LB Me IF ''\:'7) %. LAWS OF WISCONSIN RET>ATTN« TO COMMON SCHOOLS, INCWmNG THE TOWNSHIP AND FREE HiaH-SOHOOL LAW. Prepared and Published hi Piirsuanee of Latr • rNDER THK DIKEOTION OK THE SUPERINTENDENT OP PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. LIBRARY OF THE UNITED STATES BUREAU OF EDUCATION . ♦ » Divisioiv . ^helf. J^'o PRESENTED BY A f LAWS OF WISCONSIN VV'" \ RELATING TO COMMON^ SCHOOLS, INCLUDIXG THE TOWNSHIP AND FEEE HIGH-SCKOOL LAW. Prepared and rublished in Pursuance of Law VNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. MADISON, WIS.: K. B. BOLENS, STATE PRINTER. 1876. '/(^ TO SCHOOL OFFICERS. This volume is public property, and belongs to the school-district to which, it is- sent. It is to be kept by the district clerk, but may be delivered by him to any voter of the district, to be retained not exceeding five days. If an annual, special or ad- journed meeting is to take place within ten days, this book must not be loaned to. any person, but must be retained by tlie clerk, and produced by him at such meeting for consultation by the voters. In like manner it is to be kept by eack town clerk to wliom it may be sent, for his official use, and that of the board of supervisors. When sent to any school officer, he holds it only in his official capacity, and it nma be carefully preserved and hai^ded o.ver to his successor in office. Office Superintendent Public Instruction, Madison, July, 1876. This volftme contains the School Code ■with such amendments as have been made up to the present time, and such miscellaneous laws as relate especially to our com- mon schools, including the Township Law and the Free High School Law. Laws relating to the normal schools, the university and some other matters, are omitted; also tlie school-house plans. Only a linjited number of copies of this edition of the Code have been printed, to supply temporary demand, it being supposed that a large and full edition of the School Laws will be called for as soon as the revisers of the statutes have completed that part of their work, and the legislature has passed upon it, v/liich it is hoped may be early in the next session. EDWAED SEAEING, Superintendent. of Public Instruction. LAWS RELATING COMMON SCHOOLS. CHAPTEil 155, GEXERAIi LAWS OF 1863. FORMATION OF SCHOOL-DISTRICTS. Sectiox 1.* The board of supervisors in each town in this State shall have power to form and alter school-districts in the manner hereinafter set forth: 2^>'0i'ided,ih.a,t no school-district can or shall embrace more than thirtj'-six square miles of land. The size of school-districts cannot be more than thirty-six square miles, or sections, (twenty-three thousand and forty acres), A dis- trict, however, may be of any convenient shape, provided it does- not embrace more territory than the law allows; and it '.s always desirable to have it as large as a dne regard to the distance to be traveled to reach the school-house will warrant, but it should be as compact in form as the natural features of the country will per- mit, and should be composed of contiguous territory. The restric- tion as to size, does not apply to districts formed previous to the- amendment of this section in 1868. SECTiO]sr 2. The formation of a school-district shall be by writ-- ten order of the board of supervisors, describing the territory em- braced in such district, which order shall be filed with the town- clerk, and it shall be the duty of the supervisors, Avithin twenty * See chapter 50, general laws of 1868. 2 days thereafter, to deliver to a taxable inhabitant of the district, a notice in writing, describing its boundaries and appointing a time and place for the first district meeting. The order for forming or altering a school-district should be so complete and definite in its terms that a surveyor, at any future day, may be able to run its boundaries without reference to any other document. Hence, districts should be described by govern- ment surveys ; but, if necessary, exterior lines may be defined by reference to natural features, such as rivers, creeks, marked trees, etc., or to highways or town lines. An indefinite designation of a certain piece of land, or quarter section, as the site, is not sufficient. As a school district consists of territorij and not persons, the terri- tory should be so described that a change of ownership will not re- quire a change in that description.* A taxable inhabitant is one who is liable to pay a tax, although no tax may have been assessed upon him. The time for holding the first meeting should not be fixed upon a day earlier than that upon which the order forming the district goes into effect. In case a new district is formed out of the territory taken from an old one, the order does not go into effect until three months after it is made, without the consent of the majority of the board of the -district from which such territory was taken. It should be dis- tinctly understood that nothing can be done towards actually or- ganizing a new district, beyond the giving of the notice for the first meeting, until the order of formation takes effect ; and other districts from which territory may be taken remain precisely as they were, until that time. In the case of a joint district, the order of formation, and the notice for the first meeting, must be signed by a majority of the supervisors of each of the towns in which a part of said joint district is situated, and the order must have been passed at a joint meeting of all the boards.f The legal organization of a district requires that all orders re- lating to the action of the supervisors in forming it, shall be re- corded in the offices of the clerks of all the tov/ns in- which any part of such district is situated. The formation of joint districts should be avoided, except in those cases in which there are strong reasons for organizing them. * See form No 1. f See form No. 2. Section 3. The supervisors shall, in such notice, direct such in- habitant to notify eyery qualified voter of the district, either per- sonally or by leaving a written notice at his place of residence, of the time and place of such meeting, at least five days before the time appointed therefor; and it shall be the duty of such inhabi- tant to notify the voters of such district, agreeably to the require- ments of said notice, and indorse thereon a return containing the names of the persons by him notified; and said notice and return shall be recorded as a part of the record of the first meeting in such district. The notice should be read in the hearing of each voter, but when this is impracticable, a copy of the notice left at his residence will answer the requirements of the law.* The notice should be given to every inhabitant having any pretensions to a right to vote. The notice does not determine the right of voting, and hence, wliether the person giving the notice considers another qualified or not is of no importance. The return of the person directed to give the notice should be indorsed upon the notice and signed by the person making it. It should be produced at the meeting and filed with the records of the district. It is not the only evidence, however, of the legality of the proceedings of the meeting. In its absence, secondary evidence might establish the fads upon which the legality of the meeting- depends. In computing statute time, the first da}', or the day on which the time begins to run, is to be excluded. The notice should therefore be given as early as the sixth day before the meeting, and both the time and manner in which it is given should be clearly set forth in the return. The supreme court of Massachusetts, in regard to a similar notice, says: "When the selectmen direct a warrant for calling a school-district meeting, to a proper person, he is made a i^eturning officer for that occasion. All returning offict rs are min- isterial, and are bound to set forth in their returns all the acts done by them, that the proper tribunal may judge of their sufficiency. They are not competent to judge of the legality of a notice or ser- vice; and a return that a precept had been Jegcdhj served, or that the duty enjoined by the warrant had been duly performed, would most clearly be insufficient." Section 4. In case such notice shall not be given, or the inhabi- * See form No. 3, 4 tants of a district shall neglect or refuse to assemble or form a dis- trict meeting when so notified, or in case any school-district having been formed or organized shall afterwards be dissolved, so that no competent authority shall exist therein to call a special meeting in the manner hereinafter provided, notice shall be given by the town supervisors, and served in the manner prescribed in the preceding section.* The power of the supervisors to call a meeting after a district has been organized by the election of officers, is limited, so far as this section is concerned, to the case of no authority existing to call a meeting therein. If the offices of a district have all become vacant, it is the duty of the supervisors to call a meeting, as pro- vided in section three. If a district neglects for two years to main- tain a school, the town board must extinguish it. (See Sec. iQ.) Section' 5. Whenever a district meeting shall be called in the manner prescribed in the preceding section of this chapter, it shall be the duty of the electors of the district to assemble at the time and place mentioned in such section. The " electors of the district" are such persons as are qualified to vote at a general election for State and county officers, and who reside in the district. (See Sec. 8.) It is the duty of all electors to attend the district meetings; but the acts of those who assemble are valid and binding upon those who neglect to perform their duty. It is also the duty of those who may have received no formal notice of a district meeting to attend the same, if they have learned the time and place at which it is to be held. An unintentional neglect to give notice to some of those entitled to receive it will not invalidate the proceedings. They may, however, be set aside on appeal, if sufficient cause can be shown. Section" 6. Every school-district shall be deemed duly organized when any two of the officers elected at the first legal meeting there- of shall have consented to serve in the offices to which they have been respectively elected, by a written acceptance thereof, filed with the clerk and recorded by him; and every school-district shall be considered as legally organized, after it shall have exercised the franchises and privileges of a district for the term of two years. The first business, after the district meeting is organized, is the election of officers. The reason for this is, that none but organ- *See form No. 6. ized districts can transact business, and no district is fully organ- ized until it has officers. The written acceptance of the trust is evidence that the officers elected will serve. These acceptances should be made a part of the records of the meeting. In case they cannot be obtained within a reasonable time, the meeting may ad- journ to some certain time sufficient for procuring them. The time for which the meeting adjourns must not be greater than a month. No notice for an adjourned meeting is required, unless the adjourn- ment is for a longer period than one month. A meeting may order its clerk to give notice of an adjourned meeting, in order to secure a full attendance of the electors; but any neglect to execute such order would not invalidate the proceedings of such adjourned meet- ing. If the persons elected refuse at the time to serve, the meeting may proceed to elect others. All the powers conferred by law upon the voters at an annual meeting, are possessed and may be exercised by them at the first meeting. Every district having exercised the powers and enjoyed the privileges of a school-district for two years, is held to be legally organized, notwithstanding any informality of proceeding in its organization. Until its organization is set aside by competent authorit3% it is the duty of its officers to comply with all the re- quirements of the school-law. It is sufficient for them to know that it is a district de facto. After two years have elapsed, its or- ganization cannot be set aside on account of any alleged informali- ty by an}^ person or officer. CORPORATE POWERS OF SCHOOL-DISTRICTS. Section 7. Every school-district organized in pursuance of this chapter, or which has been organized under any previous law of the State or Territory of Wisconsin, shall l)e a body corporate and shall possess the usual powers of a corporation for public purposes, by the name and style of "school-district number ," (such ■number as shall he designated hij the town supervisors in the forma- tion thereof,^'' "of ," (the name of the town or towns in ivhich the district is situated,) and in that name shall sue and be sued, and be capable of contracting and being contracted with, and of hold- ing such real and personal estate as is authorized to be purchased hj the provisions of this chapter, and of selling the same. All contracts made with a school-district; all suits brought by the district, and all writings in which a district is party, require that the name of the district should be mentioned: e. <7., school- 6 district number four^ town of Lincoln, Polk counti/. When district ofScers are specifically empowered by law to act, thei^names may be mentioned. The district, as a corporate body, has perpetual succession and existence by its corporate name, and may hold real and personal estate for its corporate purposes. It is a body created by law, and is wholly distinct from the individuals that may from time to time compose it. A school-district does not become dis- solved, or lose any of its rights, or become discharged of its obliga- tions by a change of its name, number or boundaries or by becom- ing a joint-district. (School-district No. 3, vs. Macloon, 4 W. R.^ 79.) QUALIFICATIONS OF VOTERS. Sectiok 8.* Every person shall be entitled to vote in any school- district meeting of this State, who is qualified to vote at a general election for State and county officers, and who is a resident of such school-district. The qualifications of voters at a general election are declared by chapter 7, of the revised statutes, as amended by chapter 47, of the general laws of 1861, or Taylor's Statutes, chapter 7, to be as fol- lows: Sectioit 1. Every male person of the age of twenty-one years or upwards, belonging to either of the following classes, who shall have resided in the State for one year next preceding any election, shall be deemed a qualified voter at such election: 1. White citizens of the United States. 2. White persons of foreign birth, who shall have declared their intention to become citizens, conformably to the laws of the United States on the subject of naturalization. 3. Persons of Indian blood, who have once been declared by law of Congress to be citizens of the United States, any subsequent law of Congress to the contrary notwithstanding. 4. Civilized persons of Indian descent, not members of any tribe. Section 2. No person under guardianship, non compos mentis^ or insane, shall be qualified to vote at any election ; nor shall any person convicted of treason, felony, or briber}-, unless restored to civil rights ; nor shall any person who, being an inhabitant of this State, may hereafter be engaged, directly or indirectly in a duel, either as principal or accessory, be permitted to vote at any elec- tion; nor shall any person who shall have made or become directly or indirectly interested in any bet or wager, depending upon the result of any election at which he shall offer to vote, be permitted *See chapter 174, general laws of 1872, to vote at such election. Nor shall any person be deemed to have gained a residence in any town or ward in this State, so as to enti- tle him to vote at any election in such town or ward, by remaining in such town or ward as a pauper, supported by the town or county in which he shall be living at the time of such election ; and no person shall be deemed to have lost his residence in any town or ward by remaining in any other town or ward as such pauper. The right of suffrage was extended to male colored inhabitants of this State over twenty-one years of age in 184:9. The question of residence is important, with respect to the right of voting, holding district offices, and enumeration of pupils. Inhahitancy and residence do not mean precisely the same thing as domicil, when the latter term is applied to successions to personal estate, but they mean a fixed and permanent abode or dwelling place for the time being, as contra-distinguished from a mere tem- porarij localiti/ of existence. (8 Wendell, N. Y. R., 140.) Actual residence is not indispensable to retaining a domicil, but it is retained by the absence of any present intention of removing therefrom, as well as by the intention not to change it or adopt another. An intention to remove does not affect the domicil, un- less such intention is carried into effect. The rule is that a domi- cil once acquired remains until a new one is acquired. The law supposes every person to have a domicil somewhere; and he can have only one domicil at one and the same time. In determining the domicil it is held, (23 Pickering, Mass. R., 178) that " the place of a man's dwelling-house is first regarded, in contra-distinction to any place of business, trade, or occupation. If he has more than one dwelling-house, that in which he sleeps or passes his nights, if it can be distinguished, will govern. And if the dwelhng-house is partly in one place and partly in another, the occupant must be deeemed to dwell in that town in which he habitually sleeps, if it can be ascertained." Section 30, of chapter 7, of the revised statutes, as amended by chapter 471, of the general laws of 1864, provides the following rules for governing inspectors in determining the residence of elec- tors. Section 30. The inspectors of election in determining the resi- dence of a person offering to vote, shall be governed by the follow- ing rules, so far as they maj' be applicable: First. That place shall be considered and held to be the residence of a person, in wliicli his habitation is fixed without any present in- tention of removing therefrom, and to which whenever he is absent, he has the intention of returning. Second. A person shall not be considered or held to have lost his residence, who shall leave his home and go into another State, or county, town or ward of this State for temporar_y purposes mere- ly, with an intention of returning. Third. A person shall not be considered to have gained a resi- dence in any county, town or ward of this State, into which he shall have come for temporary purposes merely. Fourth. If a person remove to another State with an intention to make it his permanent residence, he shall be considered and held to have lost his residence in this State. Fifth. If a person remove to another State with the intention of remaining there an indefinite time, and as a place of present res- idence, he shall be considered and held to have lost his residence in this State, notwithstanding he may entertain an intention to re- turn at some future period. Sixth. The place where a married man's family resides shall generally be considered and held to be his residence; but if it is a place of temporary establishment for his family, or for transient objects, it shall be otherwise. Seventh. If a married man has his family fixed in one place, and he does his business in another, the former shall be considered and held to be the place of his residence. Eighth. The mere intention to acquire a new residence, without the fact of removal, shall avail not bin g, neither shall the fact of removal without intention. Ninth. If a person shall go into another State, and while there ex- ercise the right of a citizen by voting, he shall be considered and held to have lost his residence in this State. CHALLEISTGING TOTES. Sectiox 9.* If any person offering to vote at a school-district meeting shall be challenged as unqualified by any legal voter in such district, the chairman presiding at such meeting shall declare to the person challenged the qualifications of a voter ; and if such person shall declare that he is a voter, and if such challenge shall not be withdrawn, the chairman shall tender him the following oath or affirmation: "You do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that you are an actual resident of this school district, and that yon are qualified according to law to vote at this meeting." And every person taking such oath or affirmation, shall be permit- ted to vote on all questions proposed at such meeting ; but if the person shall refuse to take such oath or affirmation, his vote shall be rejected. The following will aid in determining the " qualifications of a *See chapter 174, general laws of 1872, section 2. 9 voter," although the chairman of a district meeting cannot require the person challenged to answer the questions, under oath. This power is vested only in inspectors of elections. Section 34, of chap- ter 7, of the revised statutes, as amended by section 1, of chapter 30, general laws of 1860, prescribes the duties of inspectors of election in case a person offering a vote is challenged: Section 34. If a person offering to vote is challenged as un- qualified by any elector, or by one of the inspectors of the election, one of the inspectors shall tender to him the following oath or affir- mation: "You do swear (or affirm) that you will fully and truly answer all such questions as shall be put to you touching your place of residence and qualifications as an elector of this election. First. If the person be challenged as unqualified on the ground that he is not a citizen, and has not declared his intention to be- come a citizen, the inspectors, or one of them, shall put the follow- ing questions: 1. Are you a citizen of the United States? If no, then — 2. Have you declared your intention to become a citizen of the United States, conformably to the laws of the United States? 3. When and where did you declare your intention to become a citizen of the United States? Second. If the person be challenged as unqualified on the ground that he has not resided in this State for one year immedi- ately preceding the election, the inspectors, or one of them, shall put the following questions: 1. How long have you resided in this State immediately preced- ing this election? 2. Have you been absent from this State within the year imme- diately preceding this election? If 3"es, then — 3. When you left did you leave for a temporary purpose, with the design of returning, or for the purpose of remaining away? 4. What State or Territorj' did you regard as your home v/hile absent ? 5. Did you, Avhile absent, vote in any other State or Territory? Third. If the person be challenged as unqualified on the ground that he is not a resident of the county, town, or ward where he offers his vote, the inspectors, or one of them, shall put the follow- ing questions. 1. When did you last come into this county, town, or ward? 2. Did you come for a temporary purpose merely', or for the pur- pose of making it your home ? 3. Did you come into this county for the purpose of voting in this county? 4. Are you now an actual resident of this county or ward, and "what is the particular description, name, and location of your place of residence? Fourth. If the person be challenged as unqualified on the ground that he is not twenty-one j'ears of age, the inspectors or one of them, shall put the following questions: 10 1. Are j^oii twenty-one years of* age to the best of your knowl- edge and belief? The interrogatories which may be addressed to a person challenged as a deserter, are omitted, as it is held that the disability to vote arising from this cause does not apply to town and school-district meetings. The inspectors of election, or one of them, shall put all other questions to the persons challenged, under the respective heads aforesaid, as may be necessary to test his qualifications as an elector at that election. If a person who is unqualified is allowed to vote without being challenged, those objecting to the proceedings must show that they did not know him to be unqualified. A challenge should be inter- posed at the first instance in which such person offers his vote, for it is not just for one to avail himself of a vote so long as it is cast so as to carry out his views, and then be permitted to object when the voter differs with the challenger. The chairman of a district meeting has no right, under the stat- ute, to prohibit from voting any male person who takes the oath required by law. It will, however, be competent for the Superin- tendent of Public Instruction to correct and set aside all proceed- ings carried by votes clearly illegal, if the result depends upon them. It is the duty of the chairman of the district meeting to permit any person challenged, to take the oath required by law, and a refusal on his part to perform this duty will be considered good ground for setting aside the proceedings of the meeting. Proceedings will not be set aside on account of illegal votes, un- less a different result would have followed the exclusion of such votes. ' The mere circumstance that improper votes are received at an election will not vitiate it. The fact should be shown affirmative- ly, that a sufficient number of improper votes was received for the successful ticket, to reduce it to a minority if they had been re- jected; or the election shall stand." (7 Cowan, N. Y.) If the nominee for chairman is challenged, the person making the nomination usually acts as temporary chairman, and should require the person challenged to take the oath pi'escribed by the statute. 11 ALTERATION" OF SCHOOL-DISTRICTS. Sectiox 10. Whenever the town supervisors shall contemplate an alteration of the boundaries of a school-district, they shall give at least five days' notice in writing to the clerk of the district or districts to be affected thereby, stating in such notice the time and place, when and where, the}' will be present to hear and decide upon such proposed alteration; and it shall be the duty of such clerk or clerks, immediately to notify the other members o^ the board.* A district should, when practicable, embrace wealth and popula- tion sufficient to sustain a good school without resorting to bur- thensome taxation. The common desire for small districts should not be gratified at the expense of the welfare of the school. It is better that children should travel two or even three miles to attend a good school, than half a mile to attend a poor one. A written admission of service of the notice required by law, on the return of the person serving the notice, should be annexed to every order of alteration, and filed with it in the office of the town clerk, so that a complete history of the transaction may be pre- served. Great care should be exercised in giving the preliminary notices of alterations proposed, as the want of this may render the pro- ceedings of the supervisors illegal, and lead to an appeal. Sectiox ll.f In all cases where an alteration of the boundaries of a school-district shall be made, the town supervisors shall, within three days thereafter, give notice thereof by filing a copy of the order so altering the same with the town clerk, and with the clerk of the district or districts affected by such alteration; and no alter- ation of any school-district made without the consent of a majority of the district board, indorsed on such order, shall take effect until three months after notice given, as above specified, unless such al- teration is made in compliance with the order of the State Super- intendent of Public Instruction, given in the decision of an appeal regular]}' taken; nor shall any alteration of an organized district be made to take effect between the first day of December in any one year and the first da}^ of April following. Delay in giving the notice required in this section does not ren- der the previous action of the supervisors illegal, as it is merely matter of information of an act done ; nevertheless, the notice should be promptly given. Copies of all orders making alterations in joint districts must be *See form No. 8. f See chapter 108, general luwa 1868. See Form No. 9 .. 12 Med in the offices of the clerks of those towns of which the districts altered constitute a part, even though such alterations may not af- fect persons residing in all the towns where such copies are filed. If unoccupied territorj^ is taken from one district and attached to another in a different town, the order signed by a majority of the supervisors of each of the towns, must be recorded in both. Unless such record is made, the supervisors of one town are unable to know the boundaries of a joint district without consulting the records of another town in which they have no control. Usually the action of the supervisors will be based upon petition. but there is nothing in the law forbidding them to act without, when in their judgment the interests of education require it. It is their duty to make such alterations as will best promote the wel- fare of the public schools, even though not asked to do it. As a general rule, however, they will seek to consolidate rather than to divide districts, to make them as large as practicable, and to avoid joint districts, unless very necessary. The order of alteration is an official act. and must result from a resolution of a majority of the board, adopted at a meeting at which all are present, or of which all have been notified. A due sense of propriety, however, will lead a supervisor having a personal inter- est in any proposed alt^eration of a district to avoid acting in that cas«. It is bett-er that the other members of the board should de- cide it without his presence. At the same time it is not illegal for him to be present and vote, and proceedings cannot be set aside on appeal on this account. When a district is formed, wholly or in part, out of territory comprised in districts already organized, and the district board of any district from vvdiich a portion of the territory embraced in the new district is taken, refuse to consent to the alteration, the order *of the supervisors does not tak« effect till three months after it is issued, and iiiey are not obliged to deliver the notice to a taxable inhabitant, xCalling the first meeting of the voters of the new dis- trict, till twenty dajj's after said order takes effect ; but such notice may be given at anj^ time after the order is issued, provided that it does not call the meeting until the three months have expired, as ■no action can be taken by the voters of the new district until the order of formation takes effect, for the reason that before that time there is no new district^ and the people and territory retain the same 13 condition and sustain the same relations that they did before the order forming the new district was issued. These remarks apply also to cases in which new districts are formed between the first day of December and the first day of April following. No action, can be taken for organization till #he time expires. DIVISION OF PROPERTY. Sectio^^ 12. When a new district is formed, in whole or in part from one or more districts possessed of a school-house or entitled to other propert}', the town supervisors, at the time of forming such new district, shall ascertain and determine the proportion of the value of the school-house and other property justly due to such new district. Section 13. Such proportion shall be ascertained and determined according to the value of the taxable property of tlie respective parts of such former district at the time of the division, by the best evidence Avithin the reach of the town supervisors; and such amount of an}^ debt due from the former district, which would have been a charge upon the new, had it remained in the former district, shall be deducted from such proportion. Sectiox 1-1. The supervisors shall certify to the district clerk of the district retaining the school-house or other property, the amount ascertained l>y them as the proportion to be paid to the new district, and such amount shall be embodied in the statement of taxes required by section sixty-two of this chapter to be made by the district clerk to the town clerk, on the first Monday in No- vember, in each year, and when collected shall be paid to the treas- urer of the new district, to be applied towards procuring a school- house for such district; and the money so paid to the new district shall be allowed to the credit of the taxable property taken from the former district in reduction of any tax that may be imposed on said taxable property in the new district for the building of a school-house; provided, that in case the new district shall have raised a tax and erected or provided for itself a school-house, before the former district shall have raised and paid over to the treasurer of the new district the amount in this section provided to be raised and paid over, it shall be the duty of the treasurer of the new dis- trict, ill whose hands said amount so paid over, may at any time remain, to pay over, on demand, the sum so paid him or his prede- cessor by the former district, to the individual to whose credit the same would have gone had said sum been raised and j^aid over by the former district before the said school-house was erected or pro- vided by the new district; and should such treasurer refuse, on de- maud by any party entitled thereto, to pay over to him his just pro- portion of said amount, the same ma}^ be collected in a suit at law by said party, upon the official bond of said treasurer.* * See form Xo. 10. 14 These t'hree sections have reference to cases in which 'new dis- tricts are formed from territory detatched from districts possessed «f a school-house or other property. When territory is taked from one district and attached to another, no claim will lie against the old district on account of properJiy. The gain is held to be equal to the loss in the transfer. By " property" is meant lands, tenements,'liereditaments, money, ,goods, chattels, things in action and evidences of debt. The appraisal and award should be made at the time of the for- mation of the new district; but if this duty is neglected by the •supervisors, the claims growing out of their action may be collected at any time thereafter. No vote of the old district is required to raise the amount to which the new district becomes entitled to under the action con- templated by section twelve. This tax cannot be collected as a special district tax. In case the new district shall decide to build a school house and shall raise a tax for this purpose, the law provides that the amount paid by the old district, shall be paid to the persons liable to be taxed, residing in that part of the new district formerly belonging to the old, so as to equal the abatement that would have been made in the tax levied upon the property of such persons, had the tax contemplated by section fourteen, been raised and paid over, before the school-house tax for the new district was levied. The money raised by the old district and paid over according to law, must be exclusively applied to procuring a school-house for the new discrict. FORMATION" OF JOHSiT DISTRICTS. SECTiOiSr 15. Whenever it shall be necessary to form a new dis- trict fron;! two or more adjoining towns, the supervisors of such ad- joining towns shall meet together, and form such district, and de- liver the notice of formation to a taxable inhabitant of such district, whose duty it shall be to serve such notice as provided in the third section of this chapter; and any district so formed may be altered or regulated by the joint action of the supervisors of all the towns forming such district, in the same manner that other districts are altered and regulated. The law requires, in special terms, that the supervisors of all towns to be affected b}^ any contemplated action shall meet togeth- 15 er. This is necessary in order to secure the deliberation required. An order forming a joint district must be signed by a majorit}' of the supervisors of each of the towns in which any part of said dis- trict is situated. If a joint district is to be altered so as to form a new district, the order dissolving the old district must be signed by a majority of the supervisors of each of the towns affected, and the order forming the new district must also be signed by a majority of the supervisors of each town that contains a part of said new dis- trict. If it is more convenient to make the order of dissolution and of formation one and the same, it will be valid if it bears the signa- tures that each part of the work requires. The fact that a paper bears signatures not required does not invalidate it, if it has those which the law requires. The same rule applies to orders of ap- praisal of property, that holds in respect to orders of alteration. All notices of time and place of meeting to hear and determine up- on the alteration of joint districts must bear the signatures of a majority of the supervisors of each of the towns interested in the proposed alteration.* ALTERATIONS OF JOINT DISTRICTS IN" TILLAGES. (Chapter 82— General Laws of 1872.) Section 1. The count}' board of supervisors of the sevend coun- ties of this State are hereb}' authorized and empowered to alter the boundaries of any joint school-district in this State which is in part composed of an incorporated village, and the boundaries of which are fixed by the village charter; ^j/'or/r/fW, that no such alter- ation shall be made except on petition of not less than twentj-five of the legal voters resident in said joint district: and provided further, that no order shall be made by any count}' board changing the boundaries of any such joint district until notice of the time and place of hearing such petition shall have been published at least three weeks in a newspaper published iu said county, and if there be no newspaper published in such county, such notice shall be posted not less than three weeks in three conspicuous places in said joint district, and iipon such hearing, opportunity shall be given to all opposed to such proposed alteration, to be heard in op- position thereto. Section 2. An appeal may be taken by an}' three legal voters, resident in said joint district, to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction from any order of any county board altering the boundaries of any joint school-district under the provisions of this act. Such appeals shall be made, heard, and determined in the * See Forms Xos. 2, 3, 4, and 5. 16 same manner as appeals now made^ heard, and determined from school-district boards, and the decision of the State Superintendent upon such appeal shall be final. Section 3. All acts and parts of acts, ccnflicting with or in any manner contravening the provisions of this act, ai-e hereby re- pealed. The only case in which a county board will act in the alteration of the boundaries of a joint school-district, is when such district " is in part composed of an incorporated village," and where the boundaries of such district "are fixed by the village charter.'" This is the proper construction of the law. EXTINGUISHMENT OF DISTRICTS. Section 16.* Whenever any school-district shall, for two suc- cessive years, neglect to maintain a public school as required by law, it shall be the duty of the su}>ervisors of the town containing the district, to attach said district to such other adjoining district or districts in the toAvn as they shall judge proper, and if the dis- trict be a joint district, then the supervisors of the several towns embracing parts thereof shall dissolve such joint district, and im- mediately proceed to attach the several parts thereof to other dis- tricts in their respective towns, as hereinbefore provided. And whenever any district shall become extinguished by reason of the attachment of its territory to some other district or districts, the supervisors of the town or towns embracing such district shall take charge of the property belonging to the same, at the time of its extinguishment, dispose of the same by grant or otherwise, and ap- ply the proceeds to the discharge of its debts, paying over the re- mainder, if any, to the treasurer of the district to which the terri- tory has been attached, in proportion to the valuation of the prop- erty attached to each, as appears from the last assessment-roll of the town or towns. It will be seen from this section that it is the duty of the super- visors to extinguish such districts as fail to maintain a school for two years. The mere failure to elect ofiicers does not extinguish the district. Its organization may be restored by the action of the supervisors, as provided in section 4. The supervisors have power to extinguish a district, by attaching the territory to other districts,, although it may not fail to maintain a school, if they judge it ex- pedient. If two districts are consolidated, the public money which either may have in the hands of the town treasurer, or in the hands of its own treasurer, unexpended, becomes applicable to the pay- * See chapter 56, general laws 1873j and chapter 83, genera] laws 1874. 17 ment of teacher's wages in the consolidated district. If tliere is any money due to a teacher of either of the districts consolidated, it should be drawn before the order of consolidation takes effect. A district is extinguished only when its parts are attached to other districts so that no part of the original district remains. If any part of it remains as a distinct district, although its name and num- ber ma}' be changed, it is not extinguished in the sense contem- plated by law. (See remark at the close of the comment on sec- tion 7.) In case a joint district is extinguished, the supervisors of the towns in which the different parts of such district are situated, should unite in the sale of all the property, and in executing the deeds of the real estate. If the supervisors proceed to sell any property formerly belong- ing to a district that has become extinguished, they should require cash payment, and should give notice that a condition of the sale is the full payment within a limited number of hours — and that if such payment is not made, the propertj^ will be offered again for sale without further notice. All • conditions of sale should be mentioned in the posted notices. The supervisors are first to apply the proceeds of the sales to the payment of the debts of the district extinguished. These debts must be ascertained from the district board of such district, and no money should be paid except upon a written order of a major- ity of the district board. If debts are claimed which a majority of the district board will not admit, the amount thus claimed may be retained by the supervisors, until the legal proceedings com- menced for the collection of the same shall have been concluded. The last assessment-roll is that upon which a tax has been or may be legally raised, and should be made the basis for the appor- tionment of the balance of money remaining after all the debts of a extinguished district are paid. In case there is an unexpended tax found in the hands of the treasurer of the extinguished district, the equitable mode of distribution would seem to be to pay over to the treasurers of the district to which the territory has been at- tached, the proportionate amount contributed by such territory. If, however, there is found belonging to the extinguished district money derived from the town tax for schools, or from the income 2 Code. 18 of tlie commo]i school fund, such money should be distributed to the districts iu proportion to the number of children over four and under twenty years of age, residing in the parts annexed to them respectively. Thou£fh the statute specifies no time within which the super- visors are required to dispose of the property of an extinguished district, there can be no valid reason for any longer delay than is necessary to ascertain the outstanding liabilities. If pending liti- gation puts it out of their power to act immediately, they should improve the earliest favorable opportunity to settle the affairs of the district. ANNUAL SCHOOL MEETING. Section IT. The annual meeting of each school-district shall be held on the last Monday of September in each year. The hour of such meeting shall be seven o'clock in the afternoon, unless other- wise provided by a vote of the district, duly recorded, at the last previous annual meeting; provided, that at any annual meeting of a school-district, held after the passage of this act, a majority of the electors present may determine that the annual meeting of such district be held on the last Monday of August, in each year, said determination to take effect when a copy of the proceedings of said annual meeting in reference to such change shall have been filed with the town clerk of the town in which said district, or (in case of a joint district,) in which the school-house of such district is situated, and to remain in force until rescinded by a vote of a Diajority of the electors of said district, present at a legal meeting; the meeting held in pursuance of such determination to be deemed the legal annual meeting of said district, the same as if held on the last Monday of September, in each year. By vote of the district at any annual meeting, the day for hold- ing said meeting may be changed from the last Monda}- of Septem- ber to the last Monday of August. It is desirable that this change should be made, in order that the report of the clerk and treasurer may be laid before the people previously to the time for making the annual report to the town clerk. The change cannot take ef- fect until a copy of the proceedings is filed as directed. To take the vote merely to change, is not enough. Trouble is very likely ±0 arise if the filing is neglected. The hour of meeting may be changed by a vote of the district at an annual meeting, but such vote can bear only on the next ensu- ing annual meeting. If no other hour is determined by vote, seven o'clock iu the after;ioon is the hour fixed by lavf. 19 ANNUAL MEFJTIXa IN DISTRICTS HAVING GRADED SCHOOLS. Chapter 23, of the general h^w.s of 1868, as amended by chapter 6, of the general laws of 1869, provides as follows: " Section 1. The annual meeting of all school-districts in which graded schools of two or more departments are taught, shall be held on the second Monday of July in each year, at seven o'clock in the afternoon. '■ Section 2. It shall be the duty of the district clerk of any school-di*trict in which such graded school is taught, to give not less than ten days notice of the time and place of holding such annual meeting, but the neglect of the clerk to give such notice shall not invalidate the acts of any annual meeting held under the provisions of this act." LEGALITY OF ANNUAL MEETING. Section 18. No annual meeting shall be deemed illegal for want of due notice, unless it shall appear that the omission to give such notice was willful and fraudulent. Every precaution should be taken to insure a proper notice, and an omission to do so resulting from carelessness or ignorance is, in a certain sense, fraudulent. Action of an annual meeting held without due notice is looked upon with suspicion, and the^Super- indent of Public Instruction will not hesitate to sustain an appeal taken from such action, Avhen it is made to appear that no proper opportunity has been afforded the people of a district to express their will. POWERS OF A district AT A SCHOOL MEETING. Section 19.* The inhabitants qualified by a law to vote at a school distaict meeting, when assembled at the first and each annual meeting in their district, shall have power — First. To appoint a chairman for the time being. Second. To adjourn from time to time as occasion may require. Third. To choose a- director, treasurer, and clerk. Fourth. To designate a site for a district school-house. Fifth. To vote such a tax on the taxable property of the district as the meeting shall deem sufficient to purchase or lease a suitable site for a school-house, to build, hire or, purchase a school-house, and to keep in repair and furnish the same with the necessary fuel and appendages; jirorided, that no district containing a jiopulation of less than tv/o hundred and fifty inhabitants sliall have power to levy and collect a tax for building, hiring, or purchasing a school-house, *See chapter 339, general laws 1875, and chapter 91, general laws 1876. 20 of more than six hiindred dollars in any one year, unless the super- visors of the town in which such school-house is to be situated, shall certify in writing that, in their opinion, a larger sum should be raised, and shall specify such sum, in which case an amount not exceeding the sum specified may be [raised; lorovided fwthe)\ that no district containing a population of less than one thousand inhab- itants, shall have power to raise and collect in an}^ one year, for the purposes above specified, more than one thousand dollars, unless the supervisors shall certify as above set forth. SixthJ^ To vote a tax on the taxable property of the district, of such sum as the meeting shall deem proper for the payment of teachers' wages in the district; provided, that no district contain- ing a population of less than two hundred and fifty inhabitants shall have power to levy and collect a tax for school-purposes other than for the purposes prescribed in the filth subdivision of this sec- tion, in such district of more than five hundred dollars in any one year; and provided further , that in case any district shall not at its annual meeting or at a special meeting held subsequent to the an- nual meeting and prior to the third Monday of November, vote a tax sufficient to maintain a school in said district the ensuing year for the term of five months, then the district board shall have power, and it shall be their duty to estimate and determine the sum necessary to be raised to maintain such school, and the district clerk shall certify to the town clerk the amount thus determined upon, who shall assess the same as other district taxes are assessed; and provided further, that in all school-districts having an average attendance at school for the year of fifteen scholars or less, not more than three hundred and fifty dollars shall be raised in any one j^ear for teachers' wages; in all school-districts having an ave- rage attendance of not more than thirty nor less than fifteen schol- ars, not more than four hundred and fifty dollars shall be raised in any one year for teachers' wages. And in all school-districts hav- ing an average attendance of not more than forty nor less than thirty scholars, not more than five hundred and fifty dollars shall be raised in any one j^ear for teachers' wages. If, when a district shall have failed to vote a tax for school-purposes, any district board shall wilfully refuse or neglect to estimate and determine a sum sufficient to maintain a school for five months, as aforesaid, each member of the board thus refusing or neglecting, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be liable to a penalty of not less than fifty nor more than one hundred dollars, or to im- prisonment in the county jail not less than one month nor more than three mouths; and when any district-board shall have esti- mated and determined the sum necessary to maintain a school for five months the ensuing year, any district clerk who shall wilfully refuse or neglect to certify such sum to the town clerk in time to have the same embodied in the assessment-roll for that year, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be liable to a penalty of not more than one hundred dollars nor less than fifty dollars. * See chapter 162, general laws 1868, and chapter 339, general laws 1875. 21 Seventh. To authorize and direct the sale of any school-house, site, or other property belonging to the district, when the same shall be no longer needed for the use of the district. EigJitli. To impose such a tax as may be necessary to discharge any debts or liabilities of the district, lawfully incurred. Ninth. To vote a tax not exceeding seventy-five dollars in any one .year, for the purchase of maps, blackboards, and apparatus for illustrating the natural sciences. Tenth. To vote a tax on the district, not exceeding one hundred dollars in an}' one year, for a district librar}^ consisting of such books as they may direct their district board, at a district meeting, to purchase; said books to be selected under the advice of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction; provided, that any school- district having less than two hundred children of school-age, shall not vote a tax on the district exceeding fifty dollars in any one year for such library. Eleventh. To authorize the district board to admit to the pi'ivi- leges of the school, persons over twenty year 5 of age, and persons not residing in the district, whenever such admission will not in- terfere with the accommodation or instruction of the scholars resid- ing therein, and to fix a fee for tuition per terra, quarter, or year, to be charged to the persons thus admitted. Twelfth. To determine the length of time a school shall be taught in their district the then ensuing year, which shall not be less than five months, and whether such school shall be taught by a male or female teacher, or both, and whether the school-moneys to which the district is entitled from the income of the school-fund, and from the town, shall be applied to the support of the summer or winter school, or a certain portion to each; but if such matters shall not l)e determined at the annual meeting, the district board shall deter- mine the same. Thirteenth. To give such direction and make such provision as may be deemed riecessar^^ in relation to the prosecution or defense of any action or proceeding in which the district may be a party, or may be interested. Fourteenth. To alter, repeal, and modify their proceedings, as oc- casion may require. The foregoing section shall not be construed to authorize or re- quire the district board of any school-district to estimate and de- termine the amount necessary to maintain a school in their district where a special provision is made by law for the support of a pub- lic school or schools in such district. For qualifications of voters at a school-district meeting, see sec- tion 8 and reuuirks thereon. The law does not determine the number necessary to constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The action of a meet- ing, due notice of which has been given, and the proceedings of 22 which are regular, will be sustained, though only a small minority of the voters of the district may be present. When, on account of extraordinary circumstances, the attendance is very small, cour- tes}', as well as the consideration of the best interests of the dis- trict, demand an adjournment for a week or more. Attendance upon the school-meetings of the district is among the most important of i5ublic duties, and a sincere desire to pro- mote harmony of feeling and concert of action should manifest itself in the order, regularity, and courtesy v*^ith which the proceed- ings are conducted. Every consistent effort should be made to af- ford an opportunity for the expression of the will of a majority of the voters of the district. The action of the meeting is determined by a majority of those present and voting. The rule of common-law is, '' whenever elec- tors are present, and do not vote at all, thej'' virtually acquiesce in the election made by those who do." (2 Burr, 1021.) Those who are present but silent, must be held to assent to what the others do in carrying out the legal purposes of the meeting. In the exposition of this important section, defining the powers of a district, such comments as seem necessary are placed under each sub-section. The electors assembled in annual meeting have power then: First. To appoint a chairman for the time being. Some person Avill call the meeting to order, nominate a chair- man, put the question, and declare the result. If the director be present, it will be proper for him to perform this duty, though any elector is competent to act. The person elected chairman will at once take the chair, and if the district clerk be absent, the chair- man will announce the fact, and ask that a clerk may be appointed ^yro tern. The person appointed chairman is not deprived of his right to vote on any question submitted to the meeting. He may give a casting vote in case of a tie, or he may vote with the minor- ity, when there is otherwise a majority of one in favor of any reso- lution, and thus make it a tie vote, which defeats the resolution; or he may vote upon a call of the yeas and nays when his name is reached. He can, however, cast but one vote upon the question. The chairman must put to vote every motion or resolution that is seconded, unless he deems such motion or resolution to be out of 23 order, and so declares. If the person making the motion regards the decision of the chairman erroneous, it is his right to appeal to the meeting from such decision, and, if the appeal is seconded, is the duty of the chairman to put the question, " Shall the decision of the chair be sustained?" In case the meeting refuses to sustain the decision, it is the duty of the chairman to put the original question; a refusal to do so is disorderly, and the meeting has power to select another person for chairman, who will conform to the decision. The motion for this purpose may be put by the clerk, and the result should be declared by him. There is no code of rules for regulating the proceedings of district meetings, and hence that must be held to be legal to which a majority consents. The office of chairman is to aid in ascertaining the will of the majority of the meeting. In case the action of the meeting is illegal, the remedy is by appeal, but a mere want of observance of technical parliamentary rules is not a sufficient reason for taking an appeal, nor will an appeal probabh' be sustained on this ground. Second. To adjourn from time to time as occasion may require. A motion to adjourn takes precedence of all others. A motion to adjourn indefinitely takes precedence of a motion to adjourn to a day fixed. If the first fails to carry, the question will then be put upon the second. If a majority are in favor of adjourning, they cannot withdraw from the meeting until the question^ of ad- journment has been put and declared carried by the chairman, without leaving the minority in possession of all the powers of the district. A motion to adjourn cannot be received after another question is actually put to vote, and while the meeting is engaged in voting upon it, but in such case the vote must be concludedi and the result announced by the chairman. If the meeting ad- journs indefinitely, all questions pending are discontinued, and they can be renewed only upon a fresh proposition; but if the ad- journment is to a specified time, it is only a continuance of the session; and the questions are to be taken up at the point they were left. The statute, however, (see section 20,) provides, that in case of adjournment for a longer period than one month, notice shall be given of the time and place of holding the adjourned meeting, by posting written notices therefor in four or more public iDlaces in the district, one of which notices shall be fixed to the outer door 24 of the school -house, if there be one in the district; said notice to be given at least six days previous to the time to which the meet- ing adjourned. Third. To choose a director, treasurer, and clerk. It is desirable, however, that the proceedings of the preceding annual meeting should be read, also the minutes of special meet- ings held during the year, before the meeting proceed to elect officers. The reports of district oflicers should also be presented, and refered to a committee for examination, with instructions to report at some later stage of proceedings. The report should be in writing, and should be carefully examined by the committee, or by the meeting if convenient. All school-officers should be held to a strict accountability for the faithful performance of their du- ties, and the financial statements submitted should be accompanied with vouchers for all money expended. Reports of officers should be spread upon the records, as papers that are merely filed are often lost. Election ot officers should alwa^^s be by ballot, though this method is not absolutely required by statute. One officer must be elected each year in the order named; clerk, treasurer, director. If a va- cancy has occurred during the year past, which has been filled by the districtpjoard, or by the town clerk under the provisions of section fift}^ such appointment does not hold more than ten days after the annual meeting, and it is the duty of the district meeting to elect a person to fill such vacancy. The person thus elected will serve out the unexpired term, whether the same be one or two years. It will thus sometimes happen that more than one district officer is to be elected at an annual meeting. It is desirable that an informal ballot should precede the forma^ ballot. A person who is present at a district meeting, when elected to a district office, will be deemed to have accepted the same, unless he declares his refusal, so that if the meeting chooses to excuse him, a new election may be had. An adjourned session cannot oust an officer elected. It is im- portant that the electors consummate an election, as, if they do not, the vacancies must be filled by appointment, which may prove less satisfactory. It should be noted here that no district officer can be elected at 25 an adjourned session of the annual meeting, if such session is held more than ten days after the time fixed for the annual meeting. The power to elect does not extend beyond the ten days, and if no election has taken place, the vacancy must be filled by appoint- ment. If a vacancy exists at an annual meeting, from any other cause than the expiration of the incumbent's term, it is advisable that a resolution should be passed declaring that such vacancy exists, and stating the ground on Avhich the meeting regards the ofiice vacant. It is for the meeting to judge in the first instance whether a vacan- cy exists, and although it may err in so declaring, the officer elected will be deemed an officer de facto, and his acts in relation to the public and third persons deemed valid, until his election is pro- nounced void by competent authority. Fourth. To designate a site for a district school-house. The site selected should contain at least one acre, and should be as central as circumstances will permit. The future needs as well as the present condition of the district should be considered, how- ever, and hence it may not be good policy to locate the site near the present center of population. The surroundings should also be taken into consideration. It is more important that the location should be salubrious, quiet, and pleasant, than that it should be central or convenient of access. The vicinity of stores, taverns, mills, etc., is undesirable. A dry and sheltered spot should be chosen, but not too far from all inhabitants. In designating the site it should be so definitely described that it can be laid out without reference to any other document than the resolution locating it. The people of the district cannot del- egate power to the district board to designate the site, although they or a committee may be authorized and directed to make the necessary examination as to location, price, and title. The action of the meeting is. however, required to legally fix its location. Af- ter a site has been designated, it does not become established until a title has been acquired, or the district board has made a contract, binding upon the district for its purchase. The town board has no power to designate the site at the time of forming a new district. Fifth. To vote such a tax no the taxable property of the district as the meeting shall deem sufficient to purchase or lease a suitable 26 site for a school-house; to build, hire, or purchase a school-house, and to keep in repair and furnish the same with the necessary fuel and appendages; provided, that no district containing a population of less than two hundred and fifty inhabitants shall have power to levy and collect a tax for building, hiring, or purchasing a school- house, of more than six hundred dollars in any one year, unless the supervisors of the town in which such school-house is to be situated shall certify in writing that in their opinion a larger sum should be raised, and shall specify such sum, in which case an amount not exceeding the sum specified may be raised; provided further, that no district containing a population of less than one thousand inhabitants, shall have power to raise and collect in any one year, for the purposes above specified, more than one thousand dollars, unless the supervisors shall certify as above set forth. The electors may vote such a tax as they " deem sufficient," sub- ject to the conditions imposed by law, and with the consent of the supervisors of the town, 'previously obtained, they may vote any sum not exceeding that approved by these officers. If the district contains a population of one thousand, or upward, it may raise more than $1,000 without first obtaining the consent of the super- visors. It is quite proper, but not necessary, to designate a site before voting a tax to build the school-house; neither is it necessa- ry that the site should be designated before levying a tax to pay for the same. If the tax deemed sufficient is afterwards found to be too small, an additional tax may be voted, and, if too much is raised, the electors may appropriate the same to any object for which they can legally raise a tax. The expense of investigating the title and of recording the deed may legally be included in the tax for a site. Although the law authorizes the leasing of a site, it does not permit the district to contract a permanent debt for future rent. Land, for a site, is sometimes held under a lease granting it for a consideration, paid in advance, for so long a time as the same shall be used fo*r the purpose of a public school. It is always ad- visable that the district should obtain an indefeasible estate, in fee simple, if possible. Sections 78 to 85 prescribe the course to be pursued, when the district is unable to obtain the school-house site selected or desig- nated by a majority of the electors thereof present at a regular meeting, on account of the refusal of the owner to sell or lease the same, or on account of the owner being a non-resident. In regard to the right of the district to the school-house, at the 27 expiration of the term for which the land upon which it is situ- ate, is held, the law, as stated by Judge Harris, (7 Barb., N. Y. R., 266.) is as follows: " Any one who has a temporary interest in land, and who makes additions to it or improvements upon it, for the purpose of the better use or enjoyment of it, Avhile such temporary interest contiuues, may, at any time before his right of enjoyment ceases, rightfully remove such additions and improvements. If he omit to sever the addition or improvement until his right of en- joyment ceases, such an omission is to be deemed an abandon- ment of his right, and thereafter the addition he has made be- comes, to all intents, a part of the inheritance, and the tenant, as well as any other person who severs it, becomes a trespasser." Although a tax may be levied before a title has been acquired' yet the district board should not part with the money before a con- veyance of the site has V>een made. A question sometimes arises in regard to incumbrance in case of mortgage. The sum voted to purchase a site is held to be all that the district can at any time be called upon to pay for it; and hence the title should be free from incumbrance, unless it was expressly understood at the meeting voting the tax that the site was to be purchased subject to the incumbrance resting upon it. When a site is purchased which constitutes a part of a mortgaged tract, the rale of law is that the remaining property of the mortgagor shall first be sold, and if that is not sufficient to satisfy the mortgage, then of the remainder that which is conveyed latest is to be sold first. It is always better to obtain a clear title, and a district board is not justified in purchasing a site, or in contracting for building upon it, if said site is incumbered, without an express vote authorizing them to do so. The question sometimes arises as to the legality of connecting the school-house with other erections made for different purposes, and under other control than that of the district board. This department has held that a tax cannot be voted for building a house for joint use as an academy and school-house, or a church and school-house, and that any partnership which does not secure to the district board the complete control of the house for school- purposes, is illegal. In the case of Tracy vs. Talbot, (6 Mad. R., 214.) Judge Holt held that, " If a house originally entire, be divided into several apartments, with an outer door to each apartment^ and no communication with each other, the several apartments shall be rated as distinct mansion-houses.'" The supreme court of Massachusetts held, in case of Greorge ys. School-District Mendon, (6 Mete, 510,) as follows: " If, under color of this corporate power of a school-district, the inhabitants should vote to erect an expen- sive and ornamental building, with a view to improve theneighbor- hoad, to enhance the value of the real estate, to accommodate so- cieties, lecturers, dramatic exhibitions, or even to have a convenient place for religious meetings or public worship, or for any other use than that of a district town school, it would not be within the legitimate authority of a school-district, and any vote to levy a tax on the inhabitants for such a purpose would be void." There may be distinct tenements under the same roof and; tene- ments are as essentially distinct when one is under the other, as when one is by the side of the other. (1 Mete, 541.) It is desirable that every district should own a good school- house, and that it should be entirely separate from other buildings; still, it sometimes I happens that economy demands a co-operation between the district and some other association in erecting two houses under the same roof. Such an arrangement is held to be legal, provided the district secures by proper legal covenants: First, The complete and undivided control of the school-rooms at all times, and of all doors and passages affording egress and ingress thereto. Second, That the other rooms of the building shall not be used at any time during school-hours for an assemblage or pur- pose w^hich can distract the attention of the pupils, or interfere, by noise or otherwise, with their instruction.. Third, That the parties using or owning the other rooms shall pay the whole or some de- finite part of the expenses of such repairs upon those rooms, or the roof or other parts of the building, as the district shall deem neces- sary. Fourth, That the parties owning the other parts of the building shall pay a proper proportion of the amount necessary to keep the whole properly insured. The best method of protecting the interests of the district is for the board to lease the rooms on the foregoing conditions, and such other as are proper. The lease should provide for its own termi- nation on any breach of its conditions, and should contain an ex- press provision that whenever a district meeting shall determine that the residue of the building is needed for school-purposes, the 29 same shall become the property of the district upon the pa3'ment of the appraised value of the labor and materials used in its con- struction. A district meeting may vote a tax for a fence, sidewalks, separate privies for the two sexes, wood-house, stoves, stovepipe, and bell, as these are held to be necessary appendages. Money may also be raised to pa}' for the insurance of the school- house. This must be a definite sum. The school-house cannot be insured in those companies that require a note for part of the pre- mium, for the district board cannot bind the district to pay a note drawn b}' them for such a purpose. All taxes voted must be for specific and legal objects. Money cannot be raised for contingent expenses, nor for ar)-earar/esgeiien\\\y. The specific amount raised for each of the several objects for which the tax is levied, should be stated in the resolution passed by the meeting, in order that the district and the board may know the precise extent of their liabil- ity and authority. A district has power to vote a tax to enlarge a school-house, notwithstanding it may have cost all that said districf. is by law au- thorized to raise in any one year, and the tax for such enlarge- ment does not require the consent of the town supervisors thereto. The amount received from the sale of the old school-house may be added to the amount authorized by law to be raised for building in any one year, and expended for the new building. 6'aY/h* To vote a tax on the taxable property of the district, of such sum as the meeting shall deem proper for the payment of teachers' wages in the district; pro ride d, that no district contain- ing a population of less than two hundred and fifty inhabitants, shall have power to levy and collect a tax for school-purposes, other than for the purposes prescribed in the fifth subdivision of this sec- tion, in such district, of more than five hundred dollars in any one year; and provided further, t\\at in case any district shall not at its annual meeting, or at a special meeting held subsequent to the annual meeting and prior to the third Monday of November, vote a tax sufficient to maintain a school in said district the ensuing year for the term of five months, then the district board shall have power, and it shall be their duty to estimate and determine the sum necessar}^ to be raised to maintain such school; and the district clerk shall certify to the town clerk the amount thus determined upon, who shall assess the same as other district taxes are assessed; and, provided further, that in all school-districts having an average * See forms Xos. 11 and 12. 30 attendance at school for the year of fifteen scholars or less, not more than three hundred and fifty dollars shall be raised in any one year tor teachers' wages; in all school-districts having an average attendance of not more than thirty nor less than fifteen scholars, not more than four hundred and fifty dollars shall be raised in any one year for teachers' wages. And in all school-districts having an average attendance of not more than forty nor less than thirty scholars, not more than five hundred and fifty dollars shall be raised ■ in any one year for teachers' wages. If when a district shall have failed to vote a tax for school-purposes, any district board shall wil- fully refuse or neglect to estimate and determine a sum sufficient to maintain a school for five months, as aforesaid, each member of the board thus refusing or neglecting shall be deemed guilty of a mis- demeanor, and shall be liable to a penalty of not less than fifty nor more than one hundred dollars, or to imprisonment in the county jail, not less than one month nor more than three months. And when any district board shall have estimated and determined the sum necessary to maintain a school for five months, the ensuing year, any district clerk who shall wilfully refuse or neglect to cer- tify such sum to the town clerk in time to have the same embodied in the assessment-roll for that year, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be liable to a penalty of not more than one hundred dollars nor less than fifty dollars. The law as it now stands makes the amount that may be raised in any district for teachers' wages to depend upon the population of the district. The income of the school-fund annually apportioned to the dif- ferent districts on the basis of population over four and under twenty years of age, together with the amount which is received by the districts from the tax levied by the county supervisors, must be appropriated to the payment of teachers' wages, and the balance is to be raised by town or district tax. A tax cannot legall}^ be levied to pay a person for services as teacher who did not hold a certificate of qualification at the time such services were render- ed; nor can any public money be paid to a person for services as a teacher, who is not qualified according to law. While the law has restrained districts, on the one hand, from voting excessive taxes, it has also provided a security against the parsimony or negligence that would sometimes fail to open schools at all, or that would open them for an insufficient period. Five months school in each year is the smallest amcmnt that entitles a district to share in the income of the school-fund. Not to provide for at least this amount, is a wrong to the children deprived, and an injury to the public good. The district board are therefore 31 charged with the duty, under penalty for its neglect, of making this provision, if it is not done by the district. (See the provision at the end of this section.) ScvcntJi. To authorize and direct the sale of an}- school-house, site, or other property belonging to the district, when the same .shall be no longer needed for the use of the district. The restriction here imposed upon the sale of district property is important. It must no longer be needed for the use of the dis- trict. The district must act through the district board, as the board alone is competent to make contracts "binding upon the district. If any credit is to be given upon the sale of district prop- erty, the people at the district meeting should, by resolution, spec- ify the exact terms thereof, and should fix the lowest price to be accepted. The district board are responsible to the district for the exercise of the same care that a prudent man would take in man- aging his own affairs. Eighth. To impose such a tax as may be necessary to discharge any debts or liabilities of the district lawfully incurred. By section one hundred and fourteen a school-district is author- ized to make a loan of monej' to aid in the erection of a school- house, if a majoritij of all the ler/al voters in the district shall vote in favor of the loan. The loan can usually be more conveniently paid by installments. Although the inhabitants of a district may, by resolution, declare their intention to raise a certain amount an- nually for two or more years, yet the action of the meeting is lim- ited to one of the installments, and it requires the action of the district at a subsequent meeting to raise another installment. Mon- ey, under authority of section one hundred and fourteen, cannot be loaned for any other purpose than " to aid in the erection of a school- house." Ninth. To vote a tax not exceeding seventj^-five dollars m any one year, for the purchase of maps, blackboards, and apparatus for illustrating the natural sciences. Maps are necessary to teaching geography, for the principal facts are learned more readily by the eye than in any other manner. Every school-room should be furnished with a map of the world, of the United States, and of this State; and of the county in which 32 the school-house is situated. A globe is also desirable. Black- boards should extend around the school-room, that is, should oc- cupy all the space not taken by doors and windows, to a height of seven feet from the floor, the lower edge of the blackboard being about two feet nine inches from the base-board. Charts are now easily obtained for teaching, reading, penmanship, and other branches, and the cost is much more than made up in the increase of interest among the pupils, and the greater facilities for the teacher. Scliool-boards shorild acquaint themselves with the cost and the use of the more simple and important kinds of apparatus, and lay the matter before the district at each annual meeting. If the district votes no tax for apparatus, the board may nevertheless purchase. (See section 48.) Tenth. To vote a tax on the district, not exceeding one hundred dollars in any one year, for a district librar}^ consisting of such books as they may direct their district board, at a district meeting, to purchase; said books to be selected under the advice of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction; j^rorided, that any school- district having less than two hundred children of school-age, shall not vote a tax on the district exceeding fifty dollars in any one year for such library. This is an important provision if wisely carried out. B}' judi- cious action, a valuable library ma}^ be secured for each school- district; but unless the money raised is placed in the hands of dis- creet and competent men to expend, the books obtained will be of no permanent benefit to the people. Eleventh. To authorize the district board to admit to the privi- leges of the school, persons over twenty years of age, and persons not residing in the district, whenever such admission will not inter- fere with the accommodation or instruction of the scholars resid- ing therein, and to fix a fee for tuition per term, quarter or year, to be charged to the persons thus admitted. The vote of the district is to authorize the board to admit the persons mentioned into the school. The consent of the board should always be signified in writing, and should not be given until the tuition fee has been paid to the district treasurer. N^o teacher should admit a non-resident pupil into his school without express authority conveyed in writing. It is sometimes difficult for the district board to determine the liability of inhabitants for the tuition of persons in their emplo}'ment or under their protec- 33 tion. The ^-eneral rule is, that every head of a household must be supposed to direct the conduct of its members, and that he vol- untarily assumes the legal responsibility growing out of their at- tendance upon school. This presumption does not, however, always apply. Crowding into a district in Avhich a superior school is maintained, to enjoy its advantages free of cost, under plea of hav- ing residence as an employee in a family, is an abuse that some- times needs be corrected. The tuition fee may with propriety be made merely nominal, howevei', to such persons as are residents of other districts, but who are tax-payers in the district where they desire to send to school, pyorided their distance be such as to preclude the possibil- ity of their being attached to the district. The question of residence settles the question of right to free tuition in any school. The residence of the child is with the parent or guardian, un- less by indenture or otherwise the parent or guardian gives over to another the right to control the child, so that in law he is not en- titled to his earnings, or responsible for his acts. An orphan w^ithout guardian, takes his residence with him wherever he goes. The district board has no authority to admit non-resident chil- dren into the school contrary to the vote of the district, nor has it authority to exclude them after a vote of the inhabitants to admit them. It is the duty of the board, in this matter, to carry into ef- fect the instructions of the distiict. Twelfth. To deternnne the length of time a school shall be taught in their district the then ensuing year, Avhich shall not be less than five months, and whether such school shall be taught by a male or female teacher, or both, and whether the school-moneys to which the district is entitled from the income of the school-fund, and from the town, shall be applied to the support of the summer or winter school, or a certain portion to each; but if such matters shall not be determined at the annual meeting, the district board shall determe the same. The number of da3's during which a school must be taught to meet the requirements of the law in regard to the apportionment of school money is one hundred, and this number includes legal holidays, viz., New Year's day, the twenty-second of February, 3 Code 34 the fourth of July, the day of general (or fall) election, and Christ- mas, together with days of fasting or thanksgiving appointed by State or national authority. If the matters enumerated in the twelfth sub-section are not determined by the annual meeting, the district board must determine the same; but the inhabitants, at a special district meeting, are authorized by section 21 " to transact the same business as at the first and each annual meeting, except the election of officers." When the district has determined the length of the school, (being not less than five months,) the sex of the teacher or teachers, and the application to be made of the school-moneys, the board have no discretion, but must carry out the vote of the district. In case they find it impracticable to do so, th« remedy is a special meeting, to give further instructions. Thirteenth. To give such direction and make such provision as may be deemed necessary in relation to the prosecution or defense of any action or proceeding in which the district may be a party, or may be interested. The district may appoint any suitable person to represent them in a suit; but in the absence of such appointment, the director is constituted the representative of the district in all suits. (See sec- tion 33, and the comment thereon.) Fourteenth. To alter, repeal, and modify their proceedings, as oc- casion may require. The power to repeal proceedings cannot be exercised after they have been carried into effect, so that rights have been acquired un- der them. When the district board has made a contract under authority of the district, the repeal of the resolution authorizing such contract will not rescind the contract. The district can mod- ify or repeal the contract only after securing a release of damages from all the parties who have acquired any rights of action. A district can repeal a resolution to raise a tax, at any time be- fore the warrant to collect the tax is handed to the collector, but this power cannot be exercised after part of the tax has been col- lected. (Gale vs. Mead, 4 Hill. Smith vs. Dillingham, 4 Bar- bour.) It is advisable that resolutions should be repealed in ex- press terms, when such is the intention, and not by implication. When a resolution is to be repealed at the meeting at which it was passed, it is usually done by a motion to reconsider. The 35 general rule is that a motion to reconsider can only be made by a person Avho voted with the majority on the question the recon- sideration of which is proposed; and this rule is a proper one for the chairman of the meeting to observe; bnt, if on appeal from the decision of the chairman, a majority of the meeting choose to dis- regard the rule, it may be set aside. The usual rules governing legislative bodies are not binding upon district meetings, unless such meetings adopt such rules. Any resolution directly or neces- essarily repugnant to a previous one repeals it; and the rule, as laid down, (3 Howard. U. S. R., 636,) is that if a subsequent statute be not repugnant in all its provisions to a prior one, j^et if the lat- ter statute was clearly intended to prescribe the oulj' rule that should govern in the cases provided for, it repeals the prior one. The repeal of a repealing statute does not revive the original en- actment. OflBcers elected at an annual meeting cannot be displaced by reconsidering or rescinding former proceedings at an adjourned meeting. When an election has been held in due form, the elec- tive power of the district is exhausted, and the officers chosen at the annual meeting are the legal officers of the district, until by death, resignation, removal from the district, expiration of term, refusal to serve or removal from office, a vacancy occurs proper ta be filled by election or appointment. And when a person enti- tled to hold office has been elected, and has not refused to serve, there is no power to take it from him, or debar him from assuming its duties. The foregoing section shall not be construed to authorize or re- quire the district board of any school-district to estimate and deter- mine the amount necessar}^ to maintain a school in their district ■ where a special provision is made by law for the support of a public school or schools in such district. (Sec. 2, chap, 339, gen. laws 1875.) This provision was added to Sec. 19 in 1875. It affects sub-sec- tion sixth, and relieves the board from the duty there imposed in cases where some " special provision is made by law " for the sup- port of a school. The powers of a school district are enlarged in one particular by the following enactment: {Chapter 91, Gen. Laics 1876.) Section i. The qualified electors of each school district in the 36 State shall have power, at each annual meeting, to vote a tax on the district, not exceeding ten dollars, nor less than five dollars, to compensate the clerk of the district for his services thereto; pro- Tided^ that the school districts known as union school districts, and districts supporting graded or high schools, shall be permitted to pay such salaries to their school district clerks from year to year, as may be fixed by vote of their annual school meetings. Section 2. This act shall take efiect and be in force from and after its passage and publication. No action can be taken by any district under this law until the annual meeting in July, August, or September, 1876, as the case may be, and the compensation then voted can apply only to the future. ITOTICE FOR ANNUAL MEETING. Section 20. It shall be the duty of the clerk to give at least six days' previous notice of every annual district meeting, by posting notices therefor in four or more public places in the district, one of which notices shall be affixed to the outer door of the school-house, if there be one in the district; and he shall give the like notices for every adjourned district meeting, when such meeting shall have been adjourned for a longer period than one month. In order to give publicity to the annual meeting, the statute di- rects the clerk to post notices therefor in at least four public places in the district, but such notice is not essential to the validity of the meeting. The time and place of holding it may always be ascer- tained by examining the records of the district, and the objection that notice was not duly posted, is not well taken. The founda- tion of the meeting is the statute, or the order of a previous annual meeting, and not posting of the notice for it. (6 Hill, N. Y. R., 647.) It is, however, the duty of the district clerk to give the notice required for the annual meeting, and for neglect of duty he is lia- ble to a fine, under the provisions of section 124. The notice should embrace the time of day and the place of meeting, and the more important items of business to be transacted, for while the law does not require this to be done, it will help to secure a full at- tendance, which is most desirable; but it is to be borne in mind that the object of the notice for the annual meeting is to assemble the inhabitants as the local legislature, and that when so assembled, their powers are defined, not by the notice, but by the statute. 37 SPECIAL MEETINGS. Section 21. Special district meetings may be called b}' the clerk, or in his absence by the director or treasurer, on the the written request of five legal voters of the district, in the manner prescribed for calling an annual meeting, and the inhabitants qualified by law to vote, when lawfully assembled at a special meeting, shall have power to transact the same business as at the first and each annual meeting, except the election of officers: pron'ded, that the business to be transacted shall have been particularly specified in the notices calling the same; and liwrided further, that no tax shall be voted at a special meeting unless three-fourths of the legal voters shall have been notified, either personally or by leaving a written notice at their places of residence, stating the time, place and object of the meeting, at least six days before the time appoint- ed therefor.* The power granted by the statute to call special meetings should be liberally exercised for the benefit of the district, and it is the duty of the clerk to call special meetings whenever requested to do so b)' the required number of legal voters. " The word ma]i means must or shcdl only in cases where the public interests or rights are concerned; and where the public or third persons have a claim de jure that the power should be exercised." (5 John, Ch. R., 113.) Our supreme court held, (Cutler vs. Howard, 9 W. B,., 312,) '' that when public corporations or officers are authorized to perform an act for others, which benefits them, that then the corporations or officers are bound to perform the act. The power is given them not for their own, but for the benefit of those in whose behalf they are called upon to act, and such is presumed to be the legislative intent. In such cases they have a claim de jure to the exercise of the power." The tact that the district clerk does not approve of the objects sought by those who request him to call a special meet- ing, is not a good cause for refusing to accede to the request. A special meeting may be called to consider an object which has already been considered by a meeting which stands adjourned. The notice for a special meeting may be given by the director or treasurer in case of a vacancy in the office of clerk, or if that offi- cer is absent, or incapable of acting. All notices for special meet- ings must " particularly specify" the business to be transacted thereat, nor can business not thus clearly mentioned be legally acted upon. If levying a tax be a part of the business, notices * See Forms Nos. 13 and 14. 38 must be posted in not less than four public places in the district, and in addition to this, notice must be served personally upon at (least three-fourths of the legal voters of the district. UXION" DISTRICTS. Sectigj?^ 22. Whenever two-thirds of the legal voters of any two or more adjoining school-districts shall, at any annual meeting, by vote, determine to form a union district for high-school purposes, it shall be the duty of the clerks of the districts so voting to fur- nish the town supervisors a certified copy of the minutes of said meeting, together with the names of those voting for and against said proposition. Upon receiving such notice it shall be the duty of the town supervisors to determine and establish the boundaries of said union district, and file a copy of such order with the town clerk. They may also, upon application, include persons and lands in adjoining districts in said union district, according to their dis- cretion. Section" 23. The control of such union district shall be vested in a board consisting of a director, treasurer, and clerk, who shall be elected in the same manner and hold their offices the same as offi- cers of common school-district boards, subject to the same rules and penalties; provided, that the town supervisors shall have power to appoint the first board of such union district.''" Section 24. The expenses of said union school-district incurred in purchasing or leasing school-houses or sites, in building or re- pairing school-houses, out-houses, fences, etc., in hiring teachers, and in establishing and carrying on said high school, shall be de- frayed by a tax upon the real and personal property of said union district, to be called the union, high-school tax. Said tax shall be voted b}^ said union district, at its annual or special meetings, and shall be levied and collected in the manner hereinafter provided for the assessment and collection of district taxes. No fee for tuition shall be charged or collected except from scholars not re- siding in the union district, who may be required to pay such fee as shall be prescribed by the board, which fee or fees shall go into the general fund of said union district. SECTioiiT 25. The board of said union district shall determine the standard of qualification necessary for admission, the branches to be taught, and the books and apparatus to be used in said high school; and shall have and exercise all the powers granted by law to the boards of common school-districts. Section" 26. The annual meeting of the union school-districts shall beheld on- the Wednesda}^ after the last Monday in September, in each year, and such meeting shall have power to transact all busi- ness, as prescribed in section nineteen of this chapter. SacTiON 27. Special meetings may be held as provided in section twenty-one of this chapter. * See Form No. 17. 39 Section 2S. When it is proposed to form union districts of ter- ritory lying in two or more adjacent towns, then tlie respective su- pervisors of those towns shall act in concert in the formation of such union district, as required in the formation of joint common school-districts."*' Section" 29. The boundaries of any union school-district, formed in accordance Avith the provisions of this chapter, may be altered in the same manner that .the boundaries of common school-districts are altered; and the provisions of law governing the action of town supervisors in relation to the alteration of common school-districts, shall, so far as the same are applicable, be applied in the alteration of union school-districts; provided, that no union school-district shall he disorganized unless a majority of the electors shall, at an annual meeting, vote for such disorganization.f Section 30. Nothing in this act relating to union school-dis- tricts shall be so construed as to impair or affect the organization of primary districts within such union district. (See the "township law" and the "free high-school law" at the end of this chapter.) school-district officers. Section 31. The officers of each school-district shall be a direc- tor, treasurer, and clerk, who shall hold their respective offices for three years, and until their successors shall have beei'd chosen or appointed, but not beA'ond ten days after the expiration of their term of office, without being again elected or appointed; ^;rotvV/^f/, that at the first election of such officers, in any newly organized district, the clerk shall be chosen for one year, the treasurer for two 3'ears, and the director for three years; and thereafter each officer shall be chosen for three years. Any person present at a school- district meeting, at which he shall be elected one of the district board, shall be deemed to be notified thereof, and any person so elected, and not present, shall be notified thereof by the clerk of said meeting, within five days thereafter; and unless each person elected and notified shall, within ten days after his election, file with the clerk his refusal in writing to accept the office, he shall be deemed to have accepted the same. J WOMEN eligible TO SCHOOL-OFFICES. {Chapter 120, General Laws 1875.) Section 1. Every woman of the age of twenty-one years and upward, residing in the district within which the duties of the of- fice are to be performed, is hereby declared to be eligible, and may be elected to the following school-offices, viz: the office of director, treasurer, and clerk of school-districts; director and secretary of town boards under the township-sj'stem of school-government; member of a board of education in cities, and county superintend- ent of schools. *See Form No. 16. f See Form No. 9. % See Forms Nos. 18 and 19. 40 The time from the first meeting of a legally organized district to its first annual meeting, no matter how short that may be, is to be considered a year, because all subsequent elections must be at the time fixed for the annual meetings. At the first annual meeting, therefore, after the first meeting of any newly organized district, a new clerk will be elected for the term of three years. At the second annual meeting, a treasurer is to be elected for three years; and at the third annual meeting, a director is to be elected for three years. Thereafter, one officer only is to be elected at each annual meeting, for the term of three years, and in the following order: clerk, treas- urer, director. It may sometimes be necessary, however, to elect a district officer to serve out an unexpired term, in addition to the officer elected for a full term. In case a district establishes a graded school of " two or more de- partments," then^by the provisions of chapter 6, of the general laws of 1869, it must hold its annual meeting on the second Mon- day of July; and the term of any district officer that would other- wise have expired in September or August, will be taken to have expired at said meeting in July, and a new incumbent will be elected, and so annually thereafter. The question sometimes arises whether it is proper to elect per- sons as district officers who are not citizens. As there is no statu- tory provision on the subject, a decision of the supreme court is given. In the case of Off vs. Smith, (14 W. R., 497,) it was held that '* it is an acknowledged principle which lies at the foundation [of popular governments,] and the enforcement of which needs neither the aid of statutory or constitutional enactments or re- strictions, that the government is instituted by the citizens for their liberty and protection, and that it is to be administered and its powers and functions exercised only by them, and through their agency." On the other hand, it may be held, in regard to persons who have declared their intention to become citizens, that as they are permitted to vote, they are eligible to minor offices, if it is desired to elect them. Officers elected at the first meeting of any district are required to file written acceptances, but at the annual meetings succeeding, written acceptances are not required. However, persons not pres- ent at an annual meeting must be notified if elected to office; and, 41 unless a person v/lio has been notified of an election shall, within ten days after his election, file with the clerk his refusal to serve, he shall be deemed to have accepted the office. A verbal refusal to serve, or inattention to the duties of the office does not create a vacancy. A person elected should therefore serve, or signify his re- fusal to serve in a legal way, and within the legal time. DUTIES OF DIRECTOR. Section 32. It shall be the dut}- of the director of each district to countersign all orders legall}" drawn by the clerk upon the treasurer of the district. Section 33. The director shall appear for and on behalf of the district, in all actions brought by or against the district, Avhen no other direction shall be given by the qualified voters of such dis- trict, at a district meeting. Section 3-1. In case of any breach of the condition of the treas- urer's bond, the director shall cause an action to be commenced thereon, in the name of the district, and the money, when col- lected, shall be applied by such director to the use of the district, as the same should have been applied by the treasurer. The director is required to countersign orders JegaUy drawn, and it is his duty to know that an order presented to him for his signa- ture is drawui in accordance with law, before he affixes his name thereto. The object of this provision of the law is to protect the interests of the district. By sub-section thirteen of section nineteen, the district has power, at any meeting duly called, to give such direction, and make such provision, as may be deemed necessary in relation to the prosecu- tion or defense of any action or proceeding in which the district may be a party or interested; and unless some other person is desig- nated to perform the duty, the director is required to bring suit and to carry out the will of the meeting. The director has not power under the statutes to bring suit, upon his own motion, in behalf of the district, except in case of breach of the condition of the treasurer's bond. In this case, it is his duty to commence pro- ceedings to protect the interest of the district at once, without waiting for the action of a district meeting. If an action is commenced against the district, the director must appear in behalf of the district, without waiting for authority from a district meeting. The district may, however, designate some 42 other person to act as tlieir representative in the defense if they think it expedient. DUTIES or TREASURER. Seotio2^ 35. The treasurer of each district shall, within ten days after his election, execute to the district and file with the clerk a bond in double the amount of money, as near as can be ascertained, to come into his hands as treasui-er, with sufficient sureties, to be approved by the director and clerk, conditioned for the faithful dis- charge of the duties of his office, and if he shall fail to do so, his office shall be vacant, and the board shall thereupon appoint a treas- urer, who shall be subject to the same conditions and possess the same powers as if elected to that office.* A neglect to file the bond, completed and approved, within ten days, as the law directs, vacates the office. Filing it with the ap- proval of one member of the board onlj', or after the time expires, is of no effect. It is obviously improper for either the director or clerk to become surety for the treasurer. Section 36. Whenever the director and clerk of any school-dis- trict shall deem the security upon the bond of the treasurer in- sufficient, they shall have the right to demand additional security, and the refusal or neglect of the treasurer to furnish such additi- tional security, within ten days thereafter, shall vacate his office.f The power granted the clerk and director, by this section, should be exercised Avhenever the interests of the district demand it. No good citizen will regard the exercise of this power as an imputa- tion upon his character. Whenever the security on the bond is not such as tiie law requires, it is obviously the duty of the treas- urer to furnish additional security, and it must be done promptly, within ten days, just as in the original filing of the bond. Section 37. It shall be the dut}" of the treasurer of each school- district to apply for and receive from the town treasurer all school- moneys apportioned to the district or collected for the same by the said town treasurer, and to pay over on the order of the clerk and director of such district, all moneys received by him. The district treasurer can ascertain the amount of money to which his district is entitled, by examining the certificate of ap- portionment on file in the town treasurer's office, which that offi- cer receives from the town clerk. The district treasurer should * See Form No. 20. f See Form No. 21. 43 pay all legal orders in the order of presentation, when no special direction appears upon the order to the contrary. Section 38. The treasurer shall keep a book in which he shall enter all the moneys received and disbursed b}' him, specifying par- ticularly the sources from which mo2iey has been received, and the person [persons] to whom and the objects for which the same has been paid out. He shall present to the district at each annual meeting a report in Avriting, containing a statement of all moue3"s received by him during the preceding year, and of the disburse- ments made by him, with the items of such disbursements, and ex- hibit the vouchers therefor, and at the close of his term of office, shall settle with the district board, and shall hand over to his suc- cessor said books, and all receipts, vouchers, orders, and papers coming into his hands as treasurer of the district, together with all moneys remaining in his hands as such treasurer. It is a duty which the treasurer owes to himself, as well as to his district, to keep an accurate record of his accounts, so as to be abltr to present a clear and satisfactory statement of the transac- tions of the year. The account required to be kept by section 38, ma}' be a simple cash account, in which the treasurer personally, and in his individual name is charged with all school-mone^'s re- ceived b}' him, and crec4ited with each payment, specifying the date, the person to whom and the account on which it was made. It is convenient and will conduce to accuracy to number each credit consecutively, and to affix the same number to the order to be produced in proof of payment, and in support of such pay- ment. This account should be kept in a book well bound, and a transcript of such account should be made, and with the proper vouchers presented to the annual meeting. This transcript should be examined by a committee appointed by the meeting and should be endorsed by said committee as having been examined and found correct, if the committee find it regular in all respects. When at the close of his term of office, he settles with the district board as required by law, the board should enter upon the original account in the blank-book, their certificate that they have examined such account up to and including the last preceding entr}' (giving its date) and the vouchers therefor, and that they find the same correct. The law relative to embezzlement of money is substantially as follows : *' If any person having in his possession any money, belonging to this State, or any county, town, city, or other municipal corporation * * * or if any collector or treasurer of any town or county, or incorporated city, town, or village, or any other person holding an office under any law of this State * * * who shall wilfully neglect or refuse to pay over the same, or any part thereof, accord- ing to the provisions of the law ^ ^ ^ shall be deemed and ad- judged to be guilty of an embezzlement. * '■' * * And every refusal by an officer to pay any sum lawfully demanded, shall be deemed an embezzlement of the sum so demanded. Any person demanding of any officer any sum of money which he may be en- titled to demand and receive, who shall be unable to obtain the same by reason of the money having been embezzled as aforesaid, if he shall neglect or refuse, for thirty days after making such demand, to make complaint against such officer, shall be deemed an acces- sory, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in a sum not ex- ceeding one hundred dollars." (R. S., Chap. 165, Sees. 30, 31, 32.) The law is thus exceedingly stringent, and must be complied with fully. Section 3, of chapter 14, revised statutes, will give directions as to the proper course of procedure whenever a judgment has been rendered against the treasurer for any breach of the conditions of his bond. Upon proper application to the Governor it is made his duty to declare the office vacant. The vacancy will be filled as other vacancies are filled. DUTIES OF CLEEK. Section 39. It shall be the duty of the clerk of each school- district, within ten days after the election or appointment of any school-district officer, to report the name and post-office address of such officer to the town clerk of his town, or, in case it be a joint district, to the town clerk of each town in which any part ot the district is situated; to record the proceedings of the district board, and of each district meeting, in a book to be provided by the dis- trict for that purpose; to enter therein copies of all reports made by him to the town clerk; to make therein, or in some suitable book provided for that purpose, an accurate record of all orders drawn upon the treasurer, and to keep and preserve all records, books, and papers belonging to his office, and deliver the same to his successor in office. Under our law the power of the clerk is such that the pros- perity of the school of his district depends greatly upon the man- ner in which he discharges his duties. The importance of full and accurate records cannot be too strong- ly enforced. The record-book of the district should contain a full. 45 liistory of its school affairs. Dates, names, resolutions, votes, etc., should be given with such exactness that no trouble can arise which a reference to its pages will not help to settle. Financial state- ments and reports should be spread out on the record-book. Doc- uments that are merely filed are soon lost. Every clerk of a district should feel, that by a proper discharge of his duty in keeping his records with fidelit}^ and neatness, he may leave an hoiiorable memorial of himself that shall last while his district exists. Section •40. It shall be the duty of the clerk to draw orders on the treasurer of the district, for mone3's in the hands of such treas- urer, which have been apportioned to or raised b}' the district, to be applied to the payment of wages of legally qualified teachers, who have been employed to teach the school of such district, and also to draw orders on such treasurer for mone3's in his hands, to be disbursed for any other purpose for which the same shall be voted b}' the district, agreeable to the provisions of section nine- teen of this chapter; provided, that each order shall designate the object for which and the fund upon which it is drawn, and shall be countersigned by the director; and provided further, that no order for the payment of teachers' wages shall be drawn, countersigned, or paid, which is in favor of any person who has taught the school of said district, when not holding a certificate of qualification from the county superintendent, or (in case of appeal) from the State Superintendent.* By the provisions of chapter 101, of the general laws of 1872, the board hires the teacher, (See Sec. 42.) As the board has no authority to contract with a teacher who does not hold a legal certificate of qualification, so also anj" use of public funds, from whatever source received, for the payment of teachers not legally qualified, is a palpable violation of law. It is the duty of the clerk to see and know that the person employed is legally qualified and entitled to teach before any order for pa}^- ment is drawn. It is no less the duty of the director to refuse to -countersign, and of the treasurer to refuse to pay orders drawn in violation of law; and these officers are bound to know that orders are legal before they recognize them as valid. The order for payment of teachers' wages can be drawn only in favor of the teacher. If he is desirous to apply his wages to the payment of a private debt, he can indorse the order to his creditor, but it is for him, and not for the clerk, to distribute his wages. '^ See Form No. 22. 46 Section 41. He shall be the clerk of the district, and of all dis- trict meetings, but if he shall not be present at any district meet- ing, the qualified voters ma}^ appoint a clerk of such meeting, who shall certify the proceedings thereof, and the same shall be recorded by the clerk of the district,* The clerk cannot properl}' refuse to record the proceedings of a meeting that he was opposed to calling. And although he may think the proceedings illegal, it is his duty nevertheless faithfully to record them. If illegal, they may be set aside by competent au- thority on appeal; and the record of the clerk is of importance in deciding the question!! EMPLOYMENT OF TEACHERS. Section 42.f The majority of the district board shall contract with and hire duly qualified teachers for and in the name of the district, and said contract shall specify the wages per week, month, or year, as agreed upon by the parties, and said contract so com- pleted shall be filed in the office of the district clerk, with a copy of the certificate of the teacher so employed, attached thereto, and a copy of such contract shall be furnished by the clerk to the teacher. This section formerl}^ made it the dut}^ of the clerk to " contract with and hire " teachers. The duty is now devolved upon the dis- trict board, and like any other act performed by them, must be preceded by a regular meeting, as provided for in section 46. The comment upon that section is referred to in this connection. The insertion of section 42 here is, in one sense, out of place, but is necessary, to preserve the numerical order of the sections. It is very important that the provisions of this section be care- fully observed. In negotiating for a teacher the board should first of all ascertain that the person is legally '' qualified." Th© only sufficient evidence of this is an unexpired certificate from the proper superintendent. If the county be divided into two super- intendent districts, the certificate must be from the superintendent of that division of the county in which the school is to be taught. If not, it is invalid. In case of a joint district not wholly within the j urisdiction of one superintendent, the certificate must be from the superintendent within whose jurisdiction the school-house is *See Form No. 23. f See chapter 169, general laws 1871, and chapter 101, general laws 1872. 47 situated. (See section 107.) A certificate has no validity or force beyond the county or jurisdiction within which it is given, although " indorsed " by some other superintendent. This is the opinion not only of this department, but of the attorney-general, who says: '' This [an indorsement] is clearly not what the law requires, nor is it equiraJent to the certificate irhich is required hij hue. If the legislature had intended that the certificate of one superintendent might be adopted (by indorsement) by another, it would have so provided."' An understanding may be had with a teacher who is awaiting examination, but a contract with a person who holds no certificate is not only void, but a fraud upon the district. If a teacher's cer- tificate will expire during the term of school, care must be taken that it be renewed in season. It is better that the certificate be re- newed before the school begins. Before any promises are made to a teacher there should be a meeting of the board. The neglect of this will often create serious trouble. The contract is of no force unless signed by at least two members of the board. It is better that it be signed by all, as har- mony of action in this matter is very important to the prosperity of the school and the welfare of the district. There is no authority for making a contract whereby the teacher engages to board with the parents of the children. It cannot be enforced on the inhabitants. The best arrangement is to give the teaches a specific sum and let him board himself. The amount of the compensation to be paid to teachers is within the dikretion of the board. The inhabitants have no legal power to control district officers in this respect, nor in the selection of in- dividuals to be employed, though the board would act unwisely in disregarding the preferences and wishes of the people, when reason- able and just. There is little probability that school-officers will make the com- pensation too high. The wages of good teachers are generally quite inadequate. To employ a poor teacher at any price is wretched economy. A teacher having been legally employed, cannot properly be dis- missed without some violation of the contract on his part, during the time for which it was to continue, unless his certificate of qual- ification is annulled by competent authority. If the board discharge 48 a teacher on the ground that he has failed to fulfil his contract, of course it takes the risk of being able to prove such failure, in case the teacher claims damages, or demands his wages for the whole time for which he was engaged. Although the employment of a member of the district board is not prohibited, yet the practice ought to be discouraged. The fact that the teacher is one of the board, naturally excites a suspicion that he may have been able to make a contract more advantageous to himself, and less so to the district, than if some other person had been employed. Those who hold public trusts should carefully avoid putting themselves into situations Avhere their private inter- ests may conflict with an impartial discharge of their public duties. These remarks may also apply to the practice of employing any near relative of a member of the district board as a teacher. It was held by the supreme court of New York, in the case of Foster vs. La Rue, (15 Barb., 323,) " that where a person is em- ployed for a corporation, by one assuming to act in its behalf, and renders services according to the agreement, with the knowledge of its officers, and without objection on their part, or notice that the contract is not recognized, such corporation will be held to have sanctioned the contract and will be compelled to pay for the services according to the agreement; * * * ^^^^ when the contract is still executory, and nothing has been done under it, and the action is to recover damages merely for non-per- formance, it is for the plaintiff to show a legal contract binding upon the corporation. « ANNUAL DISTRICT REPORT. Section 43. It shall be the duty of the clerk, between the first and tenth daj's of September, in each year, to make and transmit to the town, city, or village clerk a written report, dated on the first day of September of the year in which it shall be transmitted, signed by said district clerk and verified by his affidavit, showing: FirstJ^ The number of children, male and female, designated sep- arately, over the age of four and under the age of twenty years, residing in the district on the last day of August previous to the making of such report, and the names of the parents or other per- sons with whom such children did respectively reside on the 31st day of August preceding such report. And it shall be the duty of the district clerk to classify those children who from defect of vis- * See chapter 101 general laws 1871, section 1. 49 ion or of hearing or of intellect (under tlie heads of blind, deaf and dumb, and idiotic) are iiicapacitated for instruction in the common schools, and report the same to the State Superintendent, who shall publish the same in his annual report. Second. *The Avhole number of children, male and female, each designated separately, taught in the district school during the j^ear for which such report is made, by teachers duly qnalified, and the sum of the days attendance of all snch children npon the school. Also, the number of children attending school during any part of the year, between the ages of fonr and seven, seven and tifteen, and tifteen and twenty, respectively; and to this end he shall re- quire and instruct the teachers to enter the ages of all children at- tending school in the register; he shall also ascertain and report the whole number of children between the several ages named re- siding in the district on the last day of August previous to making such report. Third. The number attending school (male and female being designated separately) during the year, under the age of four, and the number over the age of twenty years, and the sum of the days attendance of all such children upon the school. Fourth. The whole time in days any common school has been taught in the district, including holidays, and the whole number of days, including holidays, such school has been taught by teach- ers qualified according to law, during the year ending on the thirty- first day of August preceding the making of such report. Fifth. The names of all teachers employed during the year covered by the report, the number of days taught by each, includ- ing holidays, and the monthl}' wages paid to each. Sixth. The amount of money received from the town treasurer, the amount received from district taxes, and the amount received from all other sources during the year ending on the thirty-first day of August preceding the date of the report, and the manner in which the same has been expended. Seventh. The kind of books used in the school. Eighth. Such other facts and statistics in relation to the schools, public or private, in such district, as the Superintendent of Public Instruction may from time to time require. Blank forms for the reports of district clerks are annually pre- pared by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, with printed instructions in regard to the mode of filling them up, and are transmitted through town clerks to the district clerks. These blanks will, from time to time, require other information in addi- tion to that specified in the above section, in order to enable the Superintendent to lay before the legislature a full report of the educational affairs of the State. It is of the highest importance ""■ See chapter 169, general laws 1871, Sec. 2. 4 Code. 50 that the annual district report should be promptly completed and deposited with the proper town clerk. Some explanations are given below in reference to each of the foregoing sub-sections: 1. The school year begins on the first day of September, and ends on the last day of August. The law requires that the names of parents or other persons, with whom children to be enumerated reside, shall be written. The greatest care must be exercised in taking the census of the children of the district. It will be seen that the law also requires district clerks to classify all children prevented from attending school through defect of vision, hearing, or intellect. This humane provision is intended to be the source of information in regard to such unfortunate children, that efforts may be made to have them placed under instruction elsewhere. For remarks on residence^ see commentary on section 8. Do- mestics composing a part of the family, if less than twentj' years of age are, to be enumerated. Mere hoarders or lodgers are not to be included in the enumeration, for they are presumed to belong to families residing in some other district of the State; but per- sons who pay for their board and lodging by devoting a part of the day to work, in the service of the household, while the rest is spent in attendance at school, and who have no other legal residence. are considered as constituting members of the family with whom they reside. It must be borne in mind that the enumeration of one year is the basis of the apportionment of the next, and hence children should be enumerated in the district that is bound to fur- nish them instruction, that such district may receive an apportion- ment on their account, and care should be taken that children are not enumerated in two districts. (See remarks on section 19, under sub-section eleventh.) Those children, whose parents do not reside in this State, should be included in the school-census; provided such children reside in a family of a district, and not in a mere boarding-school or other establishment for the purpose of. education. Children in an orphan asylum are deemed the wards of the incorporated associa- tion that has them iu charge, and are not to be included in the enumer- ation. Children supported at public charge now acquire a residence in the district where thus supported, and are to be instructed in 51 such district. The hiw rehiting to this subject is chapter 156, oi' the general laws ot 1873, and is printed on a subsequent page. All persons more than four and less than twenty years of age, who are themselves the masters or mistresses of families, are to be enumerated. The laAV requiring districts with graded schools to hold their annual meeting the second Wednesday in July, does not at all affect the provisions of the foregoing section. In making the annual report, the school-year will be taken to end the 31st day ot August, as before, and the school-census Avill be taken at the usual time. 2. The whole number of children, male and female designated separatel}", who have received instruction from legally qualified teachers since the first day of September of the year preceding, is to be stated, without regard to the fact of their attendance having been long or short, or of their parents having been residents or non-residents. The sum of the days attendance must be ascertained by an examination of the register of the school, which every teacher is required by law to keep, under the supervision of the district board. This sub-section also requires teachers to register the ages of all scholars attending school between 4 and 7, between 7 and 15, and between 15 and 20. District clerks are required to observe the same rule in taking the census of school-children. The object of this amendment is to ascertain the ages of children attend- ing or not attending school each year, and it is hoped that parents as well as teachers and district clerks will co-operate readily in this purpose of the law. 3. It is to be hoped that the annual reports will show few in at- tendance at school less than four j'ears of age. All that children need to learn before they are six 3"ears of age ought to be taught, them at home. 4. The legal holidays in this State are New Year's day, the- twenty -second of Februarj^ the fourth of July, the day of general (or fall) election, Christmas day, and all days of thanksgiving which are appointed by national or State authority. It is required that, the Avhole number of days a school has been taught by a qualified teacher be stated, in order that the town clerk may apportion money to such districts only as have complied with the law. A district, to be entitled to share in the annual apportionment of the 52 income of tlie school-fund, must maintain a school at least five months of twenty days each, including legal holidaj^s, and such school must be taught by a legally qualified teacher. In 1871, the law required five months of twenty-two days each, but was amended in 1872, and 100 days declared to be 5 months. 5. The monthly w^ages paid to a teacher includes all expeilses in- curred by the district on his account for board. If the district looards the teacher, the cost of board is to be added to the amount of monthly pay, and the sum of the tw^o items constitutes his monthly wages. For directions in regard to making the annual report, the clerk will carefully study the blanks which are furnished by the depart- ment of public instruction. In case a clerk fails to receive the blanks needed in time to make his annual report as required by law, he should, without delay, notify the State Superintendent of the fact, that they may be sent. Section 44. The clerk of each joint school-district shall report to the town clerk of each town a part of which is embraced in such district, the number of children residing in such part, in the man- ner set forth in the preceding section, and the number of days a school has been taught in the district by a qualified teacher, and the remainder of the items specified in the preceding section shall be embraced in the report made to the clerk of the town in which the school-house is situated.* The clerk of a joint school-district must report to the town clerk of each town, a' part of which is embraced in his district, the num- ber of children, male and female designated separately, over the -age of four and under the age of twenty, residing in that part of the district lying in the town, to the clerk of which the report is ;.seut. Care should be taken not to report to any town clerk a "greater number of children over four and under twenty years of sage than reside in that part of the district lying within his town. Tn some instances the whole number of children in a joint-district ds reported to each town clerk, causing the district to receive more than its share of school-moneys distributed. This should be care- fully avoided. He must also report the names of the parents or other persons with whom such children resided on the 31st day of August, preceding such report. He must also report to each town •^See Form No. 26. 5gx clerk, whose town embraces any part" of the district, the number of (lays a school has been taught in his district by a legally qualified teacher during the year covered by the report. This is obviousl}'^ necessary to enable the town clerk to determine whether he can legally apportion mone\^ to the district. In addition to the foregoing items, the clerk of a joint school- school-district will report all the other items called for in the gen- eral blank, to the clerk of the town containing that part of the dis- trict in which the school-house is situated. SCHOOL-REPORTS FROM CITIES. As will be seen by the law given below, cities are now required to make their annual reports directly to the State Superintendent. {Chapter 128, General Laws 1870.] Section 1. Each city of this State which is not under the juris- diction of a county superintendent, in the matter of supervision of schools and examination of teachers, shall hereafter make the an- nual report required by sections 43, 57, and 139, of chapter 155, of the general laws of 1863, direct to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, instead of to the county superintendent. Section" 2. In all cities having a superintendent of schools, said superintendent shall make the report as aforesaid, and in cities having no superintendent of schools, the report shall be made by the clerk of the board of education. Section 3. The State Superintendent shall furnish suitable blanks on which to make the reports, and no school-moneys shall be apportioned to au}^ city for any year for which the report shall not show that the number of children residing therein between the ages of four and twenty years, has been ascertained by an actual census taken by the city superintendent of schools, the clerk of the board of education, or some person or persons authorized to take such census by the aforesaid officers or other authorities of said city. Section 1. All acts and parts of acts conflicting v/ith the pro- visions of this act are hereby repealed. school-register. Section 15. The clerk of each school-district shall furnish, at the expense of the district, a school-register, in the form prescribed b}^ the Superintendent of Public Instruction, in which every teacher employed by the district board shall be required to enter the names, ages, and studies of all scholars attending school, and daily their attendance and absence, and such other facts as the county super- intendent or State Superintendent may require, which register the- ■ /54 J teacher shall deliver to the clerk at the '.time he shall cease to be employed by such district, or at any other time when the same may be required for the use of the district board; and the teacher shall make in writing, and transmit to the district board, or to the county superintendent, a report concerning any matter relating to his school, in such form and manner as said board or superintendent may prescribe. It is the duty of the clerk to promptly furnish the teacher with the register, and to call his attention to section 131, of the school- law, which provides that, for willfully neglecting or refusing to comply with the requirements of law, relative io keeping the school- register, he shall forfeit his wages. The form for a school-register is given in the appen:3ix (No. 27.) Economy will be best subserved in the end, if a good and substan- tially bound book is procured for this purpose. Registers are not supplied by this department, but may be obtained at the bookstores. The clerk should require the teacher to return the school-regis- ter, at the end of the term for which he is employed, and should ascertain that it has been properly kept, before he draws an order on the treasurer in payment of the teacher s wages. He should also frequently examine the register during the term, in order to secure that accuracy in the method of keeping it, which will en- able him to make a reliable report to the town clerk. Teachers are required by this section, to render reports relating to their schools, and a refusal so to do is sufficient cause for annulling a certificate, or discharging the teacher thus violating the law. DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE DISTRICT BOARD. Section 46.* The director, treasurer, and clerk shall constitute the district board. Meetings of the board may be called by any two members thereof by serving upon the other member a written notice of the time and place of such meeting, at least twenty-four hours before such meeting is to take place. But any meeting of the district board held within the limits of the school-district shall be considered legally constituted to do business, provided all the members are present, and do each then and there consent to call it a meeting of the district board; and j^rovided further, that the board at any such meeting not previously called, shall not have power to purchase school-apparatus or to transact such other business as is provided for in sections 47, 51, and 53, of said code; and it shall be the duty of the district clerk to- record the transactions of such * See chapter 108, general laws 1868, and chapter 97, general laws 1875. [)i)s meetings, said record to be sio^ned .jj -^he district clerk and the other members of the district board. It will be seen by this section, as it stands amended, that the powers conferred by law npon the district board ninst be exercised by the board, meeting and deliberating at the same time and place, and not by one or two forming a determination and obtaining the assent of the absent. The decision of a majority at a meeting prop- erly called is the decision of the board, but the decision of a major- ity, or even of all three, under other circumstances, is not the de- cision of the board. It is merel}' the concurrent opinion of the members of the board, and is no more the decision of the l)oard than the concurrent opinion of the members of the legislature, ar- rived at by taking their separate votes at their respective homes, would be an act of the legislature. The law supposes that a ma- jority may be convinced by a minority and change its determina- tion, and therefore will not allow the majority to act without giving the minority due notice to participate. This principle applies to the action of the board in hiring a teacher as well as to other mat- ters. It is held in 16 Maine R.. 185, that the dismissal of a teacher by two, a majority of the board, was illegal, because the third was not notified, although he was out of town. The court say, '' that does not allow the majority to dispense with the rule requiring notice. They are not in such cases constituted the judges whether the no- tice would be effectual to secure his attendance. Nor would it be entirely safe to entrust them with such a power, as it would afford an opportunity to select an occasion when they might judge that a notice would be ineffectual, and thus, by neglecting to give it, free themselves from the presence of a dissenting minority. It may of- ten happen that those will be able to attend who were believed to be so situated that their attendance could not be expected. Nor is there an}' difficulty in giving the requisite notice in such cases, as one left at the usual place of residence would be sufficient." These views are fully sustained in a decision recentl}' rendered by the United States District Court at Madison, in the case of First National Bank. ?>■. School-District No. 1, Oregon. It will be seen, however, that by the amendment of this section, made in 1875, an accidental meeting of all the members of the board may be called a ieg^c.. ...eeting, by mianimoiis consent. At such a meeting- the board cannot transact business in regard to a school-house site, or a school -house, or disposing of the same, the purchase of school-apparatus, or books for indigent children, or the adoption of a list of text-books. In case of a vacancy ^'.n the district board, those in office possess all the powers of a full board for the purpose of filling such va- cancy. If tvv^o vacancies exist at the same time, the remaining member cannot fill them. It must be done by the town clerk. A duty merely ministerial in its character, such as the execu- tion of a determination of the district board, may be performed by a single member. Sectiojst 47. The district board shall purchase or lease such a site for a school-house as shall have been designated by the district, in the corporate name thereof, and shall build, hire, or purchase such school-house out of the funds provided tor that purpose, and make sale of any school-house, site, or other property belonging to the district, and, if necessar3% execute a conveyance of the same in their name of ofiice, when lawfully directed by the qualified voters of such district, at any annual or special meeting. A school-district is a corporate body, and as such has perpetual succession and existence in its corporate name, and the capacity to hold real and personal estate for its corporate purposes. It posses- ses this power as a legal body, wholly distinct from the individuals which from time to time compose it. The district can act as a corporation only through its officers. The power to purchase or lease a site for a school-house, or to build, hire, or purchase a school- house, or to sell any school-house, site, or other property belongs exclusively to the district board. It is often the case that a build- ing committee is appointed by the district to superintend the erec- tion of a school-house. So far as a building committee aid the board by their advice and service in carrying out the wishes of the people of the district, there can be no objection. But the district board alone has power to bind the district by a contract, written or verbal, and the district has no power to supersede them b}" ap- pointing a building committee, or anj' other agents. The district may, however, through a committee, procure plans and specifica- tions for a school-house, and may select such a plan as is deemed 57 suitable, and limit the power of the district board to making a eon- tract for erecting a house according to the plan and specifications adopted. This is the only way of controlling the district board. It rest» with the board to accept or reject the work, unless the people, in district meeting, have appointed or provided for the appointment of other arbiters. This may be done by directing it to be inserted in the contract with the builder, that the sufficiency of the mate- rials and workmanship under the contract shall be determined by persons named in the resolution. A stringent contract, which in all cases should be in writing, with proper provisions for the adjustment of any questions that ma}^ arise under it, will relieve the district board from much per- sonal responsibility and trouble, as well as prevent quarrels and perhaps litigation, which are in any event disastrous. The inhabitants of a district, assembled in district meeting, should give plain and specific instructions to the district board in regard to the matters referred to in this section. All votes relating to purchase or sale of site, school-house, or other district property should be taken by ayes and noes, and all proceedings should be en- tered at length upon the record book of the district. Section 48.''^ The said board shall have the care and keeping of the school-house and other propert}^ belonging to the district, ex- cept so far as the same shall be especially confided to the care of the clerk, including all books purchased by the district for the use of any children, and the said district board shall have power to pur- chase a record-book, in which the proceedings of the meetings of the district and of the district board shall be recorded, and a book for keeping in proper form the treasurer's accounts, together with such blanks and stationery as are necessary for doing the business of the district in an orderly and business-like manner, and such charts, maps, globes, and school-apparatus as they may deem neces- sary, not exceeding seventy-five dollars in amount in an}^ one year; and the clerk of such district shall include the amount of such pur- chases in the next annual tax to be collected in such district; said charts, maps, globes, and apparatus shall be such as may have been approved by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, or by the county superintendent of the county in which said district is lo- cated, as of a character suitable for use in the schools of the State; and provided fuiiher, that such purchases shall be unanimously ap- proved at a regular meeting of said board at which all the members thereof shall be present; and provided further, that a majorit}^ of * See chapter 281, general laws 1873, and (.'hapter 235, general laws 1875.. 58 the district board of any school-district in this State shall have the right to permit the school-house to be occupied by religious meet- ings, temperance meetings, and any other meetings which in the judgment of the majority of the board will aid in disseminating in- telligence and good morals among the inhabitants of the district. The board has exclusive control of the property of the district, including the school-house, unless it shall be especially confided to ihe care of the clerk. In either case it is important that the trust he faithfully discharged — that the furniture, books, fences, grounds, •out-houses, etc., be carefully looked after. It will be convenient to -devolve this care especially upon the clerk. Under the amendment of this section, made by chapter 281, of the general laws of 1873, school-boards can purchase school-appar- atus, annually, to an amount not exceeding $75. This power needs to be exercised with much discretion and caution. The district has power to vote a tax for the same purpose, to the same amount. (See section 19, sub-section ninth.) When a district has already exercised this power, at the annual meeting, it [is not necessary, nor 'would it be proper, for the board to purchase beyond that. Seventy-five dollars is quite as much as ordinary districts €an afford to expend for apparatus in one year. If the district, however, takes no action, then the board, if they think best imay purchase, and the apparatus most likely to be useful in the public schools is: 1. Reading charts, phonetic charts, reading frames or cases, writ- ing spellers. 2. Writing charts, drawing charts, drawing books. 3. Numeral frames, arithmetical charts, arithmetical frames, cube-root blocks, geometrical forms. 4. Outline maps, and especially a map of Wisconsin, a map of the United States, and a map of the world; also globes and map- idrawing scales. 5. Charts illustrating natural historj^ physiology, and natural ^science, including color charts. 6. Blackboards, clock, call-bell, thermometer, microscope, mag- aiet. The articles first named under each of the above heads are most •needed. In purchasing, school-boards would do well to deal directly witli 59 the houses ill Chicago or elsewhere, which make a business of fur- nishing school-apparatus. To this end correspondence may be opened with them and circulars and price-lists obtained. It is recommended that school-boards first select the simpler and more necessary apparatus of which the district may be destitute, and that they be cautious in giving orders beyond the reasonable ability of the district to pay. It is also suggested that it will be a waste of money to purchase apparatus which the class of teachers employed will nob be likely to make use of. In selecting a teacher, his or her knowledge of common apparatus, and ability to use it, is to be taken into account as an important qualification. When anything is purchased, measures should be taken at once for its preservation, and to this end a case or closet with shelves is needed, which should be under lock and ke}'. It will be useful to take advice of the county superintendent and of experienced teachers in making a choice of articles. The county superintendents are authorized by law to approve such apparatus as in their judgment is best suited to the schools. The question often arises as to what use may be made of the school-house. This question may be viewed in two aspects, that of custom, and that of law. It has been customary to allow school- houses to be used, at proper times, for religious, literary, and other meetings; and so long as no injury is done to the property and no detriment arises to the school from such use of the school-house, it is unobjectionable. It is often the only place in the neighborhood in which any kind of public meeting can be held, and the board will not usually be blamed for allowing a discreet use to be made of the building. They are authorized to do this, as the law now stands, but if a majority, or even minority of the tax-payers are op- posed to having the school-house used for any other than school- purposes, it may be better for the board not to allow the house to opened. Section 49. The district board shall provide the necessary ap- pendages for the school-house, and keep the same in good condi- tion and repair during the time a school shall be taught therein; and they shall keep an accurate account of all expenses incurred by them, and present such account for allowance to the qualified voters, at a regular district meeting; and the amount of such ac- count, as allowed by such meeting, may be assessed and collected in 60 the same manner as other district taxes, but no such account shall be allowed at a special district meeting, unless the intention to present the same shall be specified in the notice for such meeting. It is the duty of the district board to provide the necessary ap- pendages for the school-house without waiting for instructions so to do from the people of the district. They are also required to keep the school-house in good condition and repair during the time a school shall be taught therein. This duty should be prompt- ly and efficiently performed. Under this section the board has power to cause to be built suitable out-houses, and to provide blackboards, etc., necessary to the successful management of the school. Section 50.* The said board shall have power to fill by appoint- ment any vacancy that may occur in their own number, within ten days after such vacancy shall occur, and if such vacancy shall not be filled within ten days, as aforesaid, by said board, it shall be the duty of the town clerk to fill such vacancy by appointment. Any person appointed to fill a vacancy, upon being notified of such appointment, shall be deemed to have accepted the same, unless he shall within five days thereafter, file with the clerk or director a written refusal to serve; and any person appointed to fill a vacancy, shall hold the office until the annual meeting succeeding such ap- pointment. In case a vacancy shall occur in a joint district, and shall not be filled by the district board, the clerk of the town in which the school-house is situated shall fill such vacancy, but his appointment shall be indorsed by the clerks of the other town or towns embracing a part of said joint district.f Vacancies may occur, occasioned by death; refusal to serve (see comment upon section 31;) removal from the district; resignation of office; conviction of crime; expiration of term of service; and removal from office by the governor or county judge. The power of the district board and town clerk under this sec- tion to fill vacancies, is confined to vacancies resulting from the foregoing causes. They are not authorized to set aside an election on the ground of a legal incapacity existing at the time, and which the voters disregarded. They must, of necessity, decide in view of the facts, that a vacancy exists, and in the order making the appointment, the facts which have caused the vacancy should be stated. In case of expiration of a term of service and no election to fill * See section 3, chapter 169, general laws 1871. f See forms Nos. 30, 31, and 32. 61 the vacancy, it is to l)e understood that the term does not actually expire until ten da3's after the annual meeting. The board then has power, for ten days, to fill the vacancy, and the town clerk has therefore no power to fill it, until twenty days after the annuai meeting. When two vacancies in the board exist at the same time, the town clerk must appoint. A person should not be re-appointed who refuses to serve, or whose resignation has been accepted. The statute regards the pen- alty for refusing to serve as an equivalent for the service. (See sec- tion 124.) In case of appointment, the term of office of the appointee ex- pires at the next annual meeting, and if a successor is not then elected, the incumbent cannot hold the office more than ten days after the annual meeting. It then becomes the duty of the board to fill such vacancy, and if they neglect to fill it, this duty devolves on the town clerk. In case it becomes thus necessary to fill a va- cancy in a joint district, the law now j^rescribes that the appoint- ment shall be by the joint action of the clerks of all the towns concerned, the clerk of the town containing the school-house taking the initiative, but obtaining the indorsement of the other clerk or clerks. SECTiOif 51. The district board may purchase, at the expense of the district, when parents or guardians may not be able to furnish the same, such school-books as in their judgment may ])e necessary for the use of any children attending school in their district, and they may include the amount of such purchase in any tax to be col- lected in such district. A correct account of all purchases made under authority of this section should be kept and submitted to the annual meeting. The books thus purchased do not become the property of those using them. They belong to the district, and the teacher should be di- rected to see that they are returned at the close of the term, and that they are preserved as other books belonging to the district. Section 52. The board shall have power to make all needful rules and regulations for the organization, gradation, and government of the school or schools established in the district; said rules to take effect and be in force w4ien a copy of the same, signed by a majority of the board, shall be filed with the clerk; to suspend any pupil from the privileges of the school for non-compliance with the rules es- tablished by them, or by the teacher with their consent; and to ex- 62 pel from the school any pupil who shall persistently refuse or neg- lect to obey the rules and regulations above mentioned, whenever, upon due examination, they shall become satisfied that the inter- ests of the school demand such expulsion. The rules and regulations adopted b}' the district board should be recorded in their minutes, and a copy thereof should be posted in the school-room. The rules should be such as the good of the school seems to require. They should be comprehensive and rea- sonable. They should be so framed as to aid the teacher rather than to supplant him. The district board have full authority to organize, regulate, grade, and classify the school, but in all matters of this kind they will act under the advice, and so far as practica- ble, with the consent of the teacher. The teacher, in the school- room, is the executive officer of the board. He must govern the school under the law, and according to such rules as are made in ac- cordance therewith. The rules and regulations made by the board must guide him until they are set aside by competent authorit3^ The board have authority to suspend any pupil from the privi- leges of the school for non-compliance with the rules established bj' them, or by the teacher, with their consent. The right to at- tend a common school is a common, not an exclusive personal right. The supreme court of Massachusetts (8 Cush,, Mass., R. 164,) saj' s, in reference to this right, " like other common rights, (that of way for instance,) it must be exercised under such limitations and restrictions, that it shall not interfere with the equal and co-exten- sive rights of others. Take the. case of a contagious disease, can it be doubted that the presence of a pupil infected could be lawfully prohibited, not for any fault, or crime, or wrong conduct, but sim- ply because his attempt to insist on his right to attend, under sucii circumstances, would be dangerous and noxious, and so an inter- ruption to the equal and common right?" . In the same case, the court held that school-officers have a right to exclude a child for open, gross immorality, manifested bv licentious language, manners < and habits, though not manifested by acts of licentiousness or im- morality within the school; for, -ftys the court, "it is as necessary in the unreserved intercourse of pupils of the same school, as well without as within its precincts, to preserve the pure-minded, in- genious, and unsuspecting children of both sexes from the contam- inating influence of those of depraved sentiments and vicious pro- 63 pensities and habits, as from those infected with contagious dis- eases. While there can be no doubt that the board have the power to- exclude a child, not for punishment merely, but for the protection, of others from vicious influences that would defeat the object for which the school is organized, yet we are not to forget that hu- manity dictates that we deal gently with erring childhood. Edu- cation seeks to deter from vice, and also to reclaim those who have become vicious through parental neglect or parental example. Re- monstrance and persuasion must be exhausted before suspension from school can be justified. Expulsion from school is justified only by such insubordination on the part of the pupil as to render it impossible to maintain order and discipline v/ithout excluding him. The district board should, however, exercise this power, only after an earnest effort to avoid a resort to it. Teachers are not without infirmities, and their calling sometimes aggravates them; and it is the duty of the board to know that there has been no op- pressive exercise of power Avhich has led to the insubordination that is made the occasion of a punishment so severe. Power must always be tempered b}' benignity, and justice must be administered in the spirit of mercy. In case the board neglects to make and establish rules, as pro- vided for in this section, the teacher is not therefore inhibited from managing and governing the school according to his best judg- ment, nor can any advantage be taken of the fact that his rules have not been consented to by the board. In case of serious in- subordination he should call ujwn the board to sustain his author- ity; and when so called upon, the lx)ard should be careful not to weaken his authority by criticising his conduct before the school. The opinion which has obtained considerable currency in this State, that teachers are not allowed to punish pupils in school, is unfounded. The opinion in question arose from a misunderstand- ing of a recent decision by the supreme court, (Morrow vs. Wood^ 35 Wis., 59.) This decision was to the effect merely that where a parent directs a child not to take a certain study in school the teacher cannot lawfully punish the child for not getting lessons in that study. Section 53.* The board in each school-district shall have power ^Amended by chapter 156, general laws 1868, 64 under the advice of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to de- termine what school and text-books shall be used in the several branches taught in the schools of such district. They shall make out a list of books to be used in each branch of study pursued in such school, and shall file a copy of such list with the district clerk and put up one copy in the school-house of such district; and when said list of books is adopted, it shall not be changed for the term of three years; and any member of a district board in any school-dis- trict in this State, or any member of the board of education of any city or incorporated village of this State, in which a list of text- books has been adopted according to the provisions of this section who shall, within three years from the date of such adoption, order a change of text-books in such district, shall forfeit a sum of fifty dollars. It is unwise in the district board to make sudden and sweeping changes in text-books. Such changes as are necessary to secure uniformity in the school should be made. This is so obvious, and so generally admitted as to need no argument. The board should determine, by resolution, what school and text-books shall be used, and then, after duly recording the resolution, and posting a copy in the school-room, they should see that the books adopted are in- troduced and used. While the power to select books is left by law exclusively in the hands of the district board, it is, nevertheless, proper for them to consult w^ith teachers in regard to the subject. In selecting text-books all works of a controversial or sectarian tendency should be excluded. After a series of books, or any single book, map, or chart, card, etc., has been adopted, no other work on the same subject can be substituted for such series, book, map, etc., within three years, but a new book, on a new subject of study, may be added to the list at any time. The law does not require that the list should be changed eyery three years, but it expressly prohibits changes in text-books until they have been in use three years; and it will be observed that a penalty is now attached to the violation of the law. School officers will find in the annual report of the Sui^erintend- ent of Public Instruction, such recommendations in regard to text- books, as that officer, in the discharge of the duty imposed upon him by statute, has to make. We would here call attention to the law of 1875, chapter 315, which authorizes districts to purchase text-books. The law is printed at the end of this chapter. 65 Sectioi^ 54. It shall be the duty of the district board to visit the school or schools under their care, to examine into the condition of the school and the pro.s^ress of the pupils, to advise and consult with the teacher in reference to methods of instruction, manage- ment, and g-overnment, and to exercise such general supervision°as is necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter. A careful performance of the duty imposed by this section would increase the efficiency of our schools. The members of the district board should visit the school frequently. These visits should be informal, and should be marked by courtesy towards the teacher, and kindness towards the pupils; but classes should be examined, and the management of the school should be carefully observed. An arrangement that will enable the members of the board to visit the school in turn, and that will secure a report in writing from each person visiting it, is very desirable. The board should also invite competent and prudent persons to examine the school, and to report to them in writing the result of such examination. No business can be successfully conducted with- out faithful and intelligent supervision. This obvious rule is es- pecially applicable to educational affairs. BRANCHES TO BE TAUGHT IN SCHOOL. Section 55, Orthography, reading, writing, English grammar, geography and arithmetic shall be taught in every district school, and such other branches as may be determined upon by the district hoard; i^rovided, that no branch of study shall be taught in any other than the English language. The law wisely provides that those branches essential to a good education should be taught in every public school, aud that all branches of study shall be taught in the English language. The district board should avoid the introduction of any branch of study, aside from those required by law, which will tend to prac- tically exclude the foregoing. They should insist upon the school being so conducted as to secure daily instruction and daily practice in reading, spelling, and writing. These branches are often neg- lected, and others such as algebra, Latin, and rhetoric are intro- duced, to the detriment of all the scholars in the school. It is especially necessary that teachers should require their pupils to write in connection with every school exercise, from the primary school to the university. 5 Code. 66 The law contemplates an English school. The object of the public school is to educate children so as to make them good citizens. Its instruction, discipline, and government must be of such a char- acter as to prepare the young to discharge their duties as citizens of a country where the language of the courts, the legislature, and the people is the English language. To secure the requisite ability on the part of the teacher to carry out this provision of the lavf, section 102 provides " that no person shall receive a certificate of any grade who does not write and speak the English language with facilit3^ and correctness." Teachers who speak other than the English language, may be employed, and their knowledge of Ger- man or Norwegian may be of great use in teaching the children of these nationalities, but every teacher must speak, write, and read English before he is legally qualified to teach a public school. INSTRUCTIOlsr liiT FOREIGIsr LANGUAGES. \_Chapter 50, General Laws of 1869.] Section 1. The district board of any school district, or the board of education of any incorporated village or city in this State, may provide for the instruction of the pupils of the common schools in their district, or such as may desire it, in any of the foreign languages, not to exceed one hour each day; 'provided^ the teacher of such school is competent to give such instruction, or a proper instructor for such purpose can be obtained. Section 2. All acts or parts of acts, so far as they are inconsis- tent with this act, are hereby repealed. In consequence of the large and increasing number of persons of foreign birth in this State, a law was enacted at the session of 1869, which provides that one hour in each day may be given to in- struction in foreign languages. The intention of this law is not to encourage, but rather to limit the introduction of other lan- guages than the English into common schools. While it is natural that persons of foreign birth should wish their children to read as well as speak their native tongue, it is the policy of the State to provide that all may learn the common language of the country. The law in question was not intended to afiect instruction in the classical or modern languages when the same form a part of a course of study in high schools. INSTRUCTION IN THE CONSTITUTIONS. [Chapter 14, General Laws of 1871.] Section 1, From very applicant for a teacher's certificate shall be examined in the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the State of Wisconsin, and before receiving a teacher's certificate shall reach a standard of attainment equal to that required in other branches of study. This provision applies to certificates of every grade, whether granted by county superintendents or the State Superintendent. Section 105. Each county superintendent of schools may de- mand an examination in such additional branches as the applicant may be required to teach, and whenever he shall deem it necessary, may require a re-examination of any teacher in his county for the 97 purpose of ascertaining his qualifications to continue as such teacher. Section 106. The county superintendent of each county shall, under the advice and direction of the State Superintendent, estab- lished for his county the standard of attainments in each branch of study which must be reached by each applicant Ijefore receiving a certilicate of either grade, and the standard so established shall be uniform for the county. Section' 107. No school-district clerk shall have power to con- tract with a teacher unless such teacher shall have a certificate of qualification in force at the time of making such contract; and when a district is composed of parts of two or more counties, the clerk of said district shall not have power to contract with a teacher unless such teacher shall have a certificate of qualification signed by the superintendent of the county in which the school-house is situated, and in force at the time of making such contract. Section 108. The county superintendent may annul any cer- tificate given by him or his predecessor in office, when he shall think proper, giving at least ten days previous notice in writing to the teacher holding it, and to the district board of the district in which he may be employed, of his intention to annul the same.* Section 109. The annuling of a certificate shall not disqualify the teacher to whom it is given, until a notice thereof containing the name of the teacher, the time when the certificate was annuled, and the reasons of such annulment, shall l^e filed b}' the county superintendent in the office of the town clerk of the town in which such teacher is engaged in teaching. Section 110. Any person refused a certificate as a teacher by the county superintendent, ma}' apply to the State Superintendent for a re-examination; and if upon such re-examination the State Superintendent shall be satisfied that the applicant is legally quali- fied, he shall issue a certificate which shall have the same force, and entitle the holder to the same privileges, as if he held a certificate from the county superintendent; provided, that any county super- intendent refusing a certificate to an applicant, upon demand, shall give such applicant a written statement of the reasons why he, the said superintendent, refuses to issue such certificate; Avhich state- ment shall in all cases be presented to the State Superintendent by the person requiring a re-examination. An appeal from the action of a county superintendent in re- fusing to grant a certificate, must be conducted according to the rules and regulations of the department governing appeals. As the county superintendent fixes the standard of attainments under the advice of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, no appeal need be taken under the impression that the standard will be low- ered. The forms and rules to be observed by a teacher in taking an appeal will be found under section 122. * See Forms Nos. 53 and 54. 7 Code 98 STATE TEACHERS^ CERTIFICATES. The law authorizing the State Superintendent to "issue State certificates of high grade to teachers of eminent qualifications," (chapter 169, general laws of 1868,) is as follows: Section 1. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction is hereby authorized to grant State certificates to teachers, in the manner hereinafter provided. Se• of the toivn E. F. ) of . Note. — If it is a joint district, the notice must be signed by the supervisors of each town in which any part of the district lies. No. 4. Form of notice for first meeting, to be left at the residence of a voter when absent. ToA. B.: By direction of the supervisors of the town of , you are here- by notified that the first meeting of school-district No: — of , recently formed, will be held at the house of , in said district, on the day of , 18 — , at — o'clock in the noon. Your attendance is requested. (Signed.) G. H. Person appointed to give notice. No. 5. Form of return to be endorsed upon notice received from town supervisors, on the formation of a school-district. I hereby certify that I have notified the following named persons [Rere give the names in full, \ personally, and the following named persons [Here insert names,^ by copy, according to the direction of the within notice. Dated this day of , 18 — . (Signed.) G. H. Person appointed to give notice. 147 No. 6. Form of notice for a meeting of a school-district, is to be delivered by the town su- pervisors, to a taxable inhabitant, in case there is no oiScer to call a meeting. To A. B., a taxable inhabitant of School-District No. — , of ■ . You are hereby directed to notify every qualified voter of ■ School District No. — , of , to attend a meeting thereof, which is here- by appointed to be held at the house of , in said district, on the day of 18 — , at — o'clock in the noon, by reading this notice in the hearing of such voter, or in case of absence from his place of residence, by leaving thereat a written notice of the time and place of such meeting, at least five days before^ the time appointed for such meeting. The following is a description of said district: {Here describe the district as inform No. ^.] (Signed.) A. B. ) Supervisors C. D. \ of the totcn E.F.Jo/ . Note. — If it is a joint district, the notice must be signed by the supervisors of each town in which any part of the district lies. No. 7. Form of acceptance of office by district officers elected at the first meeting after the- formation of a district, to be filed with the district clerk. I hereby signify my acceptance of the office of , of school- district No. — , in the town of , to which I have been elected. Dated this day of , 18 — . (Signed.) • G. H.. No. 8. Form of notice to be given to the district clerk when alteration of the boundaries of a district is contemplated. To C. Z>., clerk of school- district No. — , of town of ; You will take notic that we shall be present at [Here mention the place] on the day of , 18 — , at o'clock in the noon, to hear and decide upon certain proposed alterations of the boundaries of said school-district. Dated this day of , 18. (Signed.) A. B. J Supervisors C. D. [ of the town E.F.Jo/ Note. — In case of a joint district the above notice must be signed by a majority of the supervisors of each town, a part of which is embraced in the district or dis- tricts to be aflfected by the proposed alteration. 148 No. 9. Form of order altering the boundaries of a school-district. It is hereby ordered and determined tliat the [Here describe the territory by sections and parts of sections^ now part of school-dis- trict N*. — •, of the tow]i of , be, and hereby is taken from said school-district, and attached to and make a part of school- district No. — , of said town, for all purposes whatsover. This order will take effect on the day of , 18 — . Given under our hands this day of , 18 — . A. B. ) Supervisors C. D. \ of the toicn E.F.Jo/ . Note 1. — The above order must be iiled T\'ith the town clerk and the district clerk, and in case of a joint district the order must be signed by a majority of the supervisors of each town, a part of which is embraced in the district, and filed with the town clerk of each town, and the district clerk of each district affected by the alteration. Note 2. — The board of each district aflected by the alteration, should indorse their consent on the order, as follows: ^'V'e hereby consent to the alteration made in school-district No. — , of the town of , agreeably to the within order of the town supervisors of said town. G. H., Director, ) Of said school-district E. F., Treasurer, /- No. of the town C. D., Clerk, ) of . Note. — When such consent is not indorsed upon tlie order, it will not take effect until three months from its date. No. 10. Form of order of town suj)ervisors awarding proportion of value of property to new district. To the district clerk of school district No. — of the town of ■; Having formed a new school district. No. — , of the town of - in part [or wholly \ from the territory of your district, we have as- certained and determined the proportion of value of the school- house and other property justly due to such new district from your district, retaining such school-house and other property, to be dollars. You are, therefore, to raise and collect by tax, upon the taxable property of your district, the said sum of dollars, and when collected pay the same to the treasurer of said new dis- trict. Given under our hands this day of , A. D., 18 — : E. F. ] Supervisors C. D. \ of the town A. B.)of . Note — In case of a joint district the above notice must be signed by a majority of the supervisors of each town embraced, in part, in the district. 149 No. 11. Form of notice for annual district meeting. Notice is hereby given to the qualified electors of school-district No. — , of the town of , that the annual meeting of said district for the election of ofiicers and the transaction of other business, will be held at , on the last Monday, being the — day of Sep- tember, {_<))• Augustl at 7 o'clock in the afternoon, [tniless some oth- er hour was determined }(pon hij the district at fJie previous annual meeting.^ Dated this — day of , IS — . C. D., District Clerk. Note. — The above notice must be affixed to tJie outer door of the school-house, if there be one in the district, and must be posted up in at least three other public places, at least six days before the time appointed for the meeting. No. 12. Form of notice for an adjourned district meeting, when such meeting has been ad- journed for a longer period than one month. Notice is hereby given, that a meeting of the qualified electors of school-district No. — , in the town of , will be held at , in said district, on the — day of — , 18 — , at — o'clock in the noon, pursuant to adjournment. Dated this — day of , IS — . C. D.. District Clerk. Note. — The foregoing must be posted the same as for the annual meeting. No. Vi Form of request for clerk to call a special district meeting. To A. B.^ clerk of school-district No. — , of the toum of Sir — You are hereby requested to call a special meeting of the above district on the day of , 18 — , at — o'clock in the noon, for the purpose of, [here state the business to he trans- acted.] (Signed.) A. B. CD. E. F. G. H. I. J. Note. — The above notice must be signed by at least five legal voters. 160 No, 14. Form of notice for special diistrict meeting. Notice is hereby given to the qualified electors of school-district No. — , in the town of , that a special meeting of said district will be held at , on the day of , 18 — , at — o'clock m the noon, for the following objects: [Here partkidarltj specify each item of business to be acted t(poHS\ (Signed.) C. D., District Clerk. Note. — The above must be posted as for an annual meeting, and in case it is in- tended to raise a tax, three-fourths of the legal voters must be personally notified of the meeting, or a copy of the above notice must be left at their places of residence, at least six days befoi'e the time appointed for the meeting. No. 15. Form of notice to town supei'visors of action of a district meeting in reference to the formation of a union district. To the board of supervisors of the town of : At the aimnal meeting held in district No. — , of said town on the day of — • — . A. D. 18 — . the qualified electors then pres- ent voted to unite with district No. — , in forming a union district for high school purposes, and the following are the names of the persons voting upon said proposition: Foe the U^^ion". Agaiis"st the Union. A. B. E. F. C. D. G. H. etc. etc. I hereby certify that the foregoing is a correct copy of the min- utes of the annual meeting, so far as they relate to the matters therein set forth. Dated the day of , 18 — . (Signed.) A. B., District Clerk. Note. — Two thirds of the qualified electors must vote in favor of the formation of a union distrtct, or the action is void; and in case either of the districts so voting is a joint district, and the above notice must be served upon the supervisors of all the towns in which the district is situated. 151 No. 16. Form of order organizing a union high-school district. Notice of the action of districts Nos. and , having been served upon us according to law, it is hereby ordered and deter- mined that, {Here describe the territonj hy sections and parts of sections,^ shall hereafter constitute a union district for high-school purposes, to be known as union district No. — of the town of . Given under our hands this day of , A. D. 18 — . A. B. ) Supervisors C. D. y of the town E. F. ) 0/ . Note. — Wlien the territory of the union district is situated in more than one town a majority of the supervisors of each town must sign the order, and a copy of it must be filed by tlie town clerk of each town in which the district lies. No. 17. Fonn of appointment of first board of union district. By virtue of authority vested in us, jve hereby appoint A. B., director; C. D.. treasurer; and E. F., clerk of union district No. — , of the town of . Given under our hands this day of , 18 — . A, B., ) Supervisors C. D., \ of the town E. F., ) of . No. 18. Form of notice to be given by the clerk of a school-district meeting, to the officers elect who were not present at the meeting. To .• You are hereby notified that a meeting of school-district No. — , in the town of , held on the day of , 18 — , you were duly elected of said district. Dated this day of , 18- (Signed.) C. D., Clerh of said meeting. Note. — This notice is required to be given witliin five days after the meeting, and only to those persons elected to office who were not present at the time. 162 No. 19. Form of refusal to accept district office, to be filed with the clerk of the district. To the cleric of school-district No. — , /« the town of ; Yon are hereby notified of my refusal to accept the offie of to which I was elected at the meeting of said district held on the day of , 18 — . (Signed.) • G. H. Note. — This notice of refusal must be filed Avithin ten days after the election, or the person will be deemed to have accepted the office, and be liable for non-per- formance of duty. No. 20. Form of bond of district treasurer, to be filed with the district clerk. Know all men by these presents, that we, E. F., treasurer of school-district No. — , of the town of , and L. M.. his suret}^ are held and firmly bound unto said school district in the sum of [Jiere insert a sum of double the amount to come into the treasurer's /lands, as near as can be ascertained] to be paid to the said school- district, for the payment of which, well and truly to be made, we bind ourselves, our heirs, executors and administrators, jointly and severally, firmly by these [presents. Sealed with our seals and dated this ■ — day of , A. D., 18 — . The condition of the above obligation is such that if the said E. F., treasurer as aforesaid, shall faithfully discharge the duties of his office as treasurer of said school-district, and shall well and truly pay over to the person or persons entitled therein, upon the proper order therefor, all sums of money which shall come into his hands as treasurer of said district, and shall, at the expiration of his term of office, pay over to his successor in office all moneys remaining in his hands as treasurer aforesaid, and shall deliver to his successor all books and papers appertaining to his said office, then this obli- gation shall be void, otherwise of full force and virtue. Signed, sealed, and delivered in ) presence of R. S. [■ E. F. [seal] G. H. ) L. M. [sealJ Form of ajjproval to be indorsed on the bond of treasurer. We approve of the within bond and surety. (Signed.) G. H., Director. C. C, Clerk. 153 No. 21. Form of notice to treasurer to furnish additional security. To A. B.. treasurer of school district No. — ; Sir — Deeming the security upon your bond insufficient to pro- tect the district against loss, we hereby require 3'ou to furnish a new bond in the sum of $ , with sureties to be approved by us, Avithin ten days of the date hereof. Dated this day of , 18 — , (Signed.) C. D., Director. E. F. Clerk. No. 22. Form of order on treasurer for moneys to be disbursed by school district. To A. B., treasurer of school district Xo. — . in the town of ; Please pay to , the sum of dollars for [Jiere specif ij the object for which tlie money is to he paid.,] out of any money in your hands, not appropriated, belonging to the [here name the fund on which the order is drawn | of said district. Dated this — day of , 18 — . (Signed,) C. D., District Cletk. G.H., Directo): No. 23. Form of certificate to be attached to the proceedings of a district meeting, by the person acting as clerk, in tlie absence of the district clerk. I hereby certify that the foregoing is a correct and complete rec- ord of the proceedings of {tJie annual or special meeting, as the case may be.^ held in school district No. — , of the town of . (Signed.) A. B., Clerk, pro tern. 15i No. 24. Form of contract between district and teacher. It is hereby agreed between school-district No. — of the town of -, and L, M., a qualified teacher of the town of , that the said L. M. is to teach the common school of said district for the term of [Aere insert the time,] for the sum of per month, com- mencing on the day of , 18 — , it being understood and agreed that days' teaching shall constitute a month, and that on Saturday there shall be [insert ""no school taught,''^ or otherwise, as may be agreed,] and for such services, properly rendered, the said district is to pay to the said L. M., the amount that may be due, according to this contract, on or before the dav of , 18—. Dated this day of , 18 — . A. B., Director, C. D., Treasurer^ E. F., Clerk, L. M., Teacher. !NoTE. — In case the teacher is employed in a graded school, the particular depart- ment for which he is engaged may be specified in the contract may read " dol- lars per week," if hired by the week. When the teacher is hired by the month, it is best always to specify in the contra,ct how many days of teaching shall be coasidered a month, and in all cases whether there shall be school on Saturday. Jg@°"The contract must be signed by at least two members of the board. (See sec- tion 42.) Jg@^JBy chapter 39, of general laws of 1876, printed on page 143, of- this cede, it will be seen that 20 days now constitute a teachers' month, unless otherwise specified in the contract. When a teacher is hired at 20 days for a month, there should be no school on Saturday. J6@°'A11 legal holidays count as school-days, for both teacher and district, if they come on a day when school would be taught. H^" Forms 25 and 26, for repons of district clerks, are omitted. 155 • No. 27. Form of school register to be kept by the teacher of each school. Upon the first page or pages of the register should appear the names, and studies of the several pupils, in manner as follows: STUDIES. Names. 1) <, 13 12 9 7 16 18 16 15 10 11 9 17 60 a CD fcb g 6 1 o 3 < r- o 1 S Smith 1 \V Stone T Talbot 1 ; 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 S White E Mace S Tallman W Bright 1 E Thorn W Jack 1 1 1 1 Other studies than those noted may be inserted in the blank columns. Following this will be found the daily register of attendance, in form as follows: -for ihe ' 156 Daily register of school taught in district No. — , of term of months, commencing 181 — , This mark (/) indicates present in the forenoon; this (\) present in the afternoon; this, (X) present all day. AGE. M. X X \ / X X X \ X / X X 10 T. X X \ \ X / x" "x" / X 8)2 w. \ X X x' US- X \ X X z 9 TH. X X X \ Y X \ \ X "/' 8>^ \ X \ \ \ X X s. S . Ero wn S. Smith X W. Stone S- Talbot '\Y, Jones X S. White , K. Mace J. Tallman X X X X 9>2 / W. Bright ^ E. Thorn ^ W. Jack / Attendance 5 Note. — The age of the pupil should be taken when the name is registered, The figures at the bottom of the column show the actual number of days' attendance for that particular day. Each night the teacher should foot tlie column for the daj, placing the number of days' attendance in figures at the bottom. The sum of these numbers for the several days' of the term will give the day's attendance for the term, and the average attendance is found by dividing this sum by the whole number of days the school has been taught. The average attendance for a Aveek or a month is found in the same manner. If, on the other hand, the teacher prefers to mark absences, it may appear thus: (/) indicates absence in the forenoon; (\) absence in the afternoon; (X) indicates absence all day. The record will then appear in the form represented below, and the blanks will be counted instead of marks. 1 M. T. w. TH. r. s. J. Brown \ \ X S. Smith W. Stone / \ \ "i' T. Talbot X \ X J. Jones X W. Jones \ X "x S. White V" x" x" X R. Mace / X J. Tallman • ■ • • / W. Bright \ \ E. Thorn / 9 X \ 4)^ Q'A \ W. Jack / Attendance 10 8)4 5 157 Note. — It is very desirable tliat each district in the State be fully and accurately reported. If one district in a town fails to report this item, the whole town sutlers from this faikire, in comparison with other towns that may be fully reported. That the register be neatly kept, it will be the best for the teacher to use a small blank book, in which may be registered the absences for the day, and then at night the register may be properly tilled and footed . ♦No. 28. Form of a deed of a school-house site. Kuow all men by these present, that A. B. \and C. B. his ivife^ if married.] of the town of , in the county of , in the State of Wisconsin, party of the first part, for and in consideration of the sum of dollars to them in hand paid \>y the district board of "school district No. , of the town of ," county ot , and State aforesaid, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowl- edged, do hereby grant, bargain, sell and convej' to the said school district, party of the second part, and their assigns, the following described piece of land namely: \Jiere insert description of land.] Together with all the privileges and appurtenances thereunto be- longing. To have and to hold the same to the party of the second part, and their assigns forever; and the said party of the first part, for themselves, their heirs, executors and administrators, do cove- nant, bargain, and agree, to and with the said party of the second part, and their assigns, that at the time of the sealing and delivery of these presents, they are well siezed of the premises above con- veyed, as of a good, sure, perfect, absolute, and indefeasible estate of inheritance in the law in fee simple, and that the said lands and premises are free from all incumbrances whatsoever; and that the above bargained premises in the quiet and peacable possession of the said party of the second part, and their assigns, against all and every person or persons lawfull}'' claiming, or to claim, the whole or any part thereof, the said party of the first part will forever warrant and defend. In witness whereof, the said A. B. and C. B., his wife, party of the first part, have hereunto set their hands and seals, this day of ,A. D., 18-. Signed, sealed, and delivered ) A. B. | seal.] in presence of E. F. [ C. B. [seal.] G. H. ) Note. — Such deed should be duly acknowledged ibefore a notary public, justice of the peace, or other officer authorized by law to take such acknowledgment, and recorded in the office of the register of deeds for said county. 158 No. 29. Form of lease. Know all men by these presents, that A. B., of the town of in the county of , in the State of Wisconsin, of the first part, for the consideration herein mentioned, does hereby lease unto " School-district No. — , of the town of ," county of , in the State aforesaid, party of the second part, and their assigns, the following deecribed parcel of land: [Het'e insert description of land.^ Together with all the privileges and appurtenances there- unto belonging: To have and to hold the same for and during the term of years from the day of , A. D. 18 — ; and the said party of the second part for themselves and their assigns, do covenant and agree to pay to said party of the first part, for said premises, the annual rent of dollars. In testimony whereof, the said parties have hereunto set their hands and seals, this day of , 18 — . A. B., Lessor, [seal,] C. D., ) District board of school-district E. F.. [ No. , of the toivn of . G.A.,) No. 30. Form of an appointment to fill a vacancy in the district board. To A. A.—: The office of \clerk^ director, or treasurer^ of school-district No. , of the town of , having become vacant, you are here- by appointed to fill such vacancy until the next annual meeting in said district. Dated this day of , 18 — . (Signed.) G. H., Director. E. F., Treasurer. Note. — It requires two members of the board to make an appointment. If they neglect for ten days to fill the vacancy, it must be done by the town clerk, after the following form: In either case the appointment must be filed with the district clerk. No. 31. To A. B: The office of [clerk.^ director or treasurer, \ of school-district No. 159 — of the town of , having become vacant, and the district board of said district having failed to fill the same within ten days^ 3^011 are hereby appointed to fill such vacancy until the next an- nual meeting of said district. (Signed.) C. D., Toum Clerk. Note. — In case a vacancy in a joint-district is to be filled by the town clerk, the appointment is made by the clerk of the town containing the school-house, but must be endorsed by the other clerks. (See Sec. 50.) No. 32. Form of refusal to accept a district ofEce or appointment. To the district board of school-district No. — , [or the town clerk as- the case may be J of the town of ; You are hereby notified of my refusal to accept the office of of school-district No. — , of said town, to which I was appointed by you on the — day of , A. D. 18 — . Dated this day of , 18 — . (Signed.) G. H. Note. — The notice of refusal must be filed with the clerk or director within five days after the appointment, or the person shall be deemed to have accepted the office, and be liable to a fine for non-performance of duty. No. 33 Form of certificate of town treasurer of moneys in his hands subject to apportion- ment. To the town clerk of the town of ; I hereby' certify that there is now in my hands the sum of $ ,. school moneys, subject to apportionment to the school-districts en- titled thereto. Dated this — day of . 18 — . (Signed.) A. B., Town Treasurer. J^^Form 34, for town clerk's report to county superintendents, is omitted. 160 No. 35. Form of notice to town treasurer of apportiontment of school moneys by the town clerk. To the treasurer oftJietoivn of You are hereby notified that I have apportioned the school moneys now in j^our hands, to the different districts of the town, as follows: To district No. do do..... do do St TodistrictNo. 6 ......do 7 To joint . . do 1 do 2 do 3 Note. — Immediately upon the receipt of the certificate of the treasurer, of the amount in his hands, the clerk shall proceed to apportion it among the several dis- tricts of the town from which reports have been received according to law, and there- upon he will notify the treasurer as above, that he may pay the moneys to the treas- urers of the districts entitled to the same. No. 36. Form of report of town clerk to the county superintendent, of the names and post- oflBce addresses of the district clerks in his town. To the county suijer intend ent of schools of the county of . Sir: — I hereby report to j'^ou the names of the school-district clerks in the town of , and their addresses, as follows: (Signed.) Districts. Name of clerk. Post-office. Tso 1 A. B No o CD do N'o 3 E. F do No 4 G. H do No 5 I. K do No 6 L. M . . do Joir t No. 1 N. do o P. E do 3 S. T do A. W., Town Clerk. Note. — The town clerk must report his own name and post-office to the county superintendent within ten days after his, the said clerk's election or appointment, and the name and office of each district clerk in his town, within ten days after the filing of the same in his office. 161 No. 37. Form of statement of the amount of taxes voted to be raised in a scliool-district, to be delivered by the district clerk to the town clerk. To li. S., Town Clerk of the Town of ; The amount of taxes voted to be raised in school-district No. — , of the town of , at the hxst anm^al meeting of said district, lield on the day of September, 18 — , is [n-y'de the amount in words] dollars; which amount you are requested to assess upon the taxable property therein. The following is a list of the names of the persons and corpora- tions liable to a school-district tax in said district: \Here insert the names of the persons and corporations.] Dated this day of , IS — . (Signed.) C. D., Clei-Ji- of school-dist)-ict No. — , of the town of . Note. — If the district has been lately organized and a tax was voted at the first meeting, as well as the annual meeting, that should be stated; also any tax voted at a special meeting, held between the time of the annual meeting and the first Mon- day of November following. State of Wisconsin, County of , ss. C. D., being duly sworn, on oath says that he is the clerk of school-district No. — , of the towai of , and that the above state- ment by him made of the amount of taxes voted to be raised in said school-district, and the list of persons and corporations liable to a school-district tax therein, are true. (Signed.) C. D. Subscribed and sworn to before me this day of 18 — . (Signed.) J.'P., Justice of the Peace. No. 38. Form of statement of the amount of taxes voted to be raised in a joint district, to be delivered to the clerk of each town in which any part of the district is situated. To B. S., of the town of : The amount of taxes voted to be raised in joint school-district No. — , of the towns of and , at the last annual meeting of said district, held on the day of September, iS — , is [write the amount in ivords] dollars: and the proportion of that amount to be raised in that part of said district, which lies in the town of is \^iv)-ite tJie amount in icords] dollars, w^iich you are requested to as- sess npon the taxable property therein. The following is a list of the names of tlie persons and corpora- 11 Code. 162 tions liable to a school-district tax in that part of the district lying within the town of [here insert the names of the persons and corporations.^ (Signed.) C. D., Clerk of joint school-district No. — , ■ Of the towns of and . Note. — Attach affidavit of the district clerk similar to the one given in form No. 37. No. 39. Form of tax list to_ be made by the district clerk for the collection of a tax voted at a special meeting, held between the first Monday of Novemljer and the time of the annual meeting in the following year: Tax-List. Names of persons. Description of real estate "3 o . ADMISSION— of pupils into other districts 21-32 AFFIDAVIT— of district clerk, to be attached to his annual report 48 to statement of taxes voted 72 must be made to application for dictionaries 169 must accompany appeals 108 ,.109 AGE OF CHILDEEN— entitled to attend school free 136- ALTERATION- of proceedings of district meetings. 21 , 34 ALTERATION OF SCHOOL-DISTRICTS— to be made by town board of supervisors 1,11^14 notice of meetuig of supervisors to consider 11 notice of, to be filed with town clerk and district clerk 11 not to take efiect within three months without consent of district board. . 11 not to take effect between the first day of December and the first day of April following ,.., 11 of joint districts, how made 14 of joint districts, embracing villages 15 of union districts, how made . 39 176 ANNUAL DISTRICT MEETING— when to be held 18 powers of _ 19 ,22 not to be deemed illegal for want of notice 19 notice for, how given 36 ANNUAL EEPOET— of county superintendent 84 ,98 of city superintendents or clerks 53 of town clerk 69 of district clerk 48 ,52 ANNULMENT— of teacher's certificate by county superintendent 97 notice to be filed with town and district clerk 97 APPAEATUS— may be purchased by district board 57 moneys to purchase may be raised by tax 21 ,31 APPEALS— from refusal of county superintendent to grant a certificate may be taken by applicant 97 , 1 12 may be taken by other persons in certain cases 107 decisions of State Superintendent on final 107 decision to be made within thirty days after the hearing thereof is closed , 107 regulations concerning 108 APPENDAGES— board to provide for the school-house 59 APPOINTMENT— to fill vacancy in district board 60 of county superintendent 81 ,82 APPORTIONMENT OF SCHOOL MONEYS— by State Superintendent 136 by town clerk 71 not to be made to districts failing to comply with the law 71 how affected by alteration of districts 72 B. (See county board of supervisors.) (See town board of supervisors.) (See district board.) BOOKS— for register to be furnished by district clerk 53 to be furnished to indigent pupils 61 text-books, to be determined by district board .... ,,...' 63 ,64 text-books may be purchased by district 143 BOEEOWING MONEY— by school-districts 104, 105 BLACKBOARDS— moneys may be voted for 21 , 31 177 CEETIFTCATE— of value of school-honse, etc 13 of town treasurers of numeys to be apportioned 68 of determination to form union district 38 of qualification granted to teachers 84, 91 , 94 three grades established •.••••. ^'^ third grade, what study applicants for, must be examined in. 94 second grade, what study applicants for, must be examined in 95 first grade, what study applicants for, must be examined in 96 may be annulled 97 State teachers provided for 98 State teachers' conditions of 99 of returned taxes , '''5 of judgment against school-district 105, 106 CHALLENGE— of voters 8 CITIES— to be exempt from jurisdiction of county superintendent 93 to make reports to State Superintendent 53 CLERK— (See district clerk, town clerk, and clerk of the board of supervisors.) CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS- to file notice of apportionment of school moneys 144 to transmit copy of notice to county treasurer 144 to lay copy before county board of supervisors 144 to transmit to State Superintendent copies of proceedings of county board relating to raising school-moneys 144 to certify delinquent tax to town clerk 140 to give notice to State Superintendent of vacancy in otTice of county super- intendent 81, 82 COMMON SCHOOLS— to be free to children of certain ages 136 no sectarian instruction to be allowed therein 136 fund for support of 136 to be maintained five months in each year or not share in the fund 71 fund, how distributed 136 , 137 what sliall be taught in 65 government of 63 , 64 exercises in, must be conducted in English language 65, 66 CONSTITUTIONS— to be taught in common schools 67 forms of application for l''^2 CONTRACT— with teacher to be made by district board, 48 to be filed in clerk's office 46 COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS— to levy school-taxes 133 duty when towns fail to levy or collect school-tax 140 may authorize the election of two superintendents in a county 81 to levy tax for salary of county superintendent 93 12 Code. 178 COUNTY SUPEEINTENDENT— when to be chosen 81 terra of office, when to commence 81 two, to be chosen in a county in certain cases 81 may resign office 82 shall take and file oath of office 82 may be removed from office 83 not to act as agent for author, publisher, or bookseller 83 to examine and license teachers 84 to visit schools , 84 to direct district board to repair school-houses 84 to declare school-house unfit for use 84 to annul teacher's certificate 84 to report to county board of supervisors and State Superintendent annually 84,93 to transmit to State Superintendent names and post-offices of town clerks 84 to hold teachers institutes 85 to divide his county into inspection districts 91 to notify district clerks of time and place of meeting for examination of teachers 91 to hold two meetings for examination of teachers in each inspection dis- trict annually 91 may give applicant private examination 91 compensation of 92 salary of, how levied and collected 92 to give county treasurer statement of number of children in his county over 4 and under 20 years of age 93 may annul teachers' certificate 97 to give notice of intention to annul certificate 97 to file notice of annulment with town and district clerk 97 to give person appealing from his refusal to grant a certificate, his reason for such refusal 97 COUNTY TEEASUKEK— to apply to State Treasurer for school-money apportioned by State Su- perintendent 137 to give notice to town and city treasurers 138 how to disjiose of moneys uncalled for 138 D. DEBTS— of school-district, tax may be voted for 21,31 of extinguished district, how paid 16 DECISION- of district meeting, town supervisors, etc., may be appealed from 107 of State Superintendent, to be final 107 DEED— district board may execute 56 DEFICIENCY— in county school-tax may be transferred 139 in tax-levies to be made up 139 DELINQUENT TAXES— to be returned to town clerk by district treasurer 75 town clerk to certify 75, 76 how collected and paid over 76 179 DICTIONARY— Webster's to be furnished to school-districts 169, 171 DIRECTOR— when elected 19^ 24 term of othce 39 to call special district meetings 37 to countersign orders on treasurer 41 to prosecute district treasurer 41 to demand additional security of treasurer 41 to certify judgment against district 106 to prosecute clerk for making false report 114 DISTRICT BOARD— %vho shall constitute it 54 to hire teacher 46 legal meaning of 54 to purchase or lease site for school-house 56 to build school-house 56 to sell school-house or site 56 to have the care of school-house, etc 57 to purchase apparatus, record-books, blanks, etc 57 to provide appendages for school-house 59 to keep school-house in repair 59 to present account of expenses incurred to district meeting 59 to fill any vacancy in their own mmiber 60 may purchase school-books for children whose parents are unable to fur- nish them 61 may make rules for the government of the district-school 61 may suspend or expel pupils 62 have power to adopt text-books 63 to visit and supervise schools 65 to correct tax-list 76 to value real estate 76 DISTRICT CLERK— to include moneys due new districts in statement of tax made to town clerk .' 13 to give notice of district meeting 36 to call special meetings 37 to demand additional security of treasurer 42 to report name and post office of district officers to town clerk 44 to keep a record of proceedings of district meetings and of district board 44 to keep books, papers, etc 44 io deliver books, papers, etc., to his successor 44 to draw orders on district treasurer 45 to make a report to town clerk 48-52 to furnish register for use of teacher 53 to include cost of apparatus, record-books, etc., in tax returned to town clerk 57 to certify district taxes to town clerk 72 to make out tax-list for special tax 75 to annex warrant and deliver list to town treasurer 75 to renew warrant attached to tax-list 76 DISTRICT LIBRARY— tax may be voted for 21-31 to be vested in the district board 100 of adjoining districts may be united 100 to be in charge of librarian 101 regulations concerning 101 180 DISTRICT MEETINGS— first one how notified 3 annual, when held IS annual, notice for, how given 36 special, how called :" 37 to be called by town supervisors in certain cases 3,4 DISTEICT PROPERTY— may be sold 56 board to have the care of 57 how divided on division of distriet 13 DISTRICT TREASURER- when elected 19, 24 term of office 37 to call special district meetings in certain cases 37 to execute and file bond 42 to give additional security when demanded by director and clerk 42 to receive and pay out moneys 42 to keep a book and make a report 43 to hand over to successor, moneys, papers, etc 43 to collect special district tax 74 to deliver to town clerk statement of unpaid taxes 75 to have same powers as town treasurer in collecting tax 75 to prosecute town treasurer 115 DIVISION— of counties 81 of school-districts 13 of property 13 of ioint libraries 101 E. EDUCATION— constitutional provisions in relation to 136 of children mamtained at public charge 142 ELECTION— day, genera] , a holiday 143 of school-officers 19, 31, 39 ELECTORS OF A SCHOOL-DISTRICT— to assemble at first district meeting 4 their powers at annual meeting 19,36 EMBEZZLEMENT— what constitutes 44 punishment for 44 EQUALIZATION OF TAXES— by town board of assessors 77 ESTABLISHMENT— of free-high-schools 127 EXAMINATION OF TEACHERS— meeting for, how notified, and when held 91 private, granted in certain cases 91 181 EXPENDITURES— of district board, how allowed 59 EXPULSION OF SCHOLARS FROM SCHOOL 62 F. FEE— for tuition of non-resident pupils 32 FINES, FORFEITURES, ETC.— for refusal to notify first meeting in new district 113 for refusal to act as chairman of district meeting 113 for refusal of district officer to serve 113 for neglect of duty by district officer 113 for neglect of officer "to deliver records, papers, etc., to his successor 113 imposed on district clerk for making false report 113 for neglect of town clerk to make report to county superintendent 114 for refusal of town supervisors to carry into effect any decision of State Superintendent 114 for neglect of county superintendent to make annual report 114 for neglect of teacher to keej} register 114 district treasurer liable, for paying out money contrary to law, or for purchasing orders for less than the sum expressed in them 115 for drawing order for payment of wages of unqualified teacher 115 for countersigning such order H-^ any elector authorized to prosecute for, in certain cases 115 for disturbing private or public schools 116 FORMATION— of school districts 1 of joint districts 14 of township districts H''' of union and high-school districts 53 FORMS— to be furnished officers 116 of affidavits in appeal cases 109,110 of notice of apptal by teacher H- of order organizing new district 14t> of order organizing joint district _. 145 of notice for first meeting by town supervisors 145 of notice for first meeting to be left at residence of voter 146 of return of notice for first meeting 146 of notice by supervisors for meeting wlien there is no officer to call one . 147 of acceptance of district office 147 of notice of meeting to alter district boundaries 147 of order altering district boundaries 148 of consent to oider of alteration 148 of awarding propert}-^ to new district 148 of notice for annual meeting 149 of notice for adjourned district meeting 149 of request for special district meeting 149 of notice for special district meeting 150 of notice to supervisors of determination to form union district 150 of order organizing union district l''! of appointment of first board of union district 151 of notice to officers of election 151 of refusal to accept district ofiice l-^^ of bond of district treasurer 1 52 of call on treasurer for additional security 153 of order on treasurer 153 182 FOKMS— Continued . of certificate by temporary clerk of correctness of record 154 of contract between district and teacher 155 of taking special statistics 155 of school-register to be kept by teacher 156 of deed of school-house site 157 of lease of school-house site 158 of appointment to vacancy in district board 158 of refusal to accept office on appointment 159 of certificate of town treasurer of money for apportionment 159 of notice of apportionment by town clerk 160 of report of names and post-office address of district clerks 160 of statement by district clerk of tax voted 161 of statement by district clerk of tax voted by joint district 161 of special tax-list 162 of warrant for collection of taxes 163 of return of uifpaid taxes 163 of certificate of unpaid taxes 164 of renewal oi warrant by district clerk 164 of renewal of warrant by town clerk 164 of determination of relative proportion of taxes in joint district 164 of application for location of school-house site 165 of certificate that notice of meeting to locate site has been given 165 of notice for meeting of supervisors to locate school-house site 165 of certificate of location of school-house site 166 of certificate of vacancy in county superintendent's office 166 of notice of division of county, and consequent vacancy 167 of statement of number of school-children in a county 167 of notice of intention to annul teachers, certificate 168 of annulment of teachers certificate and notice to town clerk 168 of application for dictionary 169, 170, 171 of application for constitutions 172 oi call for special town meeting 173 of notice for special town meeting 173 of report of free high school 174 FEEE HIGH SCHOOLS— how established and supported 127 G. GOVEENMENT OF SCHOOLS— rules and regulations for, to be made by district board 62 township system of, provided for 117 H. HOLIDAYS— what days are legal 51 I. INCOME OF SCHOOL-FUND— to what shall be applied . 136 how to be distributed 1 36 when to be apportioned 136 to be applied to payment of teachers' wages 71 county treasurer to apply for 137 INSTITUTES— teachers', to be lield by each county superintendent 85, 90 183 J. JOINT DISTRICT— liow formed 14 JUDGMENTS— against school-districts, how collected 105 no execution to issue on 105 JUSTICE OF THE PEACE— to have jurisdiction in certain cases 105 to certify judgment 106 L. LEASE— district board may lease bouse or site 56 LIABILITIES- tax may be voted to discharge 21 , 31 LIBRAEIAN— of district librarj-, who may be 100 of joint libraries, how appointed 100 his duties , 101, 102 LIBRARY— of district, amount of tax for 21, 32 title to be vested in district board 100 of two or more adjoining districts may be united 100 regulations concerning 101, 102 town, law for establishing 103 LOAN— district may make, to build house 104 M. MAP— town clerk to make and keep in liis office 70 to accompany appeals 108 MAPS— moneys to purchase, may be raised by tax 21 , 31 MISDEMEANOR— town clerk guilty of, for neglect to assess taxes 140, 141 district clerk guilty of, if he makes a false report 113 district treasurer guilty of, for purchasing orders for less than the sum ex- pressed in them 115 MONEYS— not to be apportioned to towns failing to raise amount required by law. . 138 due new districts, how raised 13 to be paid to individuals in certain cases 13 ot extinguished districts, how disposed of 16 may be voted by school-districts 21, 32 collected of defaulting treasurer, how applied 41 not to be apportioned to districts which have not maintained school five months 71 not called for in one year, to be re-apportioned 72 collected from town clerk and county superintendent, how apportioned . 114 184 MONTH— number of days in 71 teacher's 143 N. JS^OTICE— of apportionment to be given to clerk of board of supervisors by State Su- perintendent 137 for first meeting of school-district 3 in case of neglect of inhabitants to assemble 4 for meeting of supervisors to alter school-district 11 of alteration of school-districts 11 of alteration of joint school-districts 14 of annual district meeting 36 for special district meeting 37 for meeting of supervisors to locate school-house site 78 for teachers' examination 91 0. OATH— administered to challenged voter 8 of office by county superintendent. 82 OFFICEES— of school-districts , 39 women eligible to 39 OEDEES— director to countersign 41 treasurer to pay money on 42 clerk to draw 45 P. PENALTIES— (See " fines and forfeitures." ) PEOPEETY— of district to be in care of board 57 division of, when new district is formed 13 personal, assessment of 73 PEOSECDTION— of actions against school -officers 113-115 PUPILS— may be suspended or expelled 62 , Q- i^UALIFICATIONS- of voters 6,7 of teachers, how determined 94-96 185 R. EEAL ESTATE- districts may hold 5 taxes on, how assessed and collected 73, 74 valuation of, how equalized in joint districts 77 EECOEDS— of school-district to be kept by clerk 44 to be delivered to successor 44 REGISTER— to be furnished teacher by district clerk 53 what to contain, etc 53 neglect to keep, forfeits wages 114 REGULATIONS AND RULES— prescribed by State Superintendent for libraries 101 district board to make 61 concerning libraries 101 relating to appeals 108, 109, 110 REMOVAL— of county superintendent from office 83 of district officers by county judge 113 of town clerk by town supervisors 114 REPAIRS OF SCHOOL-HOUSES— tax for, to be voted 19, 26 district board to attend to, 59 county superintendent to direct 84 REPORT— of district treasurer 43 of district clerk 48 of clerk of joint-district 52 of town clerk 69' of county superintendent 84 of city superintendent or clerk 53 RESIDENCE— of voter, how determined 9 of children S3, 5(i s. SALARY— of county superintendent 95 SCHOLARS— age of, to attend school free 136 may be admitted from other districts 21 , 32 may be suspended or expelled , 62 residence of 33 , 50 SCHOOI^BOOKS— State Superintendent to recommend 64 kind of, used to be reported 49 district board may purchase for indigent pupils 61 board may determine what kinds shall be used 63 , 64 districts, etc., may purchase 143- 186 SCHOOL-DISTEICTS- how formed 1 size of 1)11 notice ^r first meeting of 3 when to be considered organized 4 officers of _ 39 officers of, to file written acceptance of office 4 to be bodies corporate 5 contracts with 5 quaUfication of voters in 6 alteration of 1, 11/14 alteration of, not to take effect for three months in certain case 11 not to be changed between 1st day of December and 1st day of April following 11 joint, how formed Id- officers of 19, 39 powers of 19, 36 extinguishment of. 16 annual meetings of, when held 18 proceedings at annual meeting of. 19 notice for annual meeting of, how given 36 union, how formed 38 may borrow money 104 judgment against, "how collected 106 SCHOOL-HOUSES— site of, how designated and established 19, 25, 78 tax to build, how limited 25, 26 may be sold : 57 district board to have the care of 57 district board to provide appendages for 59 district board to repair 84 repairs on may be ordered by county superintendent 84 may be declared unfit for use 84 SECTAKIAN INSTRUCTION— not allowed in district schools 136- SITE OF SCHOOL-HOQSE- how designated 19, 25 how established in certain cases 78 Avhat lands may not be taken for 79! SCHOOL-FUND— how applied 136 SCHOOL-FUND INCOME— distribution of 136, 137 SPECIAL DISTRICT MEETING— notice for, how given , 36 how called 36, 37 tax voted at, how collected 74 STATE CERTIFICATES- provided for 98 limited 98 STATE SUPERINTENDENT- to certify apportionment of school-fund income 137 not to apportion moneys in certain cases 138 to decide appeals 107 to furnish school-officers with blanks for their annual reports 116 to furnish amendments to school-law to districts 116 187 STOCK— of merchants and manufacturers, where assessed 74 STUDIES— to be taught in school 65 , 66 , 67 in which applicants for certificates are to be examined 94, 97 SUIT— district to give direction for prosecution or defense of 21, 34 aginst district, director to defend 41 justice of peace to have jurisdiction of 105 SUPERVISORS— (See town board of supervisors, and county board of supervisors.) T. TAXES— to be raised by towns and cities for support of schools 138 to raise money due new districts, how assessed 13 for school-house and site, limitation of 19, 20, 25, 26 for payment of teachers' wages 20, 29 to pay district indebtedness 20, 31 for the purchase of maps, charts, and apparatus 21, 31 for district libran' T 21, 32 not to be voted at special meeting unless three-fourths of the legal voters are notified at the meeting 37 general district, how assessed and collected 72, 73, 79 special district, how collected 74, 75 paid by tenant may be collected of owner of land 76 school-district, on what property to be assessed 78 to pay judgment against district, how assessed and collected 100 when enjoined, how collected. , 137 TEACHERS— tax for wages of limited 20, 29 to keep register 53 to report to district hoard and county superintendent 54 to be examined and licensed 94 to forfeit wages for neglect to keep register 114 TEACHERS' INSTITUTES— to be held by county superintendent 85, 90 TEXT-BOOKS— district board to select 63 to make list of, file it with the clerk, and post it in the school-room 64 list of, adopted not to be changed for three years. . . 64 penalty for changing the list of, adopted 64 TOWNS— required to raise a certain amount of tax annually for support of schools. 138 may raise additional amount 77 TOWN BOARD OF SUPERVISORS— to form and alter school-districts 1, 11, 14 to issue notice for first meeting of 3 to call meeting in district having no officers to call same 4 to ascertain and determine the amount of property due new district 13 to dispose ot property of extinguished districts 16 to form union school-district 38 to locate and establish school-house sites 78 may vacate office of town clerk, and fill vacancy 114 to be fined for refusal to carry into effect any decision of State Superin- tendent 114 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 188 019 748 539 5 TOWN CLERK— to assess delinquent school-tax 140 to be guilty of misdemeanor for not assessing school-tax 140 to fill vacancy in district board 60 to make a report to county superintendent 69 to see that district clerks make correct reports 70 to file reports and papers 70 to record description of school-districts 70 to make a map of town 70 to report name and post-office of himself and of district clerks to county superintendent 70 to apportion school-moneys 70, 71 to re-api5ortion moneys not called for in a year 72 to give district clerk statement of valuation of property 73 to assess district taxes ^ 75 ' to give certificate of unpaid tax to town treasurer 75, 76 to enter unpaid tax in next assessment roll 76 to asses tax te pay judgment against school-district 106 may be removed from office by suj)ervisors 114 TOWN TEEASUKEE— to receive and pay out school-money 42, 60 to certify to town clerk amount of school-moneys in his hands 68 to certify amounts paid by him to districts previous year 69 to set apart funds to pay district taxes 74 to prosecute county treasurer 115 Y. VACANCY— in district board, how filled 60 how may occur 60 in office'of county superintendent to be notified to State Superintendent by clerk of board of supervisors 82, S3 to be filled by State Superintendent 82, 83 TRANSFER— of deficiency in county school-tax 130 VALUATION— of property in joint districts, to be equalized by town assessors 77 VOTERS— who may be 6, 7 w. W^^GES OF TEACHERS— tax voted to pay 20, 29 to be specified in contract 42 public money to be applied in payment of 71 when forfeited ■• 114 WARRANT— clerk to issue, for collection of special tax 75 treasurer to execute 75 may renew "76 WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY— forms of application for 169 WOMEN— eligible as school-officejs • • • 169 ti^ \ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 019 748 539 5