The Wake County school system could find that there's no such thing as a "free school" after all.

As noted in Saturday's article in The Cary News by Andrew Kenney, a developer is suing the Town of Cary and the school system for a $6 million refund on money that was given to build Mills Park Elementary School.

The lawsuit represents the latest chapter in the fallout caused by efforts by slow-growth advocates in Cary dating back to 1999 to get developers to help pay for costs such as new schools caused by their projects.

Cary's old Adequate Public Schools Facilities Ordinance took another legal beating today.

The state Court of Appeals upheld that Cary illegally required developers and home builders to set aside money for schools in exchange for municipal approval of projects.

From 1999 to 2004, Cary required developers to get certificates from the Wake County school system that there were enough seats in town schools to handle the proposed projects. In lieu of the school district's approval, builders and developers could pay fees to the town.