Following a ruling in favor of the Richmond County Board of Education, about a dozen other counties are now suing the state for diverting forfeiture funds from the schools to the prison system. The funds had been going to schools for years, but three years ago, the state started using them to reimburse counties for housing misdemeanants in their county jails instead of in the state facilities. The funds come from $50 fines charged for improper equipment, like burnt out headlamps. The fund is not amassed entirely from exactions from folks caught driving while poor. Funds were taken from speeders plea-bargaining improper equipment to avoid insurance points. Some examples of money school systems could collect before lawyers get their cuts are: $82,500 for Haywood, $95,000 for Jackson, $42,500 for Macon, and $34,000 for Swain. (See 1, 2.)