BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Local school boards must give charter schools the same amount of money as traditional public schools, Maryland’s highest court decided Monday.

“Public charter schools are public schools, not prep schools or parochial schools,” said attorney Richard Daniels, who represented two of the charter schools. “They cannot force charter schools to take funding in services, instead of funds.”

The case arose, in part, from a dispute over how much and what kind of funding Baltimore City public schools had to provide its charter schools.

Baltimore City school board attorney Warren Weaver said prior to the judges’ ruling that paying out the money charter schools want would severely harm the Baltimore City Public Schools’ finances, and cause layoffs.

Weaver did not return a phone call seeking comment Monday.

About 4,000 students in Baltimore are educated in charter schools, while more than 80,000 students attend traditional public schools.

City school officials argued before the Maryland Court of Appeals that the $10,956 charter schools are supposed to receive per student, according to the Maryland State Board of Education, is too much money and includes “duplicate” funds, such as already-paid-for administrative and building maintenance costs, which waste taxpayer money.

But charter schools proponents argue the city was trying to shortchange them.

“This is a victory for the public school children of Maryland,” Daniels said. “This decision assures that charter schools will receive the full funding that was intended by legislature.”

lbroadwater@baltimoreexaminer.com