment be entered against the county commission if the court finds the cost of schooling is greater than the amount appropriated. The legislature has therefore neither assigned policy-making power to the courts nor otherwise delegated its authority, and the judiciary. is at all times exercising a function traditionally assigned to it under our tripartite system of government.\nFurthermore, we have previously considered and upheld a provision nearly identical to section 431(c). Chapter 33, section 8, Laws of 1913, provided, just as section 431 does, for judicial fact-finding as to the cost of schools in the event of disagreement between a county school board and the county commission. See Act of Mar. 1, 1913, ch. 33, sec. 8, 1913 N.C. Pub. [Sess.] Laws 58, 60. As in this case, the county commission challenged the resolution scheme as unconstitutional. See Bd. of Educ. v. Bd. of Cty. Comm\u2019rs, 174 N.C. 469, 474, 93 S.E. 1001, 1003 (1917). In response to that argument, we held, just as we do now, that the scheme \u201conly empowers the courts to ascertain and determine a disputed fact relevant to a pending issue between the two boards, and thereupon command that the tax be levied accordingly, both the finding of the fact and the judgment thereon being, in our opinion, judicial in their nature.\u201d Id. The provisions of section 431(c) thus comport with the State Constitution, and any complaints about the policy or wisdom of the challenged procedures must necessarily be directed to the General Assembly.\nThe County Commission next asserts that section 431(c) deprives it of funding discretion granted by the State Constitution. Our Constitution provides:\n(2) Local responsibility. The General Assembly may assign to units of local government such responsibility for the financial support of the free public schools as it may deem appropriate. The governing boards of units of local government with financial responsibility for public education may use local revenues to add to or supplement any public school or post-secondary school program.\nN.C. Const. art. IX, \u00a7 2(2). The County Commission maintains that allowing the court to ascertain \u201cthe amount of money necessary to maintain a system of free public schools,\u201d \u00a7 115C-431(c), is counter to the second sentence of the constitutional provision, which states that the local government \u201cmay... add. to or supplement\u201d the amount for which the legislature has assigned responsibility, N.C. Const, art. IX, \u00a7 2(2) (emphasis added).\nIn interpreting our Constitution, we are bound to \u201cgive effect to the intent of the framers of the organic law and of the people adopting it.\u201d Perry v. Stancil, 237 N.C. 442, 444, 75 S.E.2d 512, 514 (1953). Moreover, \u201cwhere one of two reasonable constructions will raise a serious constitutional question, the construction which avoids this question should be adopted.\u201d In re Arthur, 291 N.C. 640, 642, 231 S.E.2d 614, 616 (1977) (citations omitted).\nWe now consider the meaning of the terms \u201cnecessary\u201d and \u201cneeded,\u201d as used in section 431(c), in light of Article IX, Section 2(2) of the State Constitution. We acknowledge that these terms are susceptible to reasonable interpretations of varying strictness, about which there has been argument from the earliest days of our republic. See, e.g., M\u2019Culloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. 207, 212-13, 4 Wheat. 316, 323-25 (1819). If a fact-finder were to interpret \u201cnecessary\u201d or \u201cneeded\u201d in section 431(c) expansively, there is a danger that the resulting verdict could intrude on a county commission\u2019s funding discretion under Article IX, Section 2(2) by requiring the appropriation of a greater amount of money than that for which the legislature has assigned responsibility. Accordingly, in order to reconcile the statute with Article IX, Section 2(2), we accord a restrictive interpretation to the terms \u201cnecessary\u201d and \u201cneeded\u201d within section 431(c).\nSo construed, section 431(c)\u2019s requirement that county commissions provide the minimum level of funding required by state law does not abrogate their discretionary authority to contribute more. As discussed above, the legislature has deemed it appropriate to assign responsibility to local government to provide funding to maintain the system of public schools. County commissions are thus required to furnish that amount. See N.C. Const. art. IX, \u00a7 2(2). Our State Constitution protects a local government\u2019s discretionary authority to provide more funding than legally required, not less. Consequently, section 431(c) does not encroach on local governments\u2019 discretion to contribute additional funds to schools beyond their minimum legal responsibility.\nWe next consider the trial court\u2019s charge to the jury in the present case. Although counsel did not object or assign error to the trial court\u2019s instructions, \u201c \u2018[t]his Court will not hesitate to exercise its rarely used general supervisory authority when necessary to promote the expeditious administration of justice,\u2019 and may do so to \u2018consider questions which are not properly presented according to [its] rules.\u2019 \u201d State v. Ellis, 361 N.C. 200, 205, 639 S.E.2d 425, 428 (2007) (quoting State v. Stanley, 288 N.C. 19, 26, 215 S.E.2d 589, 594 (1975)). We invoke our general supervisory authority mindful that because the trial court \u201cdid not have the legal standard which we articulate today to guide him in his consideration of the case, ... it is not reasonable to expect him to have applied it without the benefit of this opinion.\u201d State v. McDowell, 310 N.C. 61, 74, 310 S.E.2d 301, 310 (1984), cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1165 (1986). The instant case is analogous to other situations wherein this Court has invoked its general supervisory authority to promptly resolve a novel issue of great import. See In re Brownlee, 301 N.C. 532, 548, 272 S.E.2d 861, 870 (1981) (stating that the Court\u2019s general supervisory authority may be invoked when \u201c[t]he novelty of the issues presented, coupled with the potential liability of the counties of North Carolina, serves to emphasize the proper role of the judiciary in securing a prompt resolution\u201d (emphasis added)).\nThe trial court instructed the jury that the word \u201cneeded\u201d in section 431(c) means \u201cthat which is reasonable and useful and proper or conducive to the end sought.\u201d Rather than conveying a restrictive definition of \u201cneeded,\u201d which is necessary to preserve the discretionary authority of county commissions under Article IX, Section 2(2), the instruction conveyed an impermissible, expansive definition of this statutory term. Because the instruction was in error, we must remand for a new trial. At that trial, the trial court should instruct the jury that section 431(c) requires the County Commission to provide that appropriation legally necessary to support a system of free public schools, as defined by Chapter 115C and the policies of the State Board. The trial court should also instruct the jury, in arriving at its verdict, to consider the educational goals and policies of the state, the budgetary request of the local board of education, the financial resources of the county, and the fiscal policies of the board of county commissioners. See N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-426(e) (2007). Anything beyond this measure of damages impermissibly infringes upon the discretionary authority of the County Commission under Article IX, Section 2(2) of the State Constitution and may not be awarded by a jury.\nThe County Commission next asserts that the trial court erred in its interpretation of the statutory framework. Specifically, the Commission alleges that the legislature has assigned to local governments responsibility- only for capital expenses and not current expenses. The statutes explicitly contemplate the funding of current expenses by county commissions when state funding is insufficient. See, e.g., \u00a7 115C-426(e) (stating that the local current expense fund shall include appropriations sufficient, when added to state funds, to conform to the educational goals of the state; and stating that these appropriations shall be funded by, among other sources, \u201cmoneys made available to the local school administrative unit by the board of county commissioners\u201d). Moreover, as we have already discussed, section 431(c) itself assigns to the local government responsibility for funding \u201ca system of free public schools,\u201d not merely the capital expense component. We therefore reject the argument that the General Assembly has not assigned responsibility for current expenses to local governments.\nFinally, the County Commission alleges that its due process rights were violated by the trial court\u2019s denial of its motion to continue. The legislature intended that the statutory resolution process be carried out promptly. See \u00a7 115C-431(c) (\u201cWhen a jury trial is demanded, the cause shall be set for the first succeeding term of the superior court in the county, and shall take precedence over all other business of the court.\u201d). Assuming, without deciding, that the County Commission is a \u201cperson\u201d for due process purposes, it had ample opportunity to communicate with and request information from the School Board after its budget proposal was submitted, including the time during which the boards were engaged in negotiation and mediation leading to the instant suit. See N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-429(c) (2007) (\u201cThe board of county commissioners shall have full authority to call for ... all books, records, audit reports, and other information bearing on the financial operation of the local school administrative unit.\u201d); \u00a7 115C-431(a), (b). Therefore, the trial court did not err by denying the motion to continue.\nIn sum, we reject the County Commission\u2019s facial challenge and uphold section 431(c) as constitutional. Nonetheless, because the trial court\u2019s instructions invited the jury to step beyond its role of determining necessary funding and intrude upon the County Commission\u2019s constitutional discretion, we reverse the decision of the Court of Appeals and remand to that court for further remand to the trial court for a new trial.\nREVERSED AND REMANDED.\n. Section 431(c) allows school boards to sue county commissions when other resolution procedures fail. At trial, the court, via a jury if either party so requests, \u201cfind[s] the facts as to the amount of money necessary to maintain a system of free public schools, and the amount of money needed from the county to make up this total.\u201d Id.\n. For amere partial listing, see, for example, N.C.G.S. \u00a7\u00a7 115C-81(al) (mandating that the Basic Education Program adopted by the State Board be offered to every child); 115C-81(a3)(l) (mandating availability of alcohol and drug use prevention programs); 115C-81(bl) (requiring two full years of instruction on North Carolina history and geography); 115C-81(g) (requiring that the major principles of the nation\u2019s founding documents be taught); 115C-81(h) (requiring instruction in character traits of courage, good judgment, integrity, kindness, perseverance, respect, responsibility, and self-discipline); 115C-84.2 (mandating calendar); 115C-102.6C (mandating technology plan in accord with State Board\u2019s plan); 115C-166 (requiring industrial-quality eye protection while participating in certain activities); 115C-216 (requiring a course of training in the operation of motor vehicles); 115C-245(a) (prescribing minimum qualifications for school bus drivers); 115C-264 to -264.3 (governing provision of food service, including a decrease in foods high in trans-fatty acids, restrictions on vending machine sales, and a preference for high-calcium foods and beverages); 115C-301 (governing allowable class sizes); 115C-364 (setting minimum age for admission); 115C-375.4 (2007) (requiring that parents be informed about meningococcal meningitis and influenza vaccines annually).\n. To list only a few examples from that section, the duties assigned to the State Board include setting policy regarding the following areas: regulation of salaries, adoption of textbooks, adoption of rules requiring implementation of the Basic Education Program (defined elsewhere), development and enforcement of the School-Based Management and Accountability Program, development of content standards and exit standards, promulgation of transportation regulations, and adoption of model guidelines for closing the academic achievement gap. See \u00a7 115C-12(9), (9c), (16), (17), (30).", "type": "majority", "author": "MARTIN, Justice." }, { "text": "Justice NEWBY\nconcurring.\nI agree with the majority that N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-431(c) can be read narrowly such that it withstands a facial challenge based on Article IX, Section 2 of the North Carolina Constitution. I also agree that, in order to ensure section 115C-431(c) is applied in a constitutional manner, limiting jury instructions are necessary in suits brought under that provision. I write separately because, although this case does not appear to present any constitutional violations, the paramount importance of educational funding compels me to address the interplay between section 115C-431 and the General Assembly\u2019s constitutional duty to ensure equal opportunities for a sound basic education for all of North Carolina\u2019s public school students. ,\nThe right to education is safeguarded in our State Constitution. Article I, Section 15 of the North Carolina Constitution establishes: \u201cThe people have a right to the privilege of education, and it is the duty of the State to guard and maintain that right.\u201d Our Constitution goes on to require: \u201cReligion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools, libraries, and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.\u201d N.C. Const, art. IX, \u00a7 1. Article IX, Section 2 of our Constitution, which is entitled \u201cUniform system of schools,\u201d provides:\n(1) General and uniform, system: term. The General Assembly shall provide by taxation and otherwise for a general and uniform system of free public schools, which shall be maintained at least nine months in every year, and wherein equal opportunities shall be provided for all students.\n(2) Local responsibility. The General Assembly may assign to units of local government such responsibility for the financial support of the free public schools as it may deem appropriate. The governing boards of units of local government with financial responsibility for public education may use local revenues to add to or supplement any public school or post-secondary school program.\nBy its plain language, Section 2(1) imposes solely on the General Assembly the duty to provide for the State\u2019s \u201cuniform system of free public schools . . . wherein equal opportunities shall be provided for all students.\u201d In Leandro v. State, we concluded that this subsection \u201crequires that access to a sound basic education be provided equally in every school district.\u201d 346 N.C. 336, 349, 488 S.E.2d 249, 256 (1997) (emphasis added). In so doing, we noted that the requirement of equal opportunities for all public school students is part of the General Assembly\u2019s constitutional duty to provide for the public schools. Id. at 348, 488 S.E.2d at 255.\nThe first sentence of Section 2(2) enables the General Assembly to require units of local government to bear some of the cost of maintaining their local public schools. However, no school budget \u201cmay be funded in such a fashion that it fails to provide the resources required to provide the opportunity for a sound basic education.\u201d Hoke Cty. Bd. of Educ. v. State, 358 N.C. 605, 634, 599 S.E.2d 365, 388 (2004).\nThe second sentence of Section 2(2) permits local governing boards, if they so choose, to use local revenues to exceed the educational financing requirements placed on them by the General Assembly.\nBecause the North Carolina Constitution expressly states that units of local governments with financial responsibility for public education may provide additional funding to supplement the educational programs provided by the state, there can be nothing unconstitutional about their doing so or in any inequality of opportunity occurring as a result.\nLeandro, 346 N.C. at 349-50, 488 S.E.2d at 256.\nRead together, the North Carolina Constitution and this Court\u2019s opinions in Leandro and Hoke County lead to the conclusion that, while the General Assembly may require local governments to contribute to the cost of maintaining their local public schools, and the local governments may choose to exceed that basic cost by contributing more than the General Assembly requires, the minimum definition of a sound basic education must be the same throughout the state. Along with the minimum substantive requirements of a sound basic education, see id. at 347, 488 S.E.2d at 255, there must be a corresponding minimum level of funding that is required for every student. While the legislature may delegate the authority to establish educational funding levels, it may not do so in a manner that allows the per-student financial aspect of a sound basic education to vary substantially by county. Otherwise the General Assembly will have unconstitutionally abdicated its duty to ensure \u201cequal opportunities ... for all students.\u201d N.C. Const. art. IX, \u00a7 2(1).\nThe General Assembly has codified the responsibilities, for educational funding in section 115C-426 of the General Statutes, entitled \u201cUniform budget format.\u201d Three funds are identified: the State Public School Fund, the local current expense fund, and the capital outlay fund. N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-426(c) (2007). The State Public School Fund includes \u201cappropriations for the current operating expenses of the public school system from moneys made available to the local school administrative unit by the State Board of Education.\u201d Id. \u00a7 115C-426(d) (2007). The capital outlay fund is used for facilities and capital improvements. Id. \u00a7 115C-426(f) (2007).\nThe parties to this case stipulated at trial that the only issue in controversy is the portion of the county\u2019s education budget known as the local current expense fund. Section 115C-426(e) defines this fund as follows:\nThe local current expense fund shall include appropriations sufficient, when added to appropriations from the State Public School Fund, for the current operating expense of the public school system in conformity with the educational goals and policies of the State and the local board of education, within the financial resources and consistent with the fiscal policies of the board of county commissioners.\nId. \u00a7 115C-426(e) (2007). This .provision must be read in light of Article IX, Section 2 of the North Carolina Constitution and our holdings in Leandro and Hoke County. Thus, at a minimum, the funding must be sufficient to provide a sound basic education. Likewise, the funding cannot interfere with the discretion of the local governing board to provide additional educational funding as established by Article IX, Section 2(2). Between these parameters, the statute envisions an amount,\nwhen added to appropriations from the State Public School Fund, for the current operating expense of the public school system in conformity with the educational goals and policies of the State and the local board of education, within the financial resources and consistent with the fiscal policies of the board of county commissioners.\nId. This is referred to in section 115C-431(c) as the \u201camount of money . . . needed from sources under the control of the board of county commissioners to maintain a system of free public schools.\u201d N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-431(c) (2007). It is this amount which is in controversy.\nThe counties\u2019 discretion under Article IX, Section 2(2) regarding whether (and by how much) to exceed the funding responsibility assigned to them by the State belongs to the counties alone, and the General Assembly cannot delegate that discretion away from \u201c[t]he governing boards of units of local government with financial responsibility for public education.\u201d N.C. Const. art. IX, \u00a7 2(2). I therefore agree with the majority opinion\u2019s conclusion that, in a suit under N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-431(c), the fact finder may only determine the amount of funding that is statutorily required and may not decide the amount of discretionary county funding. As noted by the majority, in this case, the court must instruct the jury that the amount of money \u201cneeded from sources under the control of the board of county commissioners to maintain a system of free public schools,\u201d N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-431(c), is only the amount necessary to fulfill \u201cthe educational goals and policies of the State\u201d as they are set forth in Chapter 115C. Id. \u00a7 115C-426(e).\nUnlike the majority, I believe that even when the statutes are read narrowly, resolving a dispute under section 115C-426(e) through the procedure of section 115C-431(c) still raises constitutional concerns. Under the statutes, the many factors to be considered in reaching a funding decision include \u201cthe educational goals and policies of the State,\u201d \u201cthe educational goals and policies of . . . the local board of education,\u201d and \u201cthe financial resources and . . . fiscal policies of the board of county commissioners.\u201d Id. It concerns me that requiring judicial actors to weigh such policy considerations may be at odds with our Constitution\u2019s requirement that \u201c[t]he legislative, executive, and supreme judicial powers of the State government shall be forever separate and distinct from each other.\u201d N.C. Const. art. I, \u00a7 6. Similarly, I worry that section 115C-431(c) requires the courts to address nonjusticiable political questions. See Bacon v. Lee, 353 N.C. 696, 717, 549 S.E.2d 840, 854, cert. denied, 533 U.S. 975, 122 S. Ct. 22, 150 L. Ed. 2d 804 (2001). The majority opinion maintains that section 115C-431(c) has not \u201cassigned policy-making power to the courts,\u201d but I believe the determination of the amount of funding needed to support the public school system is fraught with political implications. Budgetary decisions by nature reflect policy considerations. Local priorities can shift over time, and those priorities are sure to affect the funding decisions of local governments and courts, especially when jury trial is available. If the constitutional guarantee of a sound basic education is to be realized throughout North Carolina, the funding decision should be left to a body like the General Assembly, which is in the best position to consider the full range of evidence and balance the competing objectives.\nI acknowledge, however, that this Court has held it permissible for the General Assembly to delegate to the courts the task of determining school funding levels. In Board of Education v. Board of County Commissioners, this Court upheld a law that required the superior court division to resolve disputes regarding the amount of tax needed to be levied to maintain a county\u2019s public schools for a four month period. 174 N.C. 469, 474, 93 S.E. 1001, 1003 (1917). In accordance with the principle of stare decisis, I adhere to this precedent despite my strong reservations about courts\u2019 ability to properly address the myriad policy considerations that attend educational funding.\nI am also concerned that the extent of discretion assigned to the counties under section 115C-431 leaves open the possibility that counties could establish educational funding at a level below that which is required to provide a sound basic education. To be sure, the General Assembly has to a large extent acknowledged its duty to ensure that all public school students receive an equally sound basic education. Section 115C-408(b) of the General Statutes provides in pertinent part:\nTo insure a quality education for every child in North Carolina, and to assure that the necessary resources are provided, it is the policy of the State of North Carolina to provide from State revenue sources the instructional expenses for current operations of the public school system as defined in the standard course of study.\nIt is the policy of the State of North Carolina that the facilities requirements for a public education system will be met by county governments.\nN.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-408(b) (2007). These statements of policy recognize the significant variations in the counties\u2019 educational needs (due to differences in population, for example) and that those variations will be most manifest in the counties\u2019 \u201cfacilities requirements.\u201d Id. The General Assembly has therefore expressed a preference to permit the counties to tend to their capital needs as their individual circumstances dictate. \u201c[T]he instructional expenses for current operations of the public school system,\u201d meanwhile, should be substantially equal on a per-student basis, especially since all students are provided the same \u201cstandard course of study.\u201d Id. Thus, by opting against county-based funding of instructional expenses for current operations in order \u201c[t]o insure a quality education for every child in North Carolina,\u201d this statute underscores the constitutional policy that a sound basic education should be funded equally throughout the State. Id. The only reason adherence to that policy might not be fully ensured is that the lack of a statewide determination of the amount needed for a sound basic education potentially enables the counties to fund public education below the constitutionally required level. While I recognize the possibility that such a statewide determination is already being made, the record before the Court does not reflect that this is the case.\nIn summation, I believe the natural consequence of the General Assembly\u2019s constitutional duty to ensure an equally sound basic education for all public school students in North Carolina is a need for a statewide determination of the amount of money that must be expended per student to achieve that constitutional minimum. I further believe N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-431 delegates discretion over educational funding in a manner that does not fully guarantee adherence to the constitutional mandate that \u201cequal opportunities shall be provided'for all students\u201d across our state. N.C. Const, art. IX, \u00a7 2(1). Although this particular case does not appear to present any violations of that mandate, I believe the funding of our public schools is important enough to warrant consideration of this issue. Within the context of the instant case, while I believe that a court of law is not the proper mechanism for resolving the political questions associated with educational funding, stare decisis constrains me to concur with the majority.", "type": "concurrence", "author": "Justice NEWBY" }, { "text": "Justice HUDSON\ndissenting.\nI agree entirely with the bulk of the reasoning and analysis outlined in the majority opinion and particularly with its conclusion that N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-431(c) is constitutional on its face. However, I would decline to revisit the trial court\u2019s charge to the jury, an issue to which the majority concedes that \u201ccounsel did not object or assign error.\u201d There is no showing in the record or briefs before us that N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-431(c) was not properly applied in this case. For that reason, I would affirm the Court of Appeals decision finding no error in the trial court\u2019s entry of judgment based upon the jury\u2019s verdict. As such, I respectfully dissent.\nIn our order allowing the County Commission\u2019s petition for discretionary review, we specifically limited our review to whether \u201cthe statutory framework for resolving school funding disputes between the county board of education and the county board of commissioners [is] constitutional,\u201d and, if so, whether it was properly applied in this case. Likewise, as noted by the County Commission in its brief to this Court, \u201cLegal error is presented; the relevant facts are not disputed.\u201d None of the arguments presented on appeal \u2014 before the Court of Appeals or this Court, by the County Commission, the School Board, or any of the amici curiae who submitted briefs \u2014 challenged, contested, or otherwise found fault with either the trial court\u2019s instructions to the jury or with the \u201camount of money necessary to maintain a system of free public schools\u201d in Beaufort County, as determined by the jury. The sole basis of the appeal was the constitutionality of section 115C-431(c), both facially and as applied.\nI recognize that this Court does have \u201crarely used general supervisory authority\u201d to \u201cconsider questions which are not properly presented according to our rules.\u201d State v. Stanley, 288 N.C. 19, 26, 215 S.E.2d 589, 594 (1975) (citations omitted); compare Bailey v. State, 353 N.C. 142, 158 n.2, 540 S.E.2d 313, 323 n.2 (2000) (recognizing the Court\u2019s \u201cconstitutional supervisory powers over inferior courts\u201d but declining to exercise that authority to allow a nonparty\u2019s petition to be heard, as the issue presented was not an \u201cexceptional circumstance,\u201d nor was the nonparty subjected to \u201cfinancial obligations imposed by order of a trial court\u201d as in other cases) with In re Brownlee, 301 N.C. 532, 547-48, 272 S.E.2d 861, 870-71 (1981) (electing to \u201ctreat the papers which have ben filed [sic] ... as a motion calling upon the court to exercise its supervisory powers\u201d and allow a county to appeal the order in a juvenile proceeding because of the county\u2019s \u201csignificant interest in the outcome,\u201d including possible future expenditures). However, I disagree that the trial court\u2019s instructions to the jury here constitute the type of \u201cexceptional circumstance\u201d that calls for such action.\nAs noted by the majority opinion, we \u201cwill not hesitate to exercise . . . [that] authority when necessary to promote the expeditious administration of justice.\u201d Stanley, 288 N.C. at 26, 215 S.E.2d at 594 (emphasis added). In State v. Ellis, we exercised the authority to review a Court of Appeals decision on a motion for appropriate relief in a noncapital case, finding that such action \u201cto review upon appeal any decision of the courts below,\u201d N.C. Const. art. IV, \u00a7 12, was \u201cparticularly appropriate when . . . prompt and definitive resolution of an issue is necessary to ensure the uniform administration of North Carolina criminal statutes,\u201d 361 N.C. 200, 205, 639 S.E.2d 425, 428-29 (2007) (emphases added). Likewise, although the majority points to In re Brownlee as an analogous case presenting \u201ca novel issue of great import,\u201d we invoked our authority in Brownlee to allow the county to be a party to an appeal from a judgment that compelled the county to spend tens of thousands of dollars even though it was not a party to the case. 301 N.C. at 548, 272 S.E.2d at 870. We did not, however, create the county\u2019s arguments for it; rather, we simply reviewed the arguments the county had already presented to the Court.\nHere, by acting ex mero motu to consider the trial judge\u2019s instructions to the jury and, by extension, the amount of the award fixed by the jury, the majority acts contrary to our own admonition that \u201c [i]t is not the role of the appellate courts ... to create an appeal for an appellant,\u201d as doing so leaves \u201can appellee . . . without notice of the basis upon which an appellate court might rule.\u201d Viar v. N.C. Dep\u2019t of Transp., 359 N.C. 400, 402, 610 S.E.2d 360, 361 (2005) (per curiam) (citation omitted); see also Dogwood Dev. & Mgmt. Co. v. White Oak Transp. Co., 362 N.C. 191, 200, 657 S.E.2d 361, 366-67 (2008) (holding that one factor to consider with respect to noncompliance with appellate rules is \u201cwhether and to what extent review on the merits would frustrate the adversarial process\u201d (citations omitted)). A thorough review of this record and the briefs and arguments presented by-all parties to this appeal clearly illustrates that, not only has the County Commission never objected to either the trial judge\u2019s instructions to the jury or to the amount awarded by the jury, neither has the School Board ever articulated an argument in support of the same. To step in and set aside a jury verdict that has not been challenged is indeed to \u201cfrustrate the adversarial process\u201d through this decision.\nMoreover, while the majority maintains that the trial judge \u201cdid not have the legal standard which we articulate today to guide him in his consideration of the case,\u201d State v. McDowell, 310 N.C. 61, 74, 310 S.E.2d 301, 310 (1984), cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1165, 90 L. Ed. 2d 732 (1986), I disagree. In McDowell, a capital case, we undertook extensive analysis of existing case law to determine the proper standard on which to review the State\u2019s failure to disclose nonrequested evidence, noting that the disclosure requirement turned on the \u201cmateriality\u201d of the evidence, a \u201csomewhat elusive gauge\u201d on which the leading United States Supreme Court case, United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97, 49 L. Ed. 2d 342 (1976), was less than clear as to the meaning of the term, and silent as to whether the trial judge or the jury should decide the question. McDowell, 310 N.C. at 69-73, 310 S.E.2d at 306-09. Both defendant and the State focused their arguments on appeal on the materiality standard, and whether it was properly applied by the trial judge. After articulating in plain terms what the standard should be, we remanded to the trial court to reconsider defendant\u2019s motion for appropriate relief in light of that standard\u2014 one that had not previously existed in our case law. Id. at 75, 310 S.E.2d at 310.\nBy contrast, the legal standard applied by the trial judge here clearly existed at the time of the trial and jury verdict: the plain language of section 115C431(c) itself articulates the standard to determine \u201cwhat amount of money is needed from sources under the control of the board of county commissioners to maintain a system of free public schools.\u201d Had the County Commission found the instructions to the jury on the definition of the word \u201cneeded\u201d objectionable, the County Commission could have made that issue part of its \u201cunconstitutional as applied\u201d challenge to the statute. Instead, in its arguments on appeal, the County Commission focused primarily on its facial challenge and relied on Board of Education v. Board of County Commissioners, 240 N.C. 118, 81 S.E.2d 256 (1954), a case that is inapposite to the issue presented here. Even more telling, the County Commission did not object to the jury instructions at trial and, under our appellate rules, thereby waived any objections. See N.C. R. App. P. 10(b)(2) (\u201cA party may not assign as error any portion of the jury charge or omission therefrom unless he objects thereto before the jury retires to consider its verdict, stating distinctly that to which he objects and the grounds of his objection[.]\u201d).\nThere has been no showing by the County Commission or any other party that the amount awarded by the jury here was excessive or that it went beyond the restrictive definition of \u201cneeded\u201d articulated in the majority opinion. Indeed, the amount awarded by the jury, $10,200,000, was ultimately less than the $12,106,304 requested by the School Board, and much closer to the $9,434,217 originally budgeted by the County Commission. This amount is not the type of \u201crunaway verdict\u201d that suggests the jury somehow overstepped its role, or disregarded the trial judge\u2019s instructions, but one indicating that the jury took seriously its responsibilities and awarded a seemingly reasonable figure that comports with the cost and expense projections presented by the parties at trial.\nThe County Commission failed to present any persuasive argument or evidence that section 115C-431(c) is unconstitutional as applied here, and this Court should not unilaterally act to create its case. Viar, 359 N.C. at 402, 610 S.E.2d at 361. In my view, the majority\u2019s decision to remand for a new trial unnecessarily delays and prolongs the dispute between the parties, already ongoing since the 2006-07 fiscal year, in a manner contrary to the stated purpose of invoking our general supervisory authority to contribute to \u201cprompt and definitive resolution of an issue.\u201d Ellis, 361 N.C. at 205, 639 S.E.2d at 428-29. Perhaps even more significantly, this disposition runs entirely counter to the clear intention of the General Assembly that the statutory resolution process outlined in section 115C-431(c) be carried out promptly. See N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-431(c) (in addition to other provisions for an immediate hearing, specifying that, \u201cWhen a jury trial is demanded, the cause shall be set for the first succeeding term of the superior court in the county, and shall take precedence over all other business of the court.\u201d).\nThis case does not present the type of \u201cunusual [or] exceptional circumstance []\u201d in which we should invoke our \u201crarely used general supervisory authority\u201d to \u201cconsider questions which are not properly presented according to our rules.\u201d Stanley, 288 N.C. at 26, 215 S.E.2d at 594. Nor does setting aside the jury award address any important constitutional questions or otherwise \u201cprevent manifest injustice to a party.\u201d N.C. R. App. P. 2; see State v. Barden, 356 N.C. 316, 332, 572 S.E.2d 108, 120 (2002) (invoking Rule 2 to \u201caddress defendant\u2019s contentions\u201d \u201cbecause these issues raise important constitutional questions in the context of a capital case), cert. denied, 538 U.S. 1040, 155 L. Ed. 2d 1074 (2003).\nFor these reasons, I would follow the majority opinion\u2019s rationale as to the facial constitutionality of N.C.G.S. \u00a7 15C-431(c) and further hold that the statute is constitutional as applied in this case. I would decline to suspend the rules and consider an argument not before us on appeal, and I would affirm in its entirety the Court of Appeals decision finding no error in the trial court\u2019s entry of judgment on the jury verdict. I respectfully dissent.\nJustice TIMMONS-GOODSON joins in this dissenting opinion.", "type": "dissent", "author": "Justice HUDSON" } ], "attorneys": [ "Schwartz & Shaw, P.L.L.C., by Brian C. Shaw and Richard Schwartz, for plaintiff-appellee.", "Garris Neil Yarborough and Jonathan V. Maxwell for defendant-appellant.", "James B. Blackburn, III, General Counsel, for North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, amicus curiae.", "Tharrington Smith, L.L.P., by Ann Majestic and Robert M. Kennedy Jr.; and Allison B. Schafer, General Counsel, for North Carolina School Boards Association, amicus curiae." ], "corrections": "", "head_matter": "BEAUFORT COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION v. BEAUFORT COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS\nNo. 106PA08\n(Filed 28 August 2009)\n1. Schools and Education\u2014 funding \u2014 dispute with county\u2014 resolution by court \u2014 constitutionality\nN.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-431 (which provides an eventual judicial resolution of disputes between school boards and county commissioners over the amounted needed to operate the school system) does not impermissibly delegate legislative authority and is constitutional. The statute does no more than invite the courts to adjudicate a disputed fact: the annual cost of providing a countywide system of education under the policies chosen by the legislature and the State Board of Education. This is within the historic and proper role of the judiciary.\n2. Schools and Education\u2014 funding \u2014 judicial determination of minimum \u2014 county authority not infringed\nN.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-431 does not deprive the county commissioners of funding discretion granted by the State Constitution. The requirement that the commissioners provide the minimum level of funding required by state law does not abrogate their discretionary authority to contribute more.\n3. Schools and Education\u2014 funding \u2014 judicial resolution of disputed amount \u2014 jury instruction\nThe Supreme Court exercised its general supervisory authority to promptly resolve a novel issue of great import, despite the lack of an objection or assignment of error, in a case involving the amount needed to operate a county school system. The instruction given to the jury on the word \u201cneeded\u201d was too expansive, and was remanded for application of the more restrictive definition articulated herein.\n4. Schools and Education\u2014 funding \u2014 responsibility for operating expenses\nThe statutes concerning school'funding explicitly contemplate the funding of current school expenses by county commissioners when state funding is insufficient rather than local governments having responsibility for capital expenses only.\n5. Schools and Education\u2014 funding \u2014 judicial dispute \u2014 denial of continuance \u2014 not a denial of due process\nA county claiming a due proc.ess violation in a school funding case for the denial of a continuance had ample opportunity to communicate with the board of education and to request information, and the trial court did not err by denying the motion for a continuance. The legislature intended that the statutory process for resolving school funding disputes be carried out promptly.\nJustice NEWBY concurring.\nJustice HUDSON dissenting.\nJustice TIMMONS-GOODSON joins in the dissenting opinion.\nOn discretionary review pursuant to N.C.G.S. \u00a7 7A-31 of a unanimous decision of the Court of Appeals, 188 N.C. App. 399, 656 S.E.2d 296 (2008), finding no error in a judgment entered 9 August 2006 by Judge William C. Griffin, Jr. in Superior Court, Beaufort County. Heard in the Supreme Court 9 September 2008.\nSchwartz & Shaw, P.L.L.C., by Brian C. Shaw and Richard Schwartz, for plaintiff-appellee.\nGarris Neil Yarborough and Jonathan V. Maxwell for defendant-appellant.\nJames B. Blackburn, III, General Counsel, for North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, amicus curiae.\nTharrington Smith, L.L.P., by Ann Majestic and Robert M. Kennedy Jr.; and Allison B. Schafer, General Counsel, for North Carolina School Boards Association, amicus curiae." }, "file_name": "0500-01", "first_page_order": 538, "last_page_order": 556 }