A dispute over unspent salary money has put Charlotte-Mecklenburg school leaders on the defensive at a time when county commissioners are finalizing the district's budget for fall.

County commissioner Bill James is accusing the school system of ``playing fast and loose'' with its budget, and has written a letterof complaint to the state auditor and the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. He also said he plans to try to change local and state rules governing school spending.

This past school year, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools received almost $480 million - $350 million from the state and $128.5 million from the county - for salaries and benefits. According to state rules, unspent state dollars must be returned. The county has no such rule.

To avoid returning money to the state, the school system designates as many positions as possible as state jobs. Then, the system uses county money for the rest. If there's county money left over, the school system can spend that money any way it wants, except for capital expenses.

Last year, the district returned $270,000 to the state, said schools' finance officer Janet Stoner. About half was unspent salary money. The rest was designated for specific programs, and wasn't spent. This year's figure has not yet been determined.

Because of vacancies, the school system had an estimated $2.2 million left over this year in county salary money. The money was used for such things as books, supplies and employee overtime.

James said that figure seems suspiciously low, given that school leaders are constantly talking about trouble recruiting teachers. The $2.2 million is less than half of 1 percent of the school system's overall budget for salaries and benefits.

James argues any unspent county money should be returned to the county - that's the only way to hold the school system accountable for its spending.

``It will not be used as a slush fund for (school board Chairperson) Arthur (Griffin) to do whatever he wants,'' James said.

James plans to propose at the commissioners' July 13 meeting that the district be required to return unspent county money. He's also contacted legislators to make the state aware of the school system's accounting practice.

But Philip Price, with the state Department of Public Instruction, said school systems are encouraged to return as few dollars as possible to the state.

He said the practice of spending state money first is ``excellent management'' used by school districts across the state.

Superintendent Eric Smith said the $2.2 million in unspent salary money is an accurate figure. Though the school system has teacher vacancies, the district can't leave them unfilled for long. Money is spent hiring substitutes to cover teaching jobs, or consultants to cover central office vacancies, he said.

Leftover money is used to buy supplies or cover emergencies. The school system has no contingency fund.

In the future, Smith said, the district hopes to have all its positions filled, which would leave no money left over to return.

``We have no slush fund. We have zero contingency,'' Smith said. ``We don't have unbudgeted money like the county has in contingency. If we have a bad winter and we have to spend more on heating, we have no emergency fund to go back to.''

Reach reporter Debbie Cenziper at (704) 358-5102 or dcenziper at charlotte.com .