In an issue that has drawn heavy debate in the Legislature, a divided appeals court backed the Palm Beach County School Board in a fight about whether charter schools should get a cut of voter-approved tax dollars.

A panel of the Fourth District Court of Appeal rejected arguments that the school board is required to share money from a 2018 property-tax referendum with charter schools. The ballot question asked voters to allow a property-tax increase for issues such as school safety and teacher pay, saying the money would be “dedicated for operational needs of non-charter district schools.”