The school board seeks a ruling that the district is not liable for tax refunds the county must give property owners who overpaid. It also wants the court to prevent the county from withholding taxes due the district.

"It's not fair to public education," said school board Chairwoman Nancy Cook. "We set our budget. They don't need to pass the buck."

Other board members who voted to sue were Ray Toler, Susan Simons, Hillery Douglas and Vice-Chairman Hugh Cannon. Board members Sandi Engelman, Brian Moody, Gregg Meyers and Jill Conway were absent.

In 2001, County Council voted to limit the impact of reassessment on owner-occupied homes that soared in value during the 1990s. Thousands got a break, but owners of more than 90,000 other properties paid about $9.7 million more.

The S.C. Supreme Court later ruled that the county's reassessment cap was illegal. The court also said the county must allow owners of homes, offices, stores and other real property who overpaid because of the 2001 cap to seek refunds. Notices are expected to go out in a few weeks.

Including interest, the total bill for the refund is now more than $11.3 million.

The Charleston County School District has the most at stake, county figures show. If everyone eligible applies for a refund, it would lose more than $5.9 million, which could force it to raise its tax rate this fall. The board decided to sue instead.

"It's easy to say we lost the lawsuit, but you raise your millage to cover that," Cook said. "We didn't get overpaid. They need to raise their millage and take the public brunt."

Cook welcomed other government entities in the county to join the lawsuit.

Charleston County Council will meet today to discuss the issue.

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