There is no music program at North Star Academy, a Newark charter school. There are no teaching assistants, no after-school tutoring program and just two part-time social workers handle the needs of the school's students.

Since its founding 10 years ago, the high-performing charter school has existed on less state money than that given to its counterparts in the Newark Public Schools.

"We face the challenge of how to do more with a whole lot less," said Principal James Verrilli.

A class-action lawsuit filed against the state Department of Education and other state agencies seeks to change that by challenging the disparity in how the state funds Newark Public Schools compared with independently operated public charter schools.

The suit claims the state provides students in Newark charter schools with a much smaller percentage of the per-pupil money allocated to kids in Newark schools and excludes charters entirely from facility funds. Funds intended for educational purposes are instead funneled into lease agreements and building repairs, charter school officials said.

The foundation for the case is the 1998 Abbott v. Burke ruling that found children in poor cities are entitled to the same opportunities as those in wealthier areas and therefore are entitled to comparable funding, services and adequate facilities.

The Seton Hall Law School Center for Social Justice filed the class action this week in state Superior Court in Newark on behalf of the thousands of children attending city charter schools. Students named in the lawsuit attend University Heights Charter School in Newark.

Excluding charter school students from Abbott funding is unfair and violates the court ruling, said Shavar Jeffries, lead counsel on the Newark-based law center's case.

"The disparity that exists is unconstitutional. The way funding works doesn't take into account the needs of kids in urban districts, these are the same kids," said Jeffries, who is also board president of Newark charter school TEAM Academy.

The suit is under review by the state Attorney General's Office, said Richard Vespucci, spokesman for the Department of Education.

Charter schools have long complained the state's funding formula is unfair. Under the law, the independently run public schools receive 90 percent of what the local district spends per student. Most of that money -- what the state decides is needed for a "thorough and efficient" -- comes from each child's home district. The average per-pupil spending for Newark charter schools during the 2005-06 school year was about $9,500. Newark Public Schools budgeted $16,351 per pupil during the same time period. The difference represents social workers, facility improvements, and other social services programs funded with Abbott dollars in an attempt combat the educational effects of systemic poverty.

According to the state Department of Education, New Jersey's 31 poorest districts can request supplemental aid, but that money cannot be sent to a charter school. The alternative public schools also aren't allowed to independently request supplemental aid.

All of this may soon change. The state Legislature has been re-evaluating the state's school funding formula and the way in which charter schools are funded will be reviewed as part of that process, Vespucci said.

One of the biggest sticking points in the way charter schools are funded deals with facilities, said Jessani Gordon, director of New Jersey Charter Public School Association.

Because few charters own their buildings, rent and upkeep is a huge expense and charters pay for it out of the per-pupil money they receive from school districts, said Gordon, who wouldn't comment on the lawsuit.

"We are trying to make the point, through advocacy, that charter schools should receive equitable funding," Gordon said. "We don't think there is any reason they should receive anything less than what other public schools receive."