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Educational Publication No. 80 Division of Publication No. 16 
 
 NEW SCHOOL LEGISLATION 
 
 ENACTED BY THE 
 
 GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 EXTRA SESSION 1924 
 
 published by the 
 
 State Superintendent of Public Instruction 
 
 Raleigh, N. C. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Condemnation of school sites in Special Charter Districts (Section 1) 3 
 
 Condemnation of school sites (the amended section, complete) 4 
 
 County-wide Plan amended (section 73-a) (section 2) 3 
 
 Section 73-a, as amended (complete) 5 
 
 Bond law amended (section 3) 3 
 
 Bond law amended (bonds in special charter districts) (sections 4, 5) 4 
 
 Amended sections of the bond law (complete) 7 
 
 Treasurer's commission on State loan funds and bond issues (section 6).... 4 
 
 Section 3910 of the Consolidated Statutes, as amended (complete) 8 
 
 School building bonds without a vote of the people (section 1) 9 
 
 Vocational Rehabilitation work continued (section 1) 9 
 
 An act for the appointment of an Educational Finance Commission 10 
 
 Personel of the Educational Finance Commission 11 
 
 Districts formed from two or more counties (section 232, amended) 11 
 
NEW SCHOOL LEGISLATION 
 
 ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY 
 IN EXTRAORDINARY SESSION, 1924 
 
 AN ACT TO AMEND CERTAIN SECTIONS OF CHAPTER ONE HUN- 
 DRED AND THIRTY-SIX, PUBLIC LAWS OF ONE THOUSAND NINE 
 HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THREE, AND SECTION THREE THOUS- 
 AND NINE HUNDRED AND TEN OF THE CONSOLIDATED STAT- 
 UTES (H. B. 179, S. B. 353). 
 
 The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact: 
 
 Section 1. That section sixty-one of chapter one hundred and thirty-six, 
 Public Laws of one thousand nine hundred and twenty-three, be amended by 
 inserting in line two thereof after the word "education" and before the word 
 "may" the words, "or board of trustees of any special charter district"; and 
 that said section be further amended by substituting the words "any such 
 board" in lieu of the word "the" in line four between the words "whenever" 
 and "board," and that said section be further amended by inserting between 
 line seventeen and line eighteen the words "or, if a charter district, upon the 
 treasurer of such charter district." 
 
 Sec 2. That section seventy-three (a) of said chapter one hundred and 
 thirty-six be and is hereby amended by adding at the end of sub-section two 
 of said section seventy-three (a) the words: "The meeting required to be 
 held before the adoption of the county-wide plan shall be called, and the 
 notification required to be given of a contemplated modification or change of 
 an adopted plan shall be given, by publication once, at least ten days before 
 the meeting or the hearing, in a newspaper published at the county seat, of a 
 notice addressed to those affected thereby, giving the hour and day and place 
 of the meeting or the hearing and the purpose thereof, and by the mailing to 
 or serving of like notices upon all committeemen and trustees. 
 
 If no newspaper be published in the county seat, such notice shall be posted 
 at the courthouse door and at a public place in each township in the county 
 ten days prior to such meeting. 
 
 No adoption or amendment of such plan shall be held invalid or ineffectual 
 because of any failure to comply with the requirement hereof as to the mail- 
 ing or service of notice. 
 
 Sec. 3. That section two hundred and fifty-seven of said chapter one hun- 
 dred and thirty-six be and is hereby amended by adding at the end of said 
 section the words: "The notice of election shall set forth the boundaries of 
 the district, unless the district is coterminous with a county, city, town, or 
 township, or is coterminous with a county or township except that it does 
 not include a city, town, or township, in such county or township, and the 
 notice shall set forth either the amount or the maximum amount of bonds 
 proposed to be issued." 
 
 3 
 
Sec. 4. That section two hundred and sixty-three of said chapter one hun- 
 dred and thirty-six be and is hereby amended by changing the period at the 
 end of subsection (a) thereof to a comma, and by adding the words, "and 
 said bonds shall be sold by the principal governing body of such city or town, 
 and signed and sealed as may be directed by the principal governing body, 
 and the proceeds derived from the sale of such bonds shall be turned over to 
 the custodian of funds of such special charter district, who shall receive no 
 commission for the handling of such proceeds. 
 
 Sec. 5. That said section two hundred and sixty-three of said chapter one 
 hundred and thirty-six be and is hereby further amended by striking out all 
 of subsection (b) of said section two hundred and sixty-three, and by insert- 
 ing in lieu thereof the following: 
 
 "Subsection (b). In the case of all special charter districts not described 
 in subsection (a) of this section the petition for the election shall be made 
 by the Board of Trustees to the Board of County Commissioners, which Board 
 shall call, hold, and determine the result of the election as provided in this 
 article, and the bonds shall be sold and issued by the Board of Trustees in the 
 name of the district and shall be signed and sealed as may be provided by 
 said Board of Trustees, and the proceeds derived from the sale of such bonds 
 shall be turned over to the custodian of funds of such special charter district, 
 who shall receive no commission for the handling of such proceeds: Provided, 
 however, that in districts of the kind described in this subsection, in which 
 special school taxes are now levied by the principal governing body of a city 
 or town situated within the district, the powers and duties conferred by this 
 article on Boards of County Commissioners shall be exercised and performed 
 by said principal governing body: Provided further, that in districts of the 
 kind described in the subsection which lie in two or more counties', no peti- 
 tion shall be necessary, and the Board of Trustees of the district shall call, 
 hold and determine the result of the election. 
 
 Sec. 6. That section three thousand nine hundred and ten of the Consoli- 
 dated Statutes be amended by inserting in line thirteen, after the word "fund" 
 and before the word "for," the words, "the special building fund, nor from 
 funds derived from county or district bond issues." 
 
 Sec. 7. That all laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this act are 
 hereby repealed. 
 
 Sec. 8. This act shall be in full force and effect from and after its ratifi- 
 cation. 
 
 Ratified this the 23d day of August, 1924. 
 
 CONDEMNATION OF SCHOOL SITES (Section 61 as amended*) 
 
 Sec. 61. How to secure suitable sites. The county board of education or 
 board of trustees of any special charter district may receive by gift or by pur- 
 chase suitable sites for schoolhouses or other school buildings. But when- 
 ever any such board is unable to obtain a suitable site for a school or school 
 building by gift or purchase, the board shall report to the county superintend- 
 ent of public instruction, who shall, upon five days notice to the owner or 
 
 *Amendments are printed in italics. 
 
owners of the land, apply to the Clerk of the Superior Court of the county in 
 which the land is situated for the appointment of three appraisers, who shall 
 lay off by metes and bounds not more than ten acres, and shall assess the 
 value thereof. They shall make a written report of their proceedings, to be 
 signed by them, or by a majority of them, to the clerk within five days of 
 their appointment, who shall enter the same upon, the records of the court. 
 The appraisers and officers shall serve without compensation. If the report 
 is confirmed by the clerk, the chairman and the secretary of the board shall 
 issue an order on the treasurer of the county school fund, or, if a charter 
 district, upon the treasurer of such charter district, in favor of the owner of 
 the land thus laid off, and upon the payment, or offer of payment, of this 
 order, the title to such land shall vest in fee simple in the corporation. Any 
 person aggrieved by the action of the appraisers may appeal to the Superior 
 Court in term, upon giving bond to secure the board against such costs as 
 may be incurred on account of the appeal not being prosecuted with effect. If 
 the lands sought to be condemned hereunder, or any part of said lands, shall 
 be owned by a nonresident of the State, before the clerk shall appoint apprais- 
 ers therefor, notice to such nonresident owners shall be given of such pro- 
 ceedings to condemn, by publication for thirty days in some newspaper pub- 
 lished in the county, and if no newspaper is published in the county, then by 
 posting such notice at the courthouse door and three other public places in 
 the county for the period of thirty days. 
 
 C. S., 5416 ; 1923, c. 136, s. 61 ; Extra Session 1924, H. B. 179, S. B. 353, s. 1. 
 
 THE COUNTY- WIDE PLAN (Section 73-a as amended) 
 
 Sec. 73-a. County-wide plan of organization. The county board of educa- 
 tion shall create no new district nor shall it divide or abolish a district, nor 
 shall it consolidate districts or parts of districts, except in accordance with a 
 county-wide plan of organization as follows: 
 
 1. The county board of education shall present a diagram or map of the 
 county showing the present location of each district, the position of each, the 
 location of roads, streams and other natural barriers, the number of children 
 in each district, the size and condition of each school building in each dis- 
 trict. The county board of education shall then prepare a county-wide plan 
 for the organization of all the schools of the county. This plan shall indicate 
 the proposed changes to be made and how districts or parts of districts are 
 proposed to be consolidated so as to work out a more advantageous school 
 system for the entire county. 
 
 2. Before adopting the county-wide plan, the county board of education 
 shall call a meeting of all the school committeemen and the boards of trustees 
 and lay the proposed plan before them for their advice and suggestions. After 
 receiving the advice of the committeemen and trustees, the county board of 
 education shall have authority to adopt a county-wide plan of organization, 
 and no districts or parts of any district, including non-local tax, local tax, and 
 special charter districts hereafter referred to in this article, shall be consoli- 
 dated or the boundary lines changed, unless the consolidation or the change 
 of boundary lines is in accordance with the adopted county-wide plan of 
 organization: Provided, that in the event the county board of education deems 
 
it wise to modify or change the adopted plan, the board shall notify the com- 
 mitteemen and interested patrons and give them a hearing if they desire to 
 be heard before any changes shall be made. 
 
 The meeting required to be held before the adoption of the county-wide plan 
 shall be called, and the notification required to be given of a contemplated 
 modification or change of an adopted plan shall be given, by publication once, 
 at least ten days before the meeting or the hearing, in a newspaper published 
 at the county seat, of a notice addressed to those affected therby, giving the 
 hour and day and place of the meeting or the hearing and the purpose thereof, 
 and by the mailing to or serving of like notices upon all committeemen and 
 trustees. 
 
 If no newspaper be published in the- county seat, such notice shall be posted 
 at the courthouse door and at a public place in each township in the county 
 ten days prior to such meeting. 
 
 No adoption or amendment of such plan shall be held invalid or ineffectual 
 because of any failure to comply with the requirement hereof as to the mail- 
 ing or service of notice. 
 
 3. The county board of education shall have authority to execute the en- 
 tire plan or any part of the same, but the county board of education shall 
 have no authority to create a debt for the execution of any part of the pro- 
 posed plan, unless authorized by law, and if the amount necessary to put into 
 operation all or any part of said plan shall be greater than the amount that 
 may be reasonably expected from the Operating and Equipment Fund for this 
 purpose, the amount shall be guaranteed by the districts affected by the exe- 
 cution of the plan, or if the districts do not guarantee the funds the county 
 board of education shall lay the proposed plan before the county commis- 
 sioners, together with the estimated amount necessary to put the same into 
 operation, and if the amount necessary to carry out all or any part of the 
 proposed plan shall be approved by the county commissioners, the county 
 board of education shall then have the authority to organize the districts in 
 accordance with the county-wide plan. 
 
 4. When the proposed county-wide plan is adopted the county board shall 
 notify the committeemen and boards of trustees as to what part of the plan 
 the board proposes to carry out first and in what order the other parts of the 
 plan will be considered, and the preference shall be given to those districts in 
 which the needs are greatest if the funds for providing the equipment are 
 made available. 
 
 5. In the event that any child or children of any district or any part of a 
 district are without adequate school advantages and these advantages may be 
 improved by transferring said child or children to a school or schools in ad- 
 joining districts, the county board shall have authority to make such a trans- 
 fer. But this shall not empower the county board of education to abolish or 
 divide a district unless such act shall be in harmony with the county-wide 
 plan of organization. The temporary transfer of such child or children may 
 be made until such time as the county-wide plan will provide more advantage- 
 ously for them. 
 
 1923, _c. 136, s. 73-a; Extra Session 1924, H. B. 179, S. B. 353, s. 2. 
 
BOND ELECTIONS (Section 257 as amended) 
 
 Sec. 257. Elections; how called. Whenever the county board of education 
 shall so petition, the board of county commissioners of any county shall order 
 a special election to be held in any county or special school-taxing district, or 
 in any local-tax district within which a union school is maintained, for the 
 purpose of voting upon the question of issuing bonds and levying a sufficient 
 tax for the payment thereof for the purpose of acquiring, erecting, enlarging, 
 altering and equipping school buildings and purchasing sites in such county 
 or district, or for any one or more of said purposes. Said election shall be 
 called and held under the same rules and regulations as provided in this act 
 for "Local Tax Elections for Schools" (Article 17.) The ballots to be used in 
 said election shall have written or printed thereon the words "For the issu- 
 ance of $ school bonds and the levying of a tax for the payment 
 
 thereof," and "Against issuance of $ school bonds and the levying 
 
 of a tax for the payment thereof." The notice of election shall set forth the 
 boundaries of the district, unless the district is coterminous with a county, 
 city, toicn, or township, or is coterminous icith a county or township except 
 that it does not include a city, town, or township, in such county or township, 
 and the notice shall set forth either the amount or the maximum amount of 
 bonds proposed to be issued. 
 
 1923, c. 136, s. 257 ; Extra Session 1924, H. B. 179, S. B. 353, s. 3. 
 
 BOND ELECTIONS IN CITIES (Section 263 as amended) 
 
 Sec. 263. Bonds in special charter districts. Elections may be held in 
 special charter districts and bonds issued and taxes levied to pay the same 
 in the manner provided by the previous sections of this article, except as 
 otherwise provided in this section. 
 
 Subsection (a). In the case of every special charter district coterminous 
 with an incorporated city or town having authority by virtue of its charter, 
 or other special or local laws, to maintain a system of schools, the petition for 
 the election shall be made to the principal governing body of each city or 
 town by the board of trustees, unless said board is the principal governing 
 body of said city or town, in which case no petition shall be necessary. But 
 said principal governing body may, in its discretion, grant or refuse said 
 petition. In every special charter district of the kind described in this sub- 
 section, all powers and duties conferred or imposed by this article on boards 
 of county commissioners shall be exercised and performed by the principal 
 governing body of said city or town with which the district is coterminous, 
 and the bonds shall be issued in the corporate name of each city or town, and 
 said bonds shall be sold by the principal governing body of such city or town, 
 and signed and sealed as may be directed by the principal governing body, 
 and the proceeds derived from the sale of such bonds shall be turned over to 
 the custodian of funds of such special charter district, who shall receive no 
 commission for the handling of such proceeds. 
 
 Subsection (b). In the case of all special charter districts not described 
 in subsection (a) of this section the petition for the election shall be made by 
 the board of trustees to the board of county commissioners, which board 
 shall call, hold and determine the result of the election as provided in this 
 
article, and the bonds shall be sold and issued by the board of trustees in the 
 name of the district and shall be signed and sealed as may b& provided by 
 said board of trustees, and the proceeds derived from the sale of such bonds 
 shall be turned over to the custodian of funds of such special charter district, 
 who shall receive, no commission for the handling of such proceeds: Pro- 
 vided, however, that in districts of the kind described in this subsection, in 
 which special school taxes are now levied by the principal governing body of 
 a city or town situated within the district, the powers and duties conferred by 
 this article, on boards of county commissioners shall be exercised and per- 
 formed by said principal governing body: Provided further, that in districts 
 of the kind described in the subsection which lie in Uvo or more counties, no 
 petition shall be necessary, and the board of trustees of the district shall call, 
 hold and determine the result of the election. 
 
 1923, c. 136, s. 263 ; Extra Session 1924 ; H. B. 179, S. B. 353, ss. 4, 5. 
 
 TREASURER'S COMMISSION (Section 3910, C. S. as amended) 
 
 3910. County treasurer. The county treasurer shall receive as compen- 
 sation in full for all services required of him such a sum not exceeding one- 
 half of one percent on moneys received and not exceeding two and a half 
 percent on moneys disbursed by him, as the board of commissioners of the 
 county may allow. As treasurer of the county school fund he shall receive 
 such sum as the board of education may allow him, not exceeding two per- 
 cent on disbursements; and the said commissions shall be paid only upon the 
 order of the county board of education, signed by the chairman and secretary, 
 and the county board of education is hereby forbidden to sign any such order 
 until the treasurer shall have made all reports and kept all such accounts 
 required by law in the form and manner prescribed: Provided, that said 
 treasurer shall be allowed no commission or compensation for receipts and 
 disbursements of any loan or loans made to the county by the state board of 
 education out of the state literary fund, the special building fund, nor from 
 funds derived from county or district bond issues, for the building of school 
 houses: Provided, that in counties where the treasurer's total compensation 
 cannot exceed two hundred and fifty dollars per annum the treasurer may be 
 allowed, in the discretion of the board of county commissioners and the board 
 of education, as to the school fund, a sum not exceeding two and one-half 
 percent on his disbursements of all funds handled by him; but the compensa- 
 tion allowed by virtue of the provisions of this last proviso shall not be 
 operative to give a total compensation in excess of two hundred and fifty 
 dollars per annum to such treasurers. 
 
 C. S. 3910; Rev., s. 2778; Code, s. 770; 1899, c. 233; 1909, c. 577; 1913, c. 144; 1919, c. 
 254. s. 9 ; Extra Session 1924, H. B. 179, S. B. 353, s. 6. 
 
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SIX, 
 ARTICLE TWENTY-THREE, PUBLIC LAWS OF NINETEEN HUN- 
 DRED AND TWENTY-THREE (H. B. 524, S. B. 321). 
 
 The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact: 
 
 Section 1. That after section two hundred and seventy, article twenty- 
 three, chapter one hundred and thirty-six, Public Laws nineteen hundred and 
 twenty-three, be added section two hundred and seventy-one, as follows: 
 
 That whenever the county board of education of any county shall petition 
 the county commissioners of said county that it is necessary in order to pro- 
 vide a building or buildings to carry on a six months school in their county, 
 and the location and plans for such building or buildings as proposed has been 
 approved by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the county com- 
 missioners may, in their discretion, without submitting the issue to a vote of 
 the people, borrow such sum of money as may in their judgment be necessary 
 to erect or repair such building or buildings, and the commissioners are em- 
 powered and authorized to issue serial notes of the county or serial bonds of 
 the county, as provided for in section two hundred and sixty-six and section two 
 hundred and sixty-seven, article twenty-three, chapter one hundred and thirty- 
 six, Public Laws of nineteen hundred and twenty-three: Provided, this act 
 shall not apply to the following counties: Alamance, Alexander, Alleghany, 
 Anson, Ashe, Avery, Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Buncombe, Burke, Ca- 
 barrus, Camden, Carteret, Caswell, Catawba, Chatham, Cherokee, Chowan, 
 Clay, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Davidson, Davie, Duplin, 
 Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Gaston, Gates, Graham, Granville, Greene, 
 Guilford, Halifax, Harnett, Haywood, Henderson, Hertford, Hoke, Hyde, Ire- 
 dell, Jackson, Johnston, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, Martin, 
 McDowell, Mecklenburg, Mitchell, Montgomery, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, 
 Northampton, Onslow, Orange, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, 
 Person, Pitt, Polk, Randolph, Richmond, Roberson, Rockingham, Rowan, 
 Rutherford, Sampson, Scotland, Stanly, Stokes, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, 
 Tyrrell, Union, Vance, Wake, Warren, Washington, Watauga, Wayne, Wilkes, 
 Wilson, Yadkin, Yancey. 
 
 Sec. 2. This act shall be in force from and after its ratification. 
 
 Ratified this the 23d day of August, 1924. 
 
 Caldwell, Cleveland, and Forsyth are the only counties not exempted 
 from the provisions of the above act. 
 
 AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE STATE BOARD FOR VOCATIONAL 
 EDUCATION TO CONTINUE ITS WORK IN VOCATIONAL REHABIL- 
 ITATION (H. B. 28, S. B. 60). 
 
 Whereas, section 317, chapter 136, Public Laws of 1923, makes an appropria- 
 tion out of the public school fund for vocational rehabilitation contingent 
 upon an appropriation from the Federal Government of a like amount; and 
 
 Whereas, the Sixty-eighth Federal Congress in its first session passed an 
 act authorizing the continuance of vocational rehabilitation; and 
 
 Whereas the general deficiency appropriation bill, containing the appro- 
 priation for this work failed to pass in the said session of the Federal 
 Congress: Therefore, 
 
 9 
 
The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact: 
 
 Section 1. That the State Board for Vocational Education is hereby 
 authorized to continue its work in the division of vocational rehabilitation 
 from the contingent funds heretofore appropriated out of the public school 
 fund for this purpose: Provided, this work shall not be continued beyond 
 March 4, 1925, unless the appropriation from the Federal Government is 
 made available prior to said date; and, Provided further, that the State 
 Board for Vocational Education may not exceed the amount set aside from 
 State funds for this purpose. 
 
 Sec. 2. That this act shall be in full force and effect from and after its 
 ratification. 
 
 Ratified this the 14th day of August, 1924. 
 
 AN ACT FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF AN EDUCATIONAL FINANCE 
 COMMISSION (H. B. 29, S. B. 47). 
 
 The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact: 
 
 Section 1. That an educational finance commission, consisting of seven 
 members, composed of four members, one of whom shall be a land-owning 
 farmer, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House and three, one of 
 whom shall be a land-owning farmer, to be appointed by the President of 
 the Senate, is hereby created, which commission shall assemble in the city 
 of Raleigh at the call of the Governor and organize by electing one of their 
 number chairman and another secretary. It shall be the duty of this com- 
 mission to study the methods of financing public education in North Caro- 
 lina at this time and to suggest to the next session of the General Assembly 
 ways and means whereby the cost of education may be more equitably dis- 
 tributed, to the end that the efficiency of the public school system in North 
 Carolina may be increased. 
 
 Sec. 2. The said commission shall have authority to call to their assis- 
 tance any public officer of the State, except the Governor, and any public 
 officer of any county of the State, and any citizen of the State who may 
 have appropriate information. The said commission has the further au- 
 thority to cause to be displayed before them all official records bearing on 
 public education in any department of State, and the official school records 
 of any county or city in the State of North Carolina, or any other official 
 information relating to public education that may be in the possession of 
 any public official. 
 
 Sec. 3. The said commission is hereby further authorized, if it deem wise, 
 to study the methods of financing public education in other States either 
 by visiting other States or calling to its assistance citizens of other States, 
 at such compensation as may be determined by the commission: Provided, 
 that the entire cost of this part of the commission's investigation shall not 
 exceed one thousand and five hundred dollars ($1,500.00). 
 
 Sec. 4. The said commission shall make a report of its findings and rec- 
 ommendations to the General Assembly of one thousand nine hundred and 
 twenty-five five days after the convening thereof. The report shall be 
 printed and distributed to all State officials and to all county and city school 
 officials within the State of North Carolina. Said commission is hereby 
 
 10 
 
authorized to have all printing necessary for carrying out the purpose of 
 this act done by the public printer as all public printing is done. 
 
 Sec. 5. Said commission is authorized to employ such clerical assistance 
 as may be needed and fix the compensation, and the action of the commis- 
 sion shall be conclusive. 
 
 Sec. 6. Each member of the commission shall be paid ten dollars ($10.00) 
 per day and expenses during the time in which they are engaged upon their 
 duties. 
 
 Sec. 7. The chairman and secretary shall issue vouchers for the payment 
 of the expenses of the commission to the State Auditor, who shall cause 
 the same to be paid according to law. 
 
 Sec. 8. That this act shall be in force from and after its ratification. 
 
 Ratified this the 21st day of August, 1924. 
 
 MEMBERS OF THE EDUCATIONAL FINANCE COMMISSION 
 
 Walter H. Woodson - Salisbury 
 
 Emmet Bellamy Wilmington 
 
 Robt. T. Wilson. Yancey ville 
 
 N. A. Townsend - Dunn 
 
 T. C. Bowie Jefferson 
 
 Clayton Moore Williamston 
 
 C. P. Rogers East Flat Rock 
 
 AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY-TWO OF 
 CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SIX OF THE PUBLIC 
 LAWS OF ONE THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THREE, 
 RELATING TO LOCAL TAX DISTRICTS FORMED FROM PORTIONS 
 OF CONTIGUOUS COUNTIES (H. B. 355, S. B. 118). 
 
 The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact: 
 
 Section 1. That section two hundred and thirty-two of chapter one hun- 
 dred and thirty-six, Public Laws of one thousand nine hundred and twenty- 
 three, be repealed and that the following be substituted in lieu thereof: 
 
 "Sec. 232. Local tax districts froni portions of contiguous counties. 
 
 a. Local tax districts may be formed as provided in this section out of 
 contiguous portions of two or more counties. 
 
 The petition for such a district must be initiated as petitions for local tax 
 elections are initiated under the provisions of this article, must be endorsed 
 by the county boards of education of such contiguous counties, and each 
 county board of education shall certify to the board of county commis- 
 sioners of its county that the metes and bounds of the proposed joint local- 
 tax district are in accordance with and are an integral part of the lawfully 
 adopted county-wide plan of organization in so far as they pertain to said 
 county. 
 
 11 
 
The board of commissioners of each county, in compliance with the pro- 
 visions of this article relating to the conduct of local tax elections shall 
 then call and hold an election in that portion of the proposed district lying 
 in its county. Election returns shall be made from each portion of the pro- 
 posed district to the board of commissioners ordering the election in that 
 portion and the returns canvassed and recorded as required in this article 
 for local tax districts. 
 
 ft. In case the election carries in each portion of the proposed district, the 
 several county boards of education concerned shall each pass a formal order 
 consolidating the territory into one joint local tax district; which shall be 
 
 and become a body corporate by the name and style of " Joint 
 
 Local Tax School District of Counties." The county board of 
 
 education having the largest school census and the largest area in the part 
 of the joint local tax district lying in its county shall determine the loca- 
 tion of the schoolhouse; but if the largest census and area do not both lie 
 in the same county, then the county boards shall jointly select the site for 
 the building, and in case of a disagreement they shall submit the question 
 to the board of arbitration consisting of three members, one member to be 
 named by each board- of education if three counties are concerned, or if 
 there are but two counties, then each board shall choose one member and 
 the two so named shall select a third member. The decision of the board 
 of arbitration shall be binding upon all county boards of education con- 
 cerned. 
 
 c. The school committee shall consist of five members, three of whom shall 
 be appointed by the board of education of the county in which the building 
 is to be situated and two to be appointed by the other county or counties, 
 but the terms of office shall be so arranged that not more than two members 
 will retire in any one year. The committee shall officially exercise such 
 corporate powers as are conferred in this section. This said committee shall 
 have all the powers and duties of committees of local tax districts and in 
 addition thereto it shall adopt a corporate seal and have the power to sue 
 and be sued. The committee shall have the power to determine the rate of 
 local taxes to be levied in said joint district not exceeding the rate author- 
 ized by the voters of the district, and when the committee shall have so 
 determined the rate of local taxes to be levied in said joint district, and 
 shall have certified same to the boards of commissioners of the several 
 counties from which said joint district is created, the said boards of county 
 commissioners, and each of them, shall levy said rate of local taxes within 
 the portion of said joint district lying within their respective counties; and 
 the taxes so levied shall be collected in the several counties as other taxes 
 are collected therein, and shall be paid over by the officers collecting the 
 same, to the treasurer or other fiscal agent of the county in which the school- 
 house is located or is to be located, to be by him placed to the credit of the 
 joint district. 
 
 cl. The committee shall have as full authority to call and hold elections 
 for the voting of bonds of the district as is conferred upon boards of educa- 
 tion and boards of commissioners in article twenty-two of this chapter. In 
 calling the election for a bond issue no petition of the county board of edu- 
 cation shall be necessary; but the election shall be called and held by the 
 school committee of the incorporated local tax school district under as 
 ample authority as is conferred upon both county boards of education and 
 
 12 
 
boards of commissioners under article twenty-two of this chapter. When 
 bonds of the district have been voted under authority of this section, they 
 shall be issued subject to the limitations of article twenty-two of this chap- 
 ter in the corporate name of the district, signed by the chairman and secre- 
 tary of the school committee, sold by the school committee, and the proceeds 
 thereof deposited with the treasurer of the county board of education of the 
 county in which the school building is or is to be located, to be placed to 
 the credit of the joint district, and the taxes for interest and principal shall 
 be levied and collected as provided in subsection c above for the levy and 
 collection of local taxes. 
 
 e. The committee shall have the same power to call and hold elections to 
 ascertain the will of the voters of the district upon the question of increasing 
 the local tax levy up to a maximum rate of fifty cents on the one hundred 
 dollars valuation of taxable property as it has in the case of bond elections. 
 But local tax elections called and held in such joint districts shall be held 
 under the general provisions of this article governing local tax elections 
 except that the district committee is hereby granted the powers of county 
 boards of education and boards of commissioners as to local tax elections. 
 
 /. The building of all schoolhouses in such joint local tax districts shall 
 be effected by the county board of education of the county in which the 
 building is to be located under authority of law governing the erection of 
 school buildings by county boards of education. It shall be lawful for the 
 boards of education in the other county or counties to contribute to the 
 cost of the building in proportion to the number of children shown by the 
 official census to be resident within that part of the joint district lying 
 within each county respectively. If the building is to be erected from 
 moneys borrowed from the State building funds or from county taxation, 
 then each county board of education shall contribute to its construction in 
 the proportion set out above and pay over its contribution to the treasurer 
 of the county board having control of the erection of the building: Provided, 
 it shall be lawful for the county board that controls the erection of the 
 building to borrow from the State and lend to the district the full amount 
 of the cost of the building in cases where the entire amount is to be repaid 
 by the district from district funds. 
 
 g. All district funds of a joint local tax district shall be kept distinct from 
 all other funds, placed to the credit of the district, and expended as other 
 local tax or district bond funds are lawfully disbursed. 
 
 h. The county board of education and county superintendent of public 
 instruction of the county in which the schoolhouse is located shall have as 
 full and ample control over the joint school and the district as it has in the 
 case of other local tax districts, subject only to the limitations of this 
 section. 
 
 i. It shall be the duty of the committee of the joint school district to pre- 
 pare a budget in accordance with the law requiring budgets of special 
 charter districts. The said budget, which shall show the proportionate part 
 of the cost of maintenance for six months to be contributed by each county, 
 the several parts to be ascertained on the basis of the proportions of the 
 total district school census living in each respective county, shall be filed 
 by the committee with the county board of education of each county, and 
 it shall be the duty of each board if it approves the district budget to incor- 
 porate it in the county budget to be submitted to the commissioners in May 
 
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of each year. Each of the several county boards of education is hereby 
 directed to pay over its proportionate part of the district budget when and 
 as collected, to the treasurer of the board of education of the county in 
 which the school plant is located for the purposes for which it has been 
 levied and collected. 
 
 j. All districts formed before the ratification of this amendment under 
 the provisions of section two hundred and thirty-two, chapter one hundred 
 and thirty-six, Public Laws of one thousand nine hundred and twenty-three, 
 and all districts incorporated before the ratification of this amendment, 
 under the provisions of section two hundred and thirty-three of said chap- 
 ter, are hereby authorized and empowered to exercise all the powers and 
 privileges conferred by this section as amended. 
 
 Sec. 2. All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this act are hereby 
 repealed. 
 
 Sec. 3. This act shall be in full force and effect from and after its ratifi- 
 cation. 
 
 Ratified this the 21st day of August, 1924. 
 
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