> <^ Nl^'b c NEW SCHOOL LEGISLATION AMENDMENTS TO THE SCHOOL LAW AND PROVISIONS RELATIVE TO LOCAL TAXES ENACTED BY THE SPECIAL SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1920 Tlie General Assembly of North Carolina do enact: Section 1. That section 1, chapter 102, Public Laws 1919 (section 5481 of the Consolidated Statutes), be and the same is hereby amended by striking out in line two, after the words "a tax of" the words "thirty-two," and inserting in lieu thereof the word "thirteen." Sec. 2. That section 6, chapter 1Q2, Public Laws of 1919 (section 5486 of the Consolidated Statutes), is hereby amended by striking out the provision beginning with line twenty-eight of section 6, and substituting in lieu thereof the following : "Provided, that no county shall participate in the equalizing fund until it shall have provided by tax levy ten per cent (10%) more for the school year 1920-21 than it provided in the school year 1919-20 : Provided further, that in any county that may not be able to provide a school fund, under the foregoing provisions, sufficient to maintain its public schools for the full term of six months, in accordance with the budget made up on the basis of the standard salary for teachers adopted by this act, the board of education of such county is hereby authorized to borrow such additional sum, or any part thereof, as may be necessary for this purpose, to be repaid out of the proceeds of the tax levy for the year 1921-22 ; and any county, so providing a county school fund by tax levy above mentioned, and through borrowing as above provided, equal to a tax levy of 15 cents for the year 1920-21, shall be entitled to participate in the State equalizing fund to make up any remaining deficit in the school budget for the year 1920-21." Sec. 3. That section 7, chapter 102, Public Laws 1919 (section 5487 of the Consolidated Statutes), be and the same is hereby repealed, and the following is substituted in lieu thereof : "All poll tax, fines, forfeitures, penalties, and all public school revenues, other than that derived from the State public school fund and the special county tax, shall be placed to the credit of the incidental expense fund and the building fund, as provided in the budget ; and if this amount is insufficient for these funds, the county board of education may provide in the county school budget for an additional amount for these purposes specified above : ProvidciZ, that the board of county commissioners shall not be compelled to levy a tax of more than three cents on the property and twelve cents on the poll." Sec. 4. That all of section 2, chapter 114, Public Laws of 1919 (section 5494 of the Consolidated Statutes), be and the same is hereby repealed, and the following is inserted as a substitute in lieu thereof : "The State Superintendent of Public Instruction shall recommend annually to the State Board of Education for its adoption a uniform graduated salary schedule for all teachers, principals, superintendents and assistant superintend- ents, based upon training, duties, experience, professional fitness, and continued service in the same school system, consistent with the estimated amount to be derived from the State public school fund. The said salary schedule, when adopted by the State Board of Education, shall be a guide to county boards of education in preparing the school budget, in making provision and in appor- tioning the funds for a six months school in every district, and it shall be con- sidered a fair salary schedule to be presented in the budget to the board of county commissioners. However, nothing in this section shall prevent boards of county commissioners from providing funds suflBcient to meet a salary schedule higher than that provided by the State Board of Education. When the State Board of Education shall adopt a graduated salary schedule, this shall be the basis for the apportionment of the State public school fund." Sec. 5. That section 7, chapter 131, Public Laws of 1919 (section 5503 of the Consolidated Statutes), be and the same is hereby amended by adding to the section the following : "Provided, however, that whatever portion aforesaid shall not be needed to meet the Federal requirements as specified above and the requirements in sec- tion 5394 of the Consolidated Statutes, is hereby appropriated for the further encouragement of vocational education in rural districts as hereinafter pro- vided. "The State Board for Vocational Education is hereby authorized to use any of said unused portion of State funds for the establishment of at least one standard high school in counties that have no standard high school and in rural districts of other counties in which there is not a standard high school located in the rural districts. The preference shall be given first, however, to those counties in which there is not a single high school of standard grade : Provided, that before any funds, remaining as specified above, shall be appro- priated for these purposes, any district, township, or county applying for aid shall provide a special local tax of at least ten cents on each one hundred dol- lars valuation of property and thirty cents on each taxable poll, and the area involved shall be large enough to provide sufficient pupils to maintain a high school of standard grade as now defined or hereafter may be defined in the rules and regulations governing the classification of high schools : Provided further, that when these conditions have been met, the State Board for Voca- tional Education may supplement the funds to such an amount that a standard high school may be maintained. All such schools established by the aid of these funds shall be required to provide for the teaching of vocational subjects." Sec. 6. That section 21, chapter 254, Public Laws of 1919 (section 5672 of the Consolidated Statutes), be and the same is hereby amended by striking out in line six the words "two thousand" and inserting in lieu thereof the words "ten thousand." Sec. 7. That section 5475 of the Conosolidated Statutes is hereby amended by striking out the following : "and to pay for the same out of the apportionment to that consolidated district. The daily cost of transportation per pupil shall not exceed the daily cost per pupil of providing a separate school in a separate district for said pupils," and substituting in lieu thereof the following : "An amount sufficient to cover the actual expense of tuch transportation of pupils may be included in the county school budget submitted to the county board of commissioners on the first Monday in May of each year, and when so included by the county board of education it shall be deemed a necessary part of the operating expense of the schools, to be paid out of the incidental and building funds, and it shall be the duty of the county board of commissioners 2 LiBRARY'ol:. Congress to provide the funds necessary therefor, not inconsistent with section 7 of chapter 102 of Public Laws of 1919 (section 5487 of the Consolidated Statutes). But nothing in this section shall prevent the county board of education from arranging with any district committee to pay a reasonable part of this ex- pense." Sec. 8. That sections 541.5 and 5670 of the Consolidated Statutes is hereby amended by striking out the following : "The board shall pay not over one-half the cost of the same out of the fund set aside for building under section 5487 of this chapter, and the school district in which any schoolhouse is erected shall pay the other part ; and upon failure of such district to provide its part by private subscription or otherwise, the board is directed to take it out of the apportionment to that district." Sec. 9. That section 5675 of the Consolidated Statutes is hereby repealed, and the following is substituted in lieu thereof : "The county board of education, from any sum borrowed under the provis- ions of this article, may make loans only to districts that have already levied a special tax sufficient to repay the installments and interest on said loan for the purpose of building schoolhouses in the district, and the amount so loaned to any district shall be payable in ten annual installments, with interest thereon at four per centum, payable annually. Any amount loaned under the provis- ions of this act shall be a lien upon the total local-tax funds produced in the district. Whenever the local taxes may not be sufficient to pay the install- ments and the interest, the county board of education must supply the remain- der out of the incidental and building fund, and shall make provisions for the same when the county budget is made and presented to the commissioners in May. "All loans hereafter made to local-tax districts shall be made upon the writ- ten i)etition of a majority of the committee of the local-tax district asking for the loan and authorizing the county board to deduct a sufficient amount from the local taxes to meet the indebtedness to the county board of education. Otherwise, the county board of education shall have no lien upon the local taxes for the repayment of this loan." Sec. 10. That section 5677 of the Consolidated Statutes be and the same is hereby amended by striking out the following words, "which shall not exceed thirty cents on the one hundred dollars and ninety cents on the poll." Sec. 11. That section 5678 of the Consolidated Statutes be and the same is hereby amended by striking out the words, "exceed the sum of one hundred thousand dollars." Said section is further amended by striking out the words, "the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars," and substituting in lieu thereof, "exceed five per cent of the valuation of the property." Sec. 12. That section; 5679 of the Consolidated Statutes is hereby amended by striking out the words, "and tax herein fixed." Sec. 13. That section 5, chapter 131, and section 5, chapter 119, Public Laws of 1919 (section 5394 of the Consolidated Statutes) is hereby amended by adding after the words "economic subjects," in line nine, the following : "And for the administration of the act of Congress providing for the Voca- tional rehabilitation of persons injured in industries and otherwise." Sec. 14. That section 5502 of the Consolidated Statutes is hereby amended by adding at the end of the section the following : "And an act of Congress to provide for the promotion of vocational rehabili- tation of persons disabled in industry or otherwise, and their return to civil employment." Sec. 15. Thati section 5503 of the Consolidated Statutes is hereby amended by adding after the words "the Smith-Hughes Act" the following : "And an act of Congress to provide for the promotion of vocational rehabili- tation of persons disabled in industry or otherwise, and their return to civil employment." Sec. 16. That section 11, chapter 102, Public Laws of 1919 (section 5491 Consolidated Statutes), be and the same is hereby amended by adding at the end of said section the following : "And a sum not to exceed five thousand dollars shall be set aside annually from the State public school fund to be used at the discretion of the State Board of Education to secure a better administration and apportionment of the State public school fund." Sec. 17. That section 10, chapter 102, Public Laws of 1919 (section 5490 of the Consolidated Statutes), be and the same is hereby amended by striking out in lines four and five thereof the words "except in case of an epidemic." Sec. 18. That section 8, chapter 102, Public Laws 1919 (section 5488 of the Consolidated Statutes), be and the same is hereby amended by striking out all of said section down to and including the word "or" in line five thereof, and inserting in lieu thereof the following : "In the event of a disagreement between the county board of education and the board of county commissioners as to the amount of the salary, incidental and building funds to be provided by the county for the maintenance of a six months school term, and as to the rate of tax to be levied therefor, the board of county commissioners shall indicate in writing what items of the annual budget of the county board of education have been denied in whole or in part, and the reason for the denial in whole or in part of the respective items, then." Sec 19. That section 5416, subsection 2, of the Consolidated Statutes is hereby amended by striking out the words "not more than three acres shall be procured," and inserting in lieu thereof the words, "Not more than ten acres shall be procured." Sec. 20. That section 5676 of the Consolidated Statutes be and the same is hereby amended by striking out the words, "in which there is maintained a public high school," and inserting in lieu thereof the words, "in which there is maintained a public school employing as many as five teachers." Sec 21. That this act shall be in force on and after the date of its ratifica- tion. Ratified this the 26th day of August, A. D. 1920. PROVISIONS FOR liOCAL-TAX DISTRICTS TO BORROW MONEY AS PROVIDED IN SECTION 6 OF THE REVENUE ACT That whenever the school governing body of any county, city, town, township, or other special-tax district having special taxes for schools voted by the peo- ple, before the passage of this act, to increase the school term beyond the con- stitutional limit of six months shall find that the amount to be derived from said special taxes as authorized in section 5 of this act, is insufficient to maintain the school term of said county, city, town, township, or other special-tax dis- trict for the year 1920-21 the same length of term as maintained in the year 1919-20, said school governing body is authorized to make a detailed statement to the county board of education as to the amount needed upon blanks sup- plied by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction ; and the county board of education is hereby authorized to borrow from the State Board of Educa- tion an amount sufficient to maintain said school or schools the same length of term as they were maintained in 1919-20. The State Treasurer, when authorized by the State Board of Education, shall borrow for the State Board of Education for the purposes specified above an amount not to exceed $300,000 to be loaned for the purposes specified above under such rules and regulations as the State Board of Education may deem advisable. The loans under the provisions of this section shall be payable in not more than five annual installments and shall bear interest at a rate not to exceed the rate the State Treasurer has to pay for money borrowed under the provisions of this section. Any amount loaned under the provisions of this section shall be a lien upon the total schdol fund of such county in whatsoever hands such funds may be. Upon failure of said county, city, town, township, or other special tax district to pay installments and interest or any part of either when due the State Board of Education may deduct a sufiicient amount for the payment of the same out of the State Public School Fund due said county, city, town, town- ship, or special-tax district. Whenever the general funds in the treasury of the State shall be insufficient at any time to provide the additional money for the purposes herein expressed and it is necessary for the State Treasurer upon demand of the State Board of Education to borrow all or any part of said $300,000.00, the State Treasurer is authorized and empowered to execute in the name of the State of North Caro- lina and deliver notes for the money authorized in this section to be borrowed and to renew the same from time to time, if necessary, until the loans made of said fund by the State Board of Education herein authorized are repaid. And the State Treasurer is directed to pay said notes pursuant to the authority conferred upon him in this section with the proceeds derived from the payment of said notes of the said counties, cities, towns, or special-tax districts. And any and all notes issued by the State Treasurer under the provisions of this section shall be exempt from all State, county, and municipal taxation or assessments direct or indirect, general or special, whether imposed for pur- poses of general revenue or otherwise and the interest paid thereon shall not be subject to taxation as for income nor shall said notes be subject to taxation when constituting a part of the surplus of any bank, trust company or corpora- tion and it shall be lawful for all executors, administrators, guardians, or fiduciaries generally to invest in said notes. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS llllillllllllllllllllilllllllllllllll 020 312 223 8