The allegation that Asheville City Schools withheld money due to three charter schools has become a lawsuit. Attempts to settle failed. The city alleges the charter schools are taking advantage of a technicality in a statute. The charter schools claim the requirement that a portion of sales taxes go to public schools says nothing about exempting them. ACS argues two of the three charter schools are out of the tax district and so are entitled to nothing. They offered the schools $500,000 of the alleged $870,000 withheld, but the offer was rejected.