IndeJc of Duties of State Superintendent. Page APPEALS. Examine and detennine all. item 4 Hear, teachers* Hear and decide from action . of school dist .meeting held and prohibited APPROVAL . Maps, charts, globes, appara- tus ( inferred ) Books on narcotics Ls. *85Ch. Approval filed Dec. 22, *90 . Approve teachers schools for .O T I 200 92 154 62 327 315 178 201 201 118 101 91 101 COI;!MON SCHOOLS, Supervise, inspect , diffuse knowledge of defects and improvements 199 Discourage sectarian text- books and instruction 199 Print, index & distribute lav/s relating to 200 Prepare and furnish blanlis for reports of Require item.s its register of COLLEGES . Determine scope of study of some FREE HIGH SCHOOLS . Make separate class of 152 Eix amt. funds for special class of 152 200 j 84,100 & 113' 97 Certify amt. funds for 150 & l5l Prepare & furnish course of study for 148 Examine and Certificate teachers for 148 Furnish blank forms for reports of 149 Supervise" an.; inspect 153 Call Prof, of University to assist in supervision of 148 INSTITUTES . Designate places for 197 Make rules -and course of study for 197 Use $1,000 for 198 Em.ploy agent to conduct 197 Gall assistance of Prof. of University 198 LIBRARIES ♦ Advise a selection of books for dist. libraries 31 Duty towards, Ls. '89 Ch.284 & 011288 Prepare lists of books annually for public school libraries and furnish them to supervisors Ls«*87 Chapter 426 Direct expenditure for purchase Ls. '87 Chapter 426 MAPS. Rail Road. Distribute 5000 163 NORIvIAL SCHOOL S Be ex-officio member board of regents of 192 Appoint Visitors to 197 Countersign diplomas and certificates of 96 MAKE And deliver to Governor 200 limited number of pages Ls. '85, Ch. 303 Of correspondence to legis- lature 199 Lay reports of academies and colleges before legislature 198 & 199 REPORTS, RECEP/E . Eurnish blanks to officers making reports J-i-^ Prom trustees of academies and colleges l^S Erom Visitors of Normal Schools - 197 From managers of schools for deaf Ls, '85, Chapter 315 From Clks.of cities, villages and Co. Supts. • 119 SCHOOLS FOR DEAF » Permit establishment of Ls. '35, Chapter 315 Approve affidavrt of teacher of, as to state aid,Ls. '85,Ch. 315 SCHOOL FUND.- INC OI.I E> Apportionment of 182 Apportionment prohibitions, several items 182 Apportionment of , certificate of, to Co.Clk.& Co.Treas. 184, 185 Countersign diplomas, University (2 items) 96, 97 Countersign Dips. Colleges 97 Count. Dips. Normals (& Certif. ) 96 Count. Dips#Mil. city Normal 98 UNIVERSITY . Be ex-off icio member of board regents of 187 & 188 Countersign diplomas of 96, 97 WEBSTER'S UNABRIDGED DICTIONARY . Furni sh 163 Account of sales of 163 Ls. *80 Ch.23 & Ls.'32,Ch.45 Annotated Stst ' s.Vol. I ,p. 331 Re\?uire verification of Cen. 113. TEXT BOOKS . Recommend 199 Secure uniformity of 199 Discourage use of sectarian and of sectarian instruction 199 Approve of for instruction in Stimulants & narcotics Ls.'85 Chapter 327 Approvals or. filG-Letter Book 14, p. 174 d: Supt, Graham July 14, oio> TEACHERS CERT IFI GATES « Re-examine and certificate Appellants 92 Issue state limited and life record dates, and revoke, 93, 94 Q,ualify teachers of schools for deaf Ls. *85, Chapter 315 Examine and certify teachers of free high schools 148 STATE SUPT. Choice 202 Term 199 Certificates election, oath 199 Appoint assistants 153, 199 Appoint chief clerk Ls.*82 Ch. 57 Appoint clerk Ls. * 87 Ch. 358 '89 Ch. 157 Appoint examiners, audit ex- penses 93 & 94 Office in Capitol 201 Custodian of books, papers apparatus 199, 200 Correspondence 200 Correspondence abroad 199 Purchase books 200 Supervise common schools 199 Not act as agent 161 Pees 200 Compensation, limiit 202 Expenses, clerk hire, R.S. 170 Vacancies in offices Ls.*89 Ch. 361 and 427. "Furnish Blanks & Shh'l Ls. 119 LAWS OF WISCONSIN RELATING TO COMMON SCHOOLS INCLUDING FREE HIGH SCHOOLS; ALSO, THOSE RELATING TO Normal Schools and the University. COMPILED FROM THE REVISED STATUTES OF 1878, AND THE LAWS OF 1879-18f/ INCLUSIVE, AND PUBLISHED IN PURSUANCE OF LAW, UNDER THE DIRECTION OP JESSE B. THAYER, State Superintendent. ;iS!ON or MADISON, WISCONSIN: democrat printing company, state printers. 1890. S9° TO SCHOOL OFFICERS. This volume is public property, and belongs to the school- district, or town, or high school-district, or city, or county superintendent district to which it is sent. The volume sent to the district clerk is to be kept by him in his office, for his own use and that of the other members of the board, but may be loaned by him to any voter of the district, to be retained not exceeding five days. If an annual, special, or adjourned meeting is to take place within ten days, this book should not be loaned to any person, but retained by the clerk, and .produced by him at such meeting for consul- tation by the voters. In like manner the volume furnished to each town clerk is to be kept by him in his office, 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 should be carefully preserved and handed over to his successor in office. MA3 5 1301., D, ot D, • NOTE TO THE READER. A new edition of the School Code was rendered necessary in consequence of the changes made in the school laws, in the general revision of the statutes, and was prepared by direction of the state superintendent, in 1878. Editions supplementary to that were published in 1880, and in 1885. Since that date several important changes in the school laws have been made, and on this account, as well as be- cause the former edition is exhausted, a new edition has become necessary, and is designed to meet the call from new districts and otherwise. In this edition, the laws relating to common schools, free high schools, normal schools, and University of Wisconsin, as well as those relating to county superintendents, and teachers' institutes, as amended by legislation subsequent to that embodied in the revised statutes of 1878 and includ- ing that of 1889, are included. The compulsory school law of 1889 will be found in this edition. It also embraces the changes made in the free high school law in 1879, 1883, 1885, and in 1889. No material changes in the comments or forms of former editions have been made, except when made necessary by changes in the law or recent decisions of courts. Preceding each section of the revised statutes that has been amended, is a statement of the chapter of the session laws where the amendment is to be found, but the amend- ment is incorporated in the section. Where a new law has been enacted, the title of the law is given, and the law is included in the code, in its proper connection. A table of contents on the next page, and an index at the close of the volume facilitate reference. CONTEISTS. I. Formation, Alteration, Meetings, and Powers of Districts, - - - - -- - • - 5-52 II, District Officers— District Board, - - - - 53-87 III. Certificates and Examinations, .... 87-100 IV. The County Superintendent, 101-112 V. Reports, 112-119 VI. Duties op Town Clerk and Treasurer, ... 119-121 VII. District Taxes, 122-124 VIII. Borrowing Money, - 124-129 IX. Establishment of School-House Sites, ... 129-132 X. Libraries, -•.. 132-143 XI. Judgments against School-Districts, - - - 143-144 XII. Free High Schools, 144-154 XIII. Appeals, 154-160 XIV. Penalties and Miscellaneous Laws, ... 160-167 XV. Township System of School Government, - - 168-182 XVI. Of the Distribution of the School Fund Income - 182-187 XVII. Of the University, 187-192 XVIII. Of Normal Schools and Academies, - - - 192-199 XIX. The State Superintendent, 199-201 XX. Constitutional Provisions, 202-203 XXI. Forms, 204-231 LAWS RELATING TO COMMON SCHOOLS. Chapter 27, Revised Statutes of 1878. L— FORMATIOI^, ALTERATIOIS^ MEETI^^GS, AND POWERS OF DISTRICTS. FORMATION OF DISTRICTS. As Amended by Chapter 355, Laws of 1885. Section 412. The town board in each town in this state shall have power to form and alter districts in the manner hereinafter set forth; provided, that every school-district shall be of contiguous territory, and shall not embrace more than thirty-six square miles of land, and that whenever any school-district which has by vote contracted a debt, shall be' altered by taking territory from it before such debt is fully paid, no such alteration shall be made as to leave to the dis- trict from which such territory is taken an indebtedness exceeding five per centum on the value of the taxable prop- erty therein, to be ascertained by the last assessment for state and county taxes previous to the incurring of such indebtedness. The restriction as to the size of districts was enacted in 1868. The law now specifically requires that every district shall consist of contiguous territory. A district may be of any convenient form, provided it does not embrace more territory than the law allows, and provided its territory all lies in one body; but it should be as compact in form as the natural features of the country will permit. It should also be as large as a proper regard to the distance to be traveled will allow, in order that it may be able to sustain a good school without resorting to burdensome taxation. The com- mon desire for small districts should not be gratified at the expense of the welfare of the school. It is better that chil- dren should travel two or three miles to attend a good school, than half a mile to attend a poor one. The provision 2— S. C. that districts which have by vote contracted a debt shall not be altered until the debt is paid, is repealed, and provision is made that by alteration, no district shall be left with an indebtedness exceeding five per centum of the value of the taxable property therein. By section 2G3, revised statutes, no district which is in- debted to the trust funds of the state can be altered by tak- ing therefrom any land included therein at the time of obtaining such loan, until such loan is fully paid, without the consent of the land commissioners of the state, and only upon such terms as they shall prescribe. Section 413. The formation of any such school-district shall be by written order of the town board, describing the territory embraced in the same, to be filed with the town clerk within twenty days after the making thereof. The supervisors shall deliver to a taxable inhabitant of the district their notice thereof in writing, describing its boundaries, and appointing a time and place for the first district meet- ing, and shall therein direct such inhabitant to notify every qualified voter of the district, either personally or by leav- ing 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 "said inhabitant shall notify the voters of such district accordingly, and endorse thereon a return containing the names of all persons thus notified, and said notice and return shall be recorded as a part of the record of the first meeting in such district. The order for forming a school-district must be made at a meeting of the board, of which all have been notified, and should be so clear and distinct that the boundaries of the district may be readily traced. The district should be de - scribed, therefore, by the government surveys; but reference may be made also, if necessary, to natural features, such as rivers, lakes, marked trees, etc., or the highways or town lines, A school-district, in the sense now under considera - tion, consists of territory and not of persons. The territory should be so described that changes of ownership will not require any change in the description. * When new districts are formed out of new territory, the order may be filed imiiediately, and the notice delivered to a taxable inhabitant without delay. If the order is not filed *See Form No. 1. in twenty days, as directed, it should nevertheless be filed. The delay does not invalidate the order. If the formation of a new district involves the alteration of the boundaries of any other district, consent must be obtained to each such alteration, as provided in section 419, or the order of formation cannot take effect for three months. The same section also provides that no alteration of a district can be made to take effect between the first day of December and the first day of April following. The mat- ter is resumed in the comments on section 419, which pre- scribes the mode of alteration of districts, the notices to be given, etc. A taxable inhabitant is one liable to pay a tax. If practi- cable, the notice delivered to this inhabitant should be read in the hearing of each voter. If this is not practicable, a copy of the notice left at the voter's residence will answer. In case of doubt in regard to any inhabitant of the proposed district, the question may be asked if he is a legal voter; and if the right to vote is claimed by him or for him, or seems to be doubtful, the notice should be given. This con- fers no right to vote, if the right does not already exist.* The day upon which any legal notice is served is not counted in computing the time required. Since, in this case, five days' notice must be given, the notice must be served on each voter as early, at least, as the sixth day before the time named for the meeting. Any neglect to notify all, or to notify in season, even if unintentional, may create dis- satisfaction and lead to an appeal. Not only the names of all persons notified, but the man- ner in which the notice was given to them must be em- braced in the return made. "All returning officers are ministerial, and are bound to set forth in their returns all 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 service; and a return that a precept has been legally served, or that the duty enjoined by the * See Forms Nos. 2 and 3. 8 warrant had been duly performed, Av.ould most clearly be insufficient. ** f The return is to be endorsed on the notice read to the voters, and signed by the person giving the notices. The document should be produced at the first meeting, and filed with the records of the district.* Section 414. In case such notice shall not be given, or the inhabitants of a district shall neglect or refuse to as- semble and form a district meeting when so notified, or in case any school-district, having been formed or organized, shall afterwards be disorganized, so that no competent au- thority shall exist therein to call a special district meeting in the' manner herein provided, notice shall be given by the town board, and served in the manner prescribed in the preceding section. Whenever a district meeting shall be called as prescribed in this and and the preceding section, it shall be the duty of the electors of the district to assem- ble at the time and place so directed. I Three contingencies are provided for in this section: first, a neglect on the part of the person appointed to give the notice: second, a neglect or refusal of the voters to meet and organize the district: third, the loss of the organization of the district, by the removal or death of all its ofiicers. or in any other way. In any one of these cases, the supervis- ors are to call a meeting, as provided in section 413. The electors of the district are those persons who have a legal residence in the district, and who are qualified to vote at a general election for state and county ofiicers. This matter is further considered under section 42S. It is the duty of all the electors to attend a district meet- ing called by the town board, to organize or reorganize the district; but the acts of those who assemble are binding upon those who stay away. A full attendance is desirable, and persons entitled to vote should be present, when ap- prised of the meeting. The first thing to be done, after the meeting has been called to order, is to elect a chairman: a clerk pro fern. should also be chosen. The meeting is then organized to do business, and ready to elect the district ofiicers. a director, treasurer, and clerk, as provided in section 431. The further 1 12 Pick. . 206. " See Form No. 4. t See Form No. 5. action of the meeting, proper to be had, can best be seen after reading section 416, and the comments thereon. FORMATION OF JOINT DISTRICTS. Section 415. Whenever it shall be necessary to form a district from two or more adjoining towns, the town boards of such towns shall meet together and form such district by their written order, describing the territory embraced in such district, signed by at least two of the supervisors of each town; and shall file one such order with the town clerk of each town, and deliver the notice of formation to a tax- able inhabitant of such district, and cause the same to be served and returned in the time and manner hereinbefore prescribed; and any such district may be altered only by the joint action of the town boards of such towns in the same manner that other districts are altered. * Ordinary districts may become joint districts by the division of a town, without any further action, f If a joint district is to be formed, the supervisors of all the towns concerned must meet. An order of formation with- out such joint meeting is illegal, and would be set aside on appeal, although the requisite signatures might be obtained. An order forming a joint district must also be assented to and signed by a majority of the supervisors of each of the towns- in which any part of the district is situated. Each town board acts and votes for its own town only, and there must be a majority of each board. The notice for the first meeting \of a joint district must likewise be signed by a majority of the supervisors of each of the towns containing part of [the district, and the order of formation must be recorded in the oflSce of each of the town clerks. Again, if a joint district is to be altered, or dissolved, in order to form a new district in one of the towns, or for any other purpose, the order altering or dissolving the old dis- trict must be signed by a majority of the supervisors of each of the towns affected. If the joint district is dissolved, the territory should by the same order be attached to another •district or other districts. If the new district is a joint dis- trict, the order forming it must be signed by a majority of * See Form No. 6. f 35 Wis. , 178. 10 the supervisors of each town that contains a part of said new district. ORGANIZATION OF A DISTRICT. Section 416. Every school-district shall be deemed duly- organized when any two of the officers elected at the first legal meeting thereof shall have consented to serve in the offices to which they have been respectively elected, by a written acceptance thereof, filed with the clerk at the first meeting, and recorded in the minutes thereof; and every school-district shall be considered as duly organized, after it shall have exercised the franchises and privileges of a district for the term of two years. * If two of the officers elected are present, and at once file their acceptances with the clerk of the meeting, and he re- cords them, the district is then duly organized, and may proceed to the transaction of any other business, as provided in section 430. The treasurer is not likely to file an approved bond at that time, but that can be done afterwards. If two of the officers do not then file their acceptances, the meet- ing should adjourn and await them. If the persons elected at the first meeting, or any of them, refuse to accept, the meeting may at once proceed to elect others. The same may be done at an adjourned meeting, if notice of refusal to serve is then received. The district should endeavor to effect a complete organization; but if after reasonable trial it fails to secure more than two officers by election, the two who have accepted may fill the vacancy. When a district has exercised the powers and enjoyed the privileges of a school-district for two years, it is held to be legally organized, notwithstanding any informality of pro- ceeding in its organization; and in the meantime, and until its organization is set aside by competent authority, it is the duty of its officers to comply with all the requirements of the school law. It is sufficient for them to know that it is a district de facto. After two years have elapsed, its organi- zation cannot be set aside on account of any alleged defect in its original formation or organization. *See Form No. 7. 11 CORPORATE POWERS OP DISTRICTS. Section 417. Every school-district organized in pursuance of this chapter, or which has been organized pursuant to law, shall be a iDody corporate, and shall possess the usual powers of a corporation for public purposes, by the name and style of school-district, or joint school-district number (the name of the town or towns in which the disti ict is situated); such number shall be designated by the town board or boards in the formation thereof; and in that name shall sue and be sued, and be capable of contracting and being contracted with, and of holding such real and per- sonal estate as is authorized to be purchased by law, and of selling the same. A school-district, as a corporate body, has perpetual suc- cession 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 indi- viduals that may, from time to time, compose it. It does not become dissolved, or lose any of its rights, or become discharged of its obligations by a change of its name, num- ber or boundaries, or by becoming a joint district. (4 Wis., 79,) But the number of a district should not be changed where it can be avoided. Contracts made or suits brought by a district, and all writings in which it is a party, require that the name of the district should be mentioned: e. g. , school-district number four, toivn of Lincoln, Polk county. When district officers are specifically empowered by law to act, their names may be mentioned. alteration of districts. Section 418. Whenever the town board 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 they will be present to decide upon such proposed alteration; and such clerk or clerks shall immediately notify the other members of the board; and no territory shall be detached from any district, unless it be by the same order attached to another; and any district may be dissolved by attaching: all its territory to other districts.* * See Form No. 8. 12 Great care should be exercised in giving the preliminary notices of alterations proposed, as the want of this may ren- der the proceedings of the supervisors illegal, and lead to an appeal. 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 preserved. It is to be observed thai no territory can be detached from a district unless it is by the same order attached to another. In case the territory is detached from a joint district, the order of detachment must be signed by the boards of all the towns, although the territory be attached to a district wholly within one of the towns. It is also to be observed that a district may, at any time, be dissolved or wholly extinguished, by it^ason of the attach- ment of all its territory to other districts. This action will often be advisable when several districts are found to be too feeble to support good schools, and can be reduced in number with advantage. When districts thus become dis- solved, the property pertaining to them is to be disposed of as provided in section 434. Section 419. In all cases where an alteration of the bound- aries of a school-district shall be made, the town board 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 clerks of the districts affected by such alter- ation: and no alteration of any school-district made without the consent of a majority of the district boards, indorsed on such order, shall take effect until three months after notice given as above specified, unless such alteration is made in compliance with the order of the state superintendent given in the decision of an appeal; nor shall any alteration of an organized district be made to take effect between the first day of December in any year, and the first day of April following. * Delay in giving the notices required in this section does not render the previous action of the supervisors void, as it is merely matter of information of an act done; neverthe- less, the notices should be promptly given. * See Form No. 9. 13 Copies of all orders making alterations in joint districts must be j&led in the offices of the clerks of all the towns of which the districts altered constitute a part. Unless this is done, 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. The action of the supervisors in altering districts is usu- ally based' upon petition, but they are 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 welfare 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 nec- essary. The order of alteration is an official act, and must result from a resolution of a majority of the board, adopted at ix 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 interest in any proposed alter- ation of a district to avoid acting in that case. It is better that the other members of the board should decide it with- out him. 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. The reason for alteration of districts is, not unfrequently, that an additional district may be formed from territory taken from them. If the district board of any district from which a portion of the territory embraced in a new district is taken, refuses to consent to the alteration, the order of the supervisors does not take effect till three months after the notice is given, and the supervisors are not obliged to deliver the notice to a taxable inhabitant, ca^ng the first m.eeting of the voters of the new district, till twenty days after said order takes effect; but such notice may be given at any time after the order is issued, provided that it does not call the meeting until the three months have expired. No action can be taken by the voters of the new district until the order of formation takes effect, for the reason that 14 before that time there is no new district, and the people and the territory retain the same condition, and sustain the same relations that they did before the order forming the new district was issued. So in regard to districts formed from other districts between the first day of December and the first day of April following; the alterations cannot take effect, nor the first meeting of the new district be held, till the first of April, or thereafter. But whatever the purpose of the alteration of a district, the two restrictions exist. The reasons for the restrictions are, on the one hand, to prevent districts from being altered too summarily, without the consent of the board, and on the other, to avoid interference with the winter schools. See also the restriction as to debt. Sec. 412 and Sec. 263. In regard to the duties of town boards in the matter of the formation or alteration of school-districts, the general remark may be made, that while discretionary power is given them to act or not act, in any particular case, they are to exercise their discretion, not with regard to their own convenience, but the public good. Unreasonable requests for action are sometimes made, and to hold a meeting, especially of two or more boards, may be both inconvenient and expensive, but when a petition, respectably signed and presenting apparently good reasons for action, is submitted, the request for a meeting and for action should not be un- reasonably denied. If the action desired is not granted, after proper examination, at a legal meeting, the petitioners then have the right of appeal; but if there is no meeting and no decision, they have not. It is also to be noted, that when supervisors act on a pe- tition, they are not confined to the terms of the petition. If a certain amMint of territory is asked, they may grant more or less, pro^med the required notices have been given to the clerks of all the districts to be affected by the action. Special provision is now made by law for appeals in case of joint school-districts, where boards of supervisors neglect or refuse to meet to hear and determine applications for alterations of such districts, or where the chairman of the 15 proper town fails to give the proper notice for such meeting,. by chapter 280, laws of 1882, and amendment thereto. Chapter 280, Laws of 1882. As Amended by Chapter 439, Laws of 1887. Section 1. Whenever an application in writing for an alteration in the boundaries of any joint school-district, signed by not less than one-third of the lawful voters resid- ing in the district, or two-thirds of the lawful voters resid- ing in any one'of the districts to be affected by the proposed alteration, shall be presented to the chairman of supervisors of the town in which the school-house of such joint district may be situated, such chairman shall thereupon fix a time for the joint meeting of the town boards of the towns in which such joint school-district may be situated, which time shall not be less than ten nor more than twenty days after the day of the presentation to him of such application. He shall also cause a notice of the time and place of such meeting to be given to each supervisor entitled to be present thereat, which notice shall be served at least five days prior to the date fixed for such meeting. Such meeting shall be held at the school-house in such joint district unless some other convenient place shall be designated in the notice therefor. Section 2. If the chairman of supervisors to whom such application shall be presented shall neglect or refuse to fix the time, or to give notice for the meeting of the town boards as provided in the first section of this act, or if the said supervisors or a majority thereof, of any town in which a part of said joint district may be situated, shall neglect or refuse to be present at such meeting; or, being present, shall neglect or refuse to hear and decide upon such appli- cation, the application shall be deemed denied, and an appeal may be had therefrom in the same manner and with the like effect as in other cases of denial. Section 3. The provisions of sections 418, 419, 422 and 497 of the revised statutes, shall, so far as may be applicable, apply to proceedings under this act. This act provides a remedy, in the way of appeal to the state superintendent, where the officer whose duty it is to give notice of the time and place of meeting of supervisors for hearing and determining upon proposed alterations of joint school-districts, neglects or refuses to give such notice, and where supervisors neglect or refuse to attend such meeting when called. The act also specifies the preliminary steps to be taken by persons intending to make use of this 16 remedy, by appeal, for neglect or refusal. Where there is no neglect or refusal to act there is no necessity for the pe- tition of one-third of the legal voters in the joint district, or two-thirds of the lawful voters residing in any one of the districts to be affected by the proposed alteration, nor does this act prevent procedure under sections 418, 419, 420 and 421 of the revised statutes. DIVISION OF PROPERTY. Section 420. 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 property, the town board, at the time of forming such new district, shall ascertain and deter- mine the proportion of the value of the school-house and other property, justly due to such new district, according to the taxable property' of the respective parts of such former district, at the time of the division, by the best evidence within their reach, and such amount of any debt due from the former district which would have been a charge upon the new, had it remained in the former district, shall be de- ducted from such pi-oportion. Section 421. The town board shall certify to the district clerk of each district retaining a school-house or other property, the amount ascertained by them as the proportion to be paid to the new district, and such amount shall be embodied in the next statement of taxes to be made by the district clerk to the town clerk, as required by section four hundred and seventy-two, and shall be collected and paid to the treasurer of the new district, to be applied toward providing a school-house therefor; and the money so re- ceived shall be allowed to the credit of the taxable property, taken from the district paying the same, in reduction of any tax that may be imposed on said taxable property in the new district for the building of the school-house; but in case the new district shall have raised a tax and provided a school-house before such money shall have been received, the treasurer of the new district, who shall receive or have the amount so paid him or his predecessor, shall pay on demand each tax-payer the amount actually paid by hiiu in school-house taxes, in excess of the amount he would have paid, if the mone\ had been received and credit given be- fore such taxes were collected, and the treasurer shall be liable therefor on his oificial bond.* The two foregoing sections have reference to cases in which new districts are formed from territory detached from districts possessed of a school-house or other property. * See Form No. 10. * 17 When territory is merely transferred from one district to another, no claim will lie against the district yielding ter- ritory on account of property. By '' property" is meant lands, tenements, hereditaments, money, goods, chattels, things in action, and evidences of debt. The division of the share of the income of the school fund that may be due the district, is provided for, in a cer- tain case, in section 558. The appraisal and award should be made at the time of the formation of the new district but will be legal if neces- sarily delayed. If the duty is wholly neglected by the supervisors, or, the award being made by them, if the clerk of the old district neglects his duty, the remedy in either case is by mandamus. No vote of the old district is required to raise the amount to which the new district becomes entitled under the action contemplated by section 421. This tax cannot be collected as a special district tax; it must be returned to the town clerk by the district clerk, as certified to him by the town board. In case the new district shall decide to build a school- house and shall raise a tax for this purpose, the law pro- vides 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 contemplat- ed by section 421 been raised and paid over, before the school-house tax for the new district was levied. DISTRICTS PARTLY IN CITIES AND VILLAGES.. Section 422. Whenever any school-district shall lie partly in a city, or village incorporated by special act, and partly in an adjoining town or towns, the common council of such city or trustees of such village and the town boards of such towns may alter or extinguish the same in the man- ner in which any other joint school-district may be altered or extinguished; but no new joint district shall be formed, which shall embrace any part of a city. This section makes express provision for a particular class 18 of joint districts, and forbids the formation of any new joint district which shall embrace part of a city. It also takes the place of chapter eighty-two of the gen- eral laws of 1872. Section 423. Whenever any school-district for two or more successive years neglects to maintain a public school as required by law, the town board of the town, embracing the district, shall attach the same to such other adjoining district or districts in the town as they shall judge proper; and if the district be a joint district, then the town boards of the several towns shall attach the respective parts there- of to other districts in their respective towns. Section 418 gives power to the town board to extinguish a district at any time by attaching its territory to other dis- tricts, but it will be seen from this section that it is their duty to extinguish such districts as fail to maintain a school for two years. The mere neglect or failure to elect officers does not extinguish the district. The organization may be restored, as provided in section 414. Section 434. In every case where a district shall become dissolved by reason of the attachment of all its territory to some other district or districts, the town boards of the sev- eral towns embracing such district shall take charge of the property belonging to the same at the time of its dissolu- tion, dispose of the same by grant or otherwise, and apply the proceeds to the discharge of its debts, paying over the remainder, if any, to the treasurers of the districts to which the territory has been attached, in proportion to the valua- tion of the property attached to each, as appears from the last tax rolls of the respective towns. A district is extinguished or dissolved only when,its parts are attached to other districts so that no part of the orig- inal district remains. If any part of it remains as a distinct district, although its name and number may be changed, it is not dissolved in the sense contemplated by law,* In case a joint district is dissolved, the supervisors of the liowns in which the different parts of such district are situ- ated, should unite in the sale of the property, and in execut- ing the deeds of the real estate. If the supervisors proceed to sell any property formerly belonging to a district that has become dissolved, they .should require cash payment, and should give notice that a *See tlie comments on Section 417. 19 condition of the sale is the full payment within a limited number of hours — and that if such payment is not made, the property 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 majority 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 su- pervisors, until the legal proceedings commenced for the collection of the same 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 apportionment of the balance of money remaining after all the debts of an extinguished district are paid. In case there is an unexpended tax found in the hands of the treas- urer of the extinguished district, the equitable mode of dis- tribution is to pay over to the treasurers of the districts to which the territory has been attached, 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 of the common school fund, such money should be distributed to the districts in proportion to the number of children over four and under twenty years of age, residing in the parts annexed to them respectively. Though the statute specifies no time within which the su- pervisors are required to dispose of the property of an ex- tinguished district, there can be no va.lid reason for any longer delay than is necessary to ascertain the outstanding liabilities. If pending litigation puts it out of their power to act immediately, they should improve the earliest favora- ble opportunity to settle the affairs of the district. It 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 appli- 20 cable to the payment of teachers" wages in the consolidated district. If there is any money due to a teacher of either of the districts consolidated, it should be drawn before the order of consolidation takes effect. Particular attention should be given by town boards of supervisors and trustees of villages to the matter of record- ing the proceedings which affect the formation and altera- tion of school districts. The following law, enacted in 1889, provides for making a new record of such matters, when the original record is lost or destroyed. Chapter 472, Laws of 1880. Section 1. Whenever the record of the formation or establishment of boundaries of any school-district in this state shall be lost or destroyed, the town board of the town, trustees of the village, or common council of the city in which such district lies, shall have power to make a new record of the boundaries of such school-district, by written order made and entered in the records of such town, village or city. Whenever the town board, trustees of the village, or common council of the city, shall contemplate making such new record, they shall give at least five days' notice in writing to the clerk of the district to be affected thereby, stating in such notice the time and the place when and where they will be present to decide upon and make^ such new record, and such clerk shall immediately notify the other members of the board. In all cases where such new record shall be made the order constituting the same shall within three days be entered in the record of the proper town, vil- lage or city, and the clerk thereof shall within the same time file a copy of such order with the clerk of the school-district affected thereby. Any number of districts as to which the records are so Lost or destroyed may be included in one order or notice. In case of the loss or destruction of the records pertaining to a joint school-district, the clerk of the town, city or village shall procure and record a certified copy of the records of other towns, cities or villages relating to such joint district, or the common council of the city, trustees of the village, or town boards of the towns in which such joint school-district lies, may meet and act together in the mak- ing of any new record of the boundaries of such joint school- district. An order made pursuant to this section or the rec- ord thereof shall be presumptive evidence of the regularity of the proceedings prior to the making thereof, of the legality of the formation of the district affected, of the boundaries thereof, and of the loss or destruction of the rec- 21 ord of the formation or establishment of the boundaries of such school-district. Parties conceiving themselves ag- grieved by any decision made under the provisions of this act may appeal therefrom in the manner provided by sec- tion 4:97, of the revised statutes. Section 3. This act shall be so construed as to apply to cases of losses or destruction of records which have hereto- fore occurred or may hereafter occur. ANNUAL MEETING. As amended by Chajoter 69, Laws of 1883, Chapter 398, Laws of 1883, and Chapter 96, Laws of 1887. Section 425. The annual meeting in all school-districts- in this state shall be held on the first Monday of July in each year. The hour of such meeting shall be seven o'clock in the afternoon, unless otherwise provided by a vote of the' district, duly recorded, at the last previous annual meeting.. If the first Monday in July is a legal holiday, then said an- nual meeting shall be held on the day next succeeding the first Monday in July. It shall be the duty of the district board of each school-district in this state to meet on the Saturday immediately preceding the first Monday of July, in each year, and carefully examine the accounts of the treasurer, and make up a full and itemized report of all re- ceipts and expenditures since the last annual meeting; the amount in the hands of the treasurer, or the amount of the deficit for which the district is liable, and the estimated sum which will be required to be raised by taxes for the sup- port of the school for the ensuing year; and the amount re- quired to pay the interest or principal of any loan due or to become due during such year; which report shall be sub- mitted in writing at the annual meeting, and recorded at length with the action of the meeting thereon, by the clerk with the records of the proceedings of the annual meeting. By this section, the former provisions for holding annual meetings at different times by districts maintaining graded schools, and by districts not maintaining graded schools, and by the same districts according to the vote of the dis- trict, are repealed. All annual school meetings in the sev- eral school-districts of the state are now held on the same day. Two cases will arise under this law which will postpone the annual meetings until Tuesday evening following the first Monday in July, viz. : when the first Monday in July is. the fourth day of July, and when the fourth day of July 3— S. C. 22 occurs on Sunday, immediately preceding the first Monday in July, Monday is then made by law a legal holiday. 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 ensuing annual meeting. If no other hour is detetermined by vote, seven o'clock in the afternoon is the hour fixed by law. A new provision is added which requires school-district boards to meet on the Saturday immediately preceding the first Monday in July, in each year, examine the accounts of the treasurer, and make up an itemized report of all receipts and expenditures for the year preceding, the amount on hand, if any, the amount of indebtedness, if any, and esti- mates of the amount necessary to be raised by taxation for all purposes for ensuing year. This report must be sub- mitted in writing to the annual meeting, and recorded at length by the clerk, in the records of the district. Section. 436 The clerk shall give at least six days' pre- vious notice of every annual , district meeting, by posting notices therefor in four or more public places in the district, one of which shall be affixed to the outer door of the school- house, if there be one in the district; and he shall give like notices for every adjourned district meeting, when such meeting shall have been adjourned for more than one month; but 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."' In order to give publicity to the annual meeting, the statute directs 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 foundation of the meeting is the statute, or the order of a previous an- nual meeting, and not posting the notice for it. f The time and place for holding it may always be ascertained by ex- amining the records of the district, and the objection that notice was not duly posted, is not well taken. It is, however, the duty of the district clerk to give care- fully the notice required for the annual meeting, and for neglect of duty he is liable to a fine, under the provisions *See Forms Nos. 11 and 12. fG HiU, N. Y., 647. 23 of section 500, The notice should be given at least one week before the time for the meeting, and should also em- brace the time of day and the place of meeting; also 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 attendance, which is most desirable. But it is to be borne in mind that the object of the notice for the an- nual meeting is to assemble the inhabitants, and that when so assembled, their powers are defined, not by the notice, but by the statute. If there is a willful and fraudulent omission to give notice, the meeting may be judged illegal. Indeed, the action of an annual meeting held without due notice will usually be looked upon with suspicion, and the state superintendent will not hesitate to sustain an appeal taken from such ac- tion, when it is made to appear that no proper opportunity has been afforded the people of a district to express their will. It should be noted that when a meeting is adjourned for more than one month, notice must be given, the same as for the original meeting. By chapter 251, laws of 1883, district clerks are required to embody in the notice for an annual meeting, the fact that the question of a change of text-books will be submitted to the meeting. See comments on Section 440. SPECIAL. MEETING. Section 427. Special district meetings may be called by the clerk, or, in his absence, by the director or treasurer, on the written request of five legal voters of the district, in the manner prescribed for calling an annual meeting; and the electors, 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 offi- cers. The business to be transacted at any special meeting shall be particularly specified in the notices calling the same, and said notices shall be posted six full days prior to the meeting. No tax or loan or debt shall be voted at a special meeting, unless three-fourths of the legal voters shall have been notified, either personally or by a written notice left at their places of residence, stating the time, place and objects of the meeting and specifying the amount proposed to be voted, at least six days before the time ap- pointed therefor.* *See Forms Nos. 13 and 14. 24- Exigencies will often arise requiring special meetings, and the power granted by the statute to call them should be liberally exercised for the benefit of the district. It is the duty of the clerk to call special meetings whenever requested to do so by the required number of legal voters. •' The word ynay means must or shall only in cases where the pub- lic interests or rights are concerned; and where the public or third persons have a claim de juj^e that the power should be exercised." *j " When public corporations or officers are authorized to perform an act for others, which benefits them, 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, "f The fact that the district clerk does not approve of the objects sought by those who request him to call a special meeting, is not a good cause for refusing to accede to the request. Any business that can be done at an annual meeting can be done at a special meeting, properly called, except the election of officers, voting a tax to compensate the clerk, and authorizing a change in text-books. 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 officer is absent or incapable of acting. All notices for special meetings must "particularly specify" the business to be transacted thereat, nor can business not thus clearly men- tioned be legally acted upon. If voting a tax, loan or debt be a part of the business proposed, not only must notices be posted in not less than four public places in the district, but in addition to this, notice must be served personally upon at least three-fourths of the legal voters of the district. A special meeting may rescind any action taken at the annual meeting, if proper notice has been given; but if rights have been acquired, by third parties, under previous action, those rights cannot be set aside by the vote of the •=^5 John, Ch. 113. f 9 Wis., 312. 25 district. This includes the rights of persons elected to a district office. ' ' Six full days " requires the notice to be given as early as on the seventh day before the time designated. QUALIFICATIONS OF VOTERS. Section 438. Every person shall be entitled to vote in any school-district meeting, 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 de- clared by section 12, of the revised statutes, to be as follows : Section 12. Every male person of the age of twenty-one years, or upward, 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 elector at such election: 1. Citizens of the United States. 2. 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 laAv 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. Every person convicted of bribery shall be excluded from the right of suffrage, unless restored to civil rights; and no 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, f hall be per- mitted to vote at such election. Being first qualified to vote at a general election, the right to vote in any school-district depends upon being a resident thereof. Every man is supposed by the law to have a legal residence somewhere, and he can have but one at a time. The legislature, at the session of 1885, passed the follow- ing act, to provide for extending to women the right of suf- frage upon school matters. This proposition was sustained by a majority of the legal voters in the state voting upon the question at the general election held in November, 1886, and the class of women therein designated are entitled to par- ticipate in proceedings of school-district meetings. 26 Chapter 211, Laws of 1885. -} I f) ■ Section 1. Every woman who is a citizen of this state^ ' '■ M>tJ^ of the age of twenty-one years or upwards (except paupers,. fa,^4^i)9q persons under guardianship, and persons otherwise excluded u[_Z—J. by section 2, of article 3, of the constitution of Wisconsin), '" who has resided within the state one year, and in the elec- ^ „ , tion district where she offers to vote ten days next preced- 7:^" Ity^ ing any election pertaining to school matters, shall have a p * right to vote at such election, 9 V j/^i^e rules for determining the residence of electors are laid down in section 37 of the revised statutes, and are printed here for convenience: Section 37. In determining the question of residence as a qualification to vote, the following rules, so far as appli- cable, shall govern, and if a person offering to vote be chal- lenged as unqualified on the ground of residence, the inspectors shall admonish him of such rules and put to him such further questions as shall be proper to elicit the facts in respect thereto, namely: First. As prescribed in the constitution, no person shall be deemed to have lost his residence in this state by reason of his absence on business of the United States, or of this state; and no soldier, seaman, or marine, in the army-^r nav}'- of the United States, shall be deemed a resident of this state in consequence of being stationed within the same. Second. That place shall be considered and held to be the residence of a person, in which his habitation is fixed, with- out any present intention of removing therefrom, and to which, whenever he is absent, he has the intention of re- turning. Th ird. 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 temporarj'^ purposes merely, with an intention of returning. Fourth. A person shall not be considered to have gained a residence in any town, Avard or village of this state into which he shall have come for temporary purposes merely. Fifth. If a person remove to another state with an inten- tion of making it his permanent residence, he shall be- con- sidered and held to have lost his residence in this state. Sixth. If a person remove to another state with the inten- tion of remaining there for an indefinite time, and as a place of present residence, he shall be considered and held to have lost his residence in this state, notwithstanding he may entertain an intention to return at some future period. Seventh. The place where a married man's family resides shall generally be considered and held to be his residence. 27 but if it is a place of temporary establishment for his family or for transient objects, it shall be otherwise. Eighth. 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 his place of residence. Ninth. The mere intention to acquire a new residence without the fact of removal, shall avail nothing; neither shall the fact of removal without intention. Tenth. If a person shall go into another state, and while there exercise the right of a citizen by voting, he shall be considered and held to have lost his residence in this state. Eleventh. No person shall be deemed to have gained a residence in any town, ward, or village in this state, so as to entitle him to vote at any election therein, by remaining in such town, ward, or village 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, ward, or village, by remaining in any other town, ward, or village as such pauper. CHALLENGING VOTES. Section 429. If a person offering to vote at a school- dis- trict 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 qualifi- cations 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 affirma- tion: "You do solemnly swear (or affirm as the case may be) that you are an actual resident of this school-district, and that you are qualified according to law to vote at this meeting." And ever}^ person taking such oath or affirma- tion shall be permitted to vote on all questions proposed at such meeting; and if the person shall refuse to take such oath or affirmation, his vote shall be rejected. Section 36 of the revised statutes prescribes certain ques- tions which may be asked by inspectors of elections of per- sons whose votes are challenged. Four classes of these questions are given, as those which will most frequently aid in determining the qualifications of a voter, though the chairman of a district meeting cannot, like an inspector of elections, require the person challenged to answer the ques- tions under oath. " Section 36. If a person offering to vote is challenged as unqualified, one of the inspectors shall tender to him the following oath or affirmation: You do solemnly swear (or affirm) that you will fully and truly answer all such ques- tions as shall be put to you teaching your place of residence 28 and qualifications as an elector of this election; and shall thereupon put questions as follows, First. If the person shall be challenged as unqualified, on the ground that he is not a citizen and has not declared his intention to become a citizen: 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 be- come 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 im- mediately preceding the election: 1. How long have you resided in this state immediately preceding this election ? 2. Have you been absent from this state within the year immediately preceding this election? If yes, then — 3. When you left did you leave for a temporary purpose, with the design of returning, or for the purpose of remain- ing away? 4. What state or territory did you regard as your home while absent? 5. Did you, while absent, vote in any other state or terri- tory ? 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 following 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 purpose of making it your home ? 3. Did you come into this county for the purpose of vot- ing 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 years of age, the inspec- tors, or one of them, shall put the following question: Are you twenty-one years of age, to the best of your knowledge and belief?" The ordinary grounds upon which a person offering to vote at a district meeting may be disqualified, are: 1. That he is not a citizen of the United States, and has not duly declared his intention to become one. 2. That he has not resided in the state one year immedi- 8.tely previous. 3. That he is not a resident of the district. 29 4. That he is not twenty-one years of age. The chairman of a district meeting is not required by law to put any of the foregoing questions to a person whose vote is challenged, on any of these grounds; but it will not be improper for him to do so, according to the circumstances of the case, for the information of the electors present. 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 chal- lenge should be interposed 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 dif- fers with the challenger. The chairman of a district meeting has no right, under the statute, to prohibit from voting any person who takes the oath required by the law. It will, however, be competent for the state superintendent to correct and set aside, on appeal, all proceedings 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, unless a different result would have followed the ex- clusion of such votes. ^' The mere circumstance that improper votes are received at an election will not vitiate it. The fact should be. shown aflSrmatively, that a sufficient number of improper votes was received for the successful ticket, to reduce it to a mi- nority if they had been rejected; or the election shall stand.'" * If the nominee for chairman is challenged, the person making the nomination usually acts as temporary chair- man, and should require the person challenged to take thfc oath prescribed b}^ the statute. *7Cow., N. Y. v^ Am? V^ r (a^ ^ /Xo'tAd'^^x^^AAA.^'''*^ AUy^-^^^tXA/^ 30 POWERS OF A DISTRICT AT A SCHOOL MEETING. As Amended by Chapter 124, Laws of 1885. Section 430. The inhabitants of any school-district qual- ified by law to vote at a school-district meeting, when as- sembled at the first and at each annual meeting in their dis- trict, or at any adjournment thereof in their district, shall have power: 1. To appoint a chairman for the time being, and in the absence of the clerk, to appoint some person to act in his stead, and the person so appointed shall certify the proceed- ings of such meeting to the district clerk, who shall enter the same in the records of the district, and file and preserve the certificate of such temporary clerk. 2. To adjourn from time to time as occasion may require. 3. To choose a director, treasurer, and clerk. 4. To designate a site for a district school-house. 5. To vote such tax 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 appen- dages; 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 town board 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, specifying 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 inhabi- tants may have power to raise and collect in any one year, for the purposes above specified, more than one thousand dollars, unless the town board shall certify as above set forth. 6. To v.ote such tax as the meeting shall deem proper for the payment of teachers' wages in the district; provided, that for such purposes, in all school-districts having an av- erage 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; 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 dol- "^ ars shall be raised in any one year; 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. 7. 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. 31 8. To impose such a tax as may be necessary to dis- charge any debts or liabilities of the district lawfully in- curred. 9. To vote a tax not exceeding seventy-five dollars in any one year for the purchase of maps, blackboards, and school apparatus. 10. To vote a tax not exceeding one hundred dollars in any one year, for a district library, consisting of such books as they may direct their district board, at a district meet- ing, to purchase; said books to be selected under the ad vice of the state superintendent; provided, that any school-dis- trict having less than two hundred children of school age, shall not vote a tax exceeding fifty dollars, in any one year, for such library; and that no district containing a popula- tion of less than two hundred and fifty inhabitants shall have power to levy and collect a tax of more than five hun- dred dollars in any one year for any purpose other than for the purposes prescribed in the fifth subdivision of this sec- tion, and for the payment of the principal and interest of any loan due the state. 11. To authorize the district board to borrow money as provided elsewhere in these statutes. 12. 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 admis- sion will not interfere with the accommodation or instruc- tion of the scholars residing therein; and to fix a fee for tuition per term, quarter, or year, to be charged to the per- sons thus admitted. 13. To authorize the district board to purchase text-books for use in the public schools, to be loaned or furnished pu- pils under such conditions as, by such vote and regulations of the board thereunder, may be prescribed. 14. To determine the length of time a school shall be taught in their district the then ensuing year, which shall not be less than six months; and whether such school shall be taught by a male or female teacher or both, and whether the school money to which the district is entitled from the school fund income, 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 determine the same. 15. To give such direction and make such provision as may be 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. 16. At the annual meeting only, to vote a tax to com- pensate the clerk, which, in districts supporting graded and high schools, shall be such sum as may be voted, and in other districts not more than ten nor less than five dollars.. 32 17. To alter or modify their proceedings, as occasion may require. By the following law, enacted in 1887, an additional duty- is imposed upon legal voters assembled in annual school- district meetings : Chapter 266, Laws of 1887. Section 1. At the annual meeting of every school-dis- trict in the state, held in July, 1887, and annually thereafter at such meetings, the question of providing free text-books for the use of all pupils attending the public schools in the district and levying a tax sufficient to meet the expense of furnishing free text-books for the use of such pupils, shall be submitted to the legal voters present at such meeting, and a vote taken thereon. The chairman of each meeting shall direct the vote to be taken before entertaining a mo- tion to adjourn the meeting sine die, and upon demand of any five legal voters present the vote shall be taken by bal- lot if a written resolution upon the question is submitted, and the ballot of those favoring the resolution submitted shall have thereon the word "yes,'" and the ballot of those opposed to the resolution submitted shall have thereon the word "no.'' Subdivision 13 of section 430, of the revised statutes, per- mits school-districts to authorize the district board to pur- chase text-books for use in the public schools, to be loaned, or furnished pupils under such conditions as by vote, and regulations of the board thereunder, may be prescribed. Under authority of that provision, districts may by vote authorize the board to purchase books, and loan them to pupils for a stipulated rental per month, term or year, or sell them to pupils at cost or more, or furnish them' for use without charge. This law requires districts to vote directly at each annual meeting upon the question of providing the text-books for the use of pupils free, and levying a tax to meet the ex- pense. Chapter 118, Laws of 1879. Section 1. The total amount of school-district tax, here- after levied in any school-district in this state, in any one year, for building, hiring or purchasing any school build- ing, and for the maintenance of schools, including teachers' wages and incidental expenses, shall not exceed five per cent, of the total assessed valuation of taxable property in such school- district for the current year. 33 Attendance upon the school meeting of the district is ^mong the most important of public duties, and a sincere desire to promote harmony of feeling and a concert of action should manifest itself in the order, regularity and courtesy with which the proceedings are conducted. Every consist- ent effort should be made to afford an opportunity for the expression of the will 'of a majority of the voters of the district upon all points. The law does not determine the number necessary to constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The action of a meeting, due notice of which has been given, and the proceedings of which are regular, will be sustained, though only a minority of the voters of the district may be- present; but when, on account of extraordinary circum- stances, the attendance is very small, courtesy, as T7ell as the consideration of the best interests of the district, de- mands an adiournment for a week or more. The action of the meeting is determined by a majority of those present and voting. The rule of common law is^ " whenever electors are present, and do not vote at all, they virtually acquiesce in the election made by those who do.'^ (2 Burr, 1,021.) 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. The law does not prescribe the manner in which the electors shall vote in the transaction of business. In all important things it is better to have a rising vote or a call of the yeas and nays, and in the election of officers to vote by ballot. In the further exposition of this important section, defin- ing the powers of a district, such comments as seem neces- sary are placed under the several subsections, which are therefore given again, separately. The electors assembled in annual meeting (or at the first meeting the district having first effected an organization), have power: 1. To appoint a chairman for the time being, and in the absence of the clerk, to appoint some person to act in his stead, and the person appointed shall certify the proceedings of such meeting to the district clerk, who shall enter the 34 same in the records of the district, and file and preserve the certificate of such temporary clerk. At the first meeting of a newly formed district, some person will call the meeting to order, nominate a chairman, put the question, and declare the result. At subsequent an- nual meetings, if the director be present, it will be proper for him to perform this duty, though any elector is compe- tent to act. The person elected chairman will at once take the chair, and if the district clerk be absent, the chairman will announce the fact, and ask that a clerk may be ap- pointed pro tern. This will also be done, if it is the first meeting of the district. The person appointed chairman is not deprived of his right to vote on any question submitted to the meeting. He is. not a permanent presiding officer, but merely a voter in the chair. He may give a casting vote, in case of a tie, or he may vote with the minority, when there is otherwise a majority of one in favor of any resolu- tion, and thus make it a tie vote, which defeats the resolu- tion; 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. It is not proper to appoint any person chairman who is not a voter in the district. The chairman must put to vote every motion or resolution that is seconded, unless he deems such motion or resolution to be out of 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, it is the duty of the chairman to put the question, " Shall the decision of the chair be sus- tained ? " 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 its decision. The motion for this purpose may be put by the clerk, and the result should be declared by him. The chairman should carefully avoid any arbitrary or partial action or ruling, and give all an equal chance to be heard. There is no code of rules for regulating the proceedings 35 of district meetings, and hence that must be held to be legal to which a majority consents. The office of chair- man 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 unintentional non- observance of technical parliamentary rules is not sufficient reason for taking an appeal, nor will an appeal probably be sustained on this ground. 2, 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 mo- tion 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 has been put and declared car- ried by the chairman, without leaving the minority in pos- session of all the powers in the district. A motion to ad- journ 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 concluded and the result announced by the chairman. If the meeting adjourns indefi- nitely 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 where they were left. The statute, however (see section 426), provides that in case of an 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 no- tices therefor in four or more public places in the district, one of which notices shall be fixed to the outer door 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 meeting adjourned. 3. To choose a director, treasurer and clerk. Before the meeting proceeds to elect officers, the minutes of the last annual meeting should be read, and those of such special meetings as have been held during the year. The reports of district officers should also be presented, and re- 36 f erred to a committee for examination, with instructions to report at some later stage of proceedings. The reports- 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 duties, and the financial state- ments submitted should be accompanied with vouchers for all moneys expended. Reports of officers should be spread upon the records, as papers that are merely filed are often lost. It has already been recommended that the election of offi- cers be by ballot. This is the better way, especially in large districts, with many voters. If a shorter method is resorted to, the least satisfactory one is by yeas and nays given by acclamation. In case the election is by some other method than by ballot, the vote should be taken first on the first nomination, and continued, if practicable, until some one nominated receives a majority. If it is decided to go into a ballot, the same rule applies, and not the rule of plurality. As the provision of the constitution (Art. Ill, Sec. 3) that "all votes shall be given by ballot, except for such toimi- ship officers " as may be exempted by law, cannot be held to refer to school-districts, so the provision (of the general statute relating to "elections other than for town officers") that "the person having the highest number of votes for any office shall be deemed to have been duly elected " (R. S., Chap. V, Sec. 75), does not apply to officers of school- districts. A school-district is left to adopt its own method of choosing its officers; and if the ballot is used, a majority determines the result, the same as in any other mode of election, or in a vote upon any other ordinary matter. If no election is effected at the annual meeting, the meet- ing may adjourn, but cannot elect any officers at an ad- journed session held more than ten days after the annual meeting. It is desirable that the district elect, either at the annual meeting or at an adjourned session; for while the law provides that any vacancy arising from non-election, or otherwise, shall be filled by appointment, this may prove less satisfactory. It should be noted that a person elected 37 at the annual meeting cannot be ousted at an adjourned session. One officer at least , is to be elected each year, and after the first election, in the following order: clerk, treasurer, director. If a vacancy has occurred during the year past, which has been filled by the district board or by the town clerk, under the provisions of section 433, 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 persork 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. If a vacancy exists at an annual meeting from any other cause than the expiration of the incumbent's term, it is ad- visable that a resolution be passed declaring that such vacancy exists, and stating the ground on which the meet- ing regards the office vacant. It is for the meeting to judge in the first instance whether a vacancy 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 pronounced void by competent authority. If a mistake is made in stating the length of an unex- pired term, the person elected will nevertheless serve to the end of the term, and no longer, as this matter is regulated by law, and not by the vote of the district. In the case of election at the first meeting of a district, if two of the officers elected at once file their acceptances with the clerk of the meeting, the district is then organ- ized, and may go on to transact other business. Otherwise, the meeting should adjourn, as stated in the comments on section 416. 4. To designate a site for a district school-house. The site selected should contain at least one acre, and should be as centrally located as circumstances will permit. The future needs, as well as the present condition of the district, should be considered, however, and hence it may 4— S. C. 38 not be good policy to locate the site at 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 strictly central. 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 docu- ment than the resolution locating it. The people of the district cannot delegate 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 fix legally its location. After 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, or at any other time, but may be called upon to establish it, if necessary, as provided in sections 477-480.- ^J^^-^ X)6 5. To vote such tax 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, provided, that no district containing a population of less than two hundred and fifty inhabitants shall have the power to levy and collect a tax for building, hiring, or purchasing a school-house of more than six hun- dred dollars in any one year, unless the town board of the town in which such school-house is to be situated shall cer- tify, in writing, that in their opinion a larger sum should l3e raised, specifying 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 town board shall certify as above set forth. The electors may vote such a tax as they "deem sufficient," subject to the conditions imposed by law; and with the con- sent of the supervisors of the town previously obtained. 39 they may vote any sum not exceeding that approved by those officers. If the district contains a population of one thousand, or upwards, it may raise more than $1,000 with- out first obtaining the consent of the supervisors. It is quite proper, but not necessary, to designate a site before voting a tax to build the school-house; neither is it neces- sary that the site should be designated before levying a tax to pay for the same. If the tax deemed sufficient is after- wards found to be too small, an additional tax may be voted; and, if too much is raised, the electors may appro- priate 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 may be used for the purpose of a public school. It is always advisable that the district should own the site. Sections 477 to 484 prescribe the course that must be pur- sued when the district is unable to obtain the school-house site selected or designated by a majority of the electors thereof present at a regular meeting, on account of the re- fusal 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 expiration of the term for which the land upon which it is situated is held, the law, as stated by Judge Harris (7 Barb., N. Y. K, 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, while such temporary interest continues, may, at any time before Ms right of enjoyment ceases, rightfully remove such addi- tions and improvements. If he omit to sever the addition or improvement until his right of enjoyment ceases, such an omission is to be deemed an abandonment of his right, and thereafter the addition he has made becomes, to all in- 40 tents, 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 ac- quired, yet the district board should not part with the money before a conveyance of the site has been 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 incum- brance, 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 the mortgaged tract, the rule of law is that the remaining property of the mortgageor shall first be sold, and if that is not sufficient to satisfy the mort- gage, 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 a building upon it, if said site is incumbered, without an express vote authorizing them to do so. The question also 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 di- vided into several apartments, with an outer door to eaah apartment, and no communication with each other, the sev- eral apartments shall be rated distinct mansion houses." The supreme court of Massachusetts held, in case of George vs. 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 expensive and orna- mental building, with a view to improve the neighborhood, to enhance the value of the real estate, to accommodate 4L societies, lectures, dramatic exhibitions, or to have a con- venient 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 tenements 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 happens that economy demands a co-operation between the district and some other associa- tion, 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 un- divided 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 purpose which 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 definite part of the expenses of such repairs upon those rooms, or the roof or other parts of the building, as the district shall deem necessary. 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 con- ditions, and such others as are proper. The lease should provide for its own termination on any breach of its con- ditions, and should contain an express provision that when- ever a district meeting shall determine that the residue of the building is needed for school purposes, the same shall become the property of the district upon the payment of the 42 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 ap- pendages. Money may also be raised to pay for the instirance of the school-house. The school-house can now be insured in those companies that require a note for part of the pre- mium. All taxes voted must be for specific and legal objects, and the specific amount raised for each of the sev- eral objects for which the tax is levied, should be stated in the resolution passed by the meeting, in order that the dis- trict and the board may know the precise extent of their liability and authority. A district has power to vote a tax to enlarge a school- house, notwithstanding it may have cost all that said district is by law authorized to raise in any one year, and the tax for such enlargement 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. To vote such tax as the meeting shall deem proper for the payment of teachers' wages in the district; provided, that for such purposes in all school-districts having an av- erage 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; 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 dol- lars shall be raised in any one year; and in all school-dis- tricts having an average a,ttendance 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. The amount which may be raised for teachers' wages is restricted by the average attendance at school for the pre- vious year, the particulars of which should be made known at the annual school meeting, before taxes are voted, that the amount voted may not be unlawful. By reference to subdivision 10, it will be seen that a dis- 43 tfict with less than two hundred and fifty inhabitants can- not raise more than $500 in one year for teachers' wages, or any other purpose, besides those therein excepted. The income of the school fund annually apportioned to the different districts on the basis of population over four and under twenty years of age, must be appropriated to the payment of teachers' wages, and the balance is to be raised by tax. A tax cannot legally be levied to pay a per- son for services as a teacher who did not hold a certificate of qualification at the time such services were rendered; nor can any public money be paid to a person for services as a teacher, who is not qualified according to law. 7. To authorize and direct the sale of any school-house site or other property belong 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 district. The district must act through the dis- trict board, as the board alone is competent to make con- tracts binding upon the district. If any credit is to be given upon the sale of district property, the people at the district meeting should, by resolution, specify the exact terms thereof, and should fix the lowest price to be accepted. The district board are responsible to the district for the ex- ercise of the same care that a prudent man would take in managing his own affairs. 8. To impose such a tax as may be necessary to discharge any debts or liabilities of the district lawfully incurred. The debts which the district is most likely to incur, are such as may be made by the board, under sections 435 and 436, for repairs on the school-house, in providing necessary appendages for the same, and in the purchase of record books, blanks, stationery, apparatus, school books for indi- gent children, and for the school generally, when author- ized so to do. The district may also incur indebtedness for money borrowed.* 9. To vote a tax not exceeding seventy-five dollars in any one year, for the purchase of maps, blackboards and school apparatus. *See comments on subdivision 11. Maps are necessary for teaching geography, for the prin- cipal 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; also of the county in which the school-house is situated, A globe is also desirable. Blackboards should extend around the school room, that is, should occupy all the space not taken by doors and windows, to a heighth 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 facili- ties for the teacher. School boards should acquaint them- selves with the cost and the use of the more simple and im- portant kinds of apparatus, as they are now authorized to purchase school apparatus for the use of the district, not exceeding in value seventy-five dollars in any one year, without authority being given by vote of the district. See section 436. 10. To vote a tax, not exceeding one hundred dollars in any one year, for a district library, 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; provided, that any school-district having less than two hundred children of school age, shall not vote a tax exceeding fifty dollars in any one year, for such library; and that no district containing a population of less than two hundred and fifty inhabitants shall have power to levy and collect a tax of more than five hundred dollars in any one year for any purpose other than for the purposes prescribed in the fifth subdivision of this section, and for the payment of the principal and interest of any loan due the state. Very few districts now make use of the provisions of this section, except those included in cities and villages. By chapter 426, laws of 1887, and the amendments thereto, a sys- tem of town school libraries is provided for, and a part of the public school fund income is authorized to be used for the purchase of books, to be circulated among the school dis- tricts of the town. Before action is taken under tJais sec- tion, the features of the other system should be considered. 45 The law will be found under the title of "libraries," on a subsequent page. The restriction of the amount of tax that may be raised in one year for any purpose, except two, to $500, by a dis- trict with less than two hundred and fifty inhabitants, should be carefully noted. The preceding subdivisions (5, 6, 8, 9, 10), cover all the objects for which school-districts may levy taxes, except those named in subdivision 16, in sections 474, 4?5 and 476, and in the sections of the revised statutes printed immedi- ately thereafter, in this code. In this connection, it it deemed proper to insert the act of 1879, limiting the total amount of school-district tax to be levied in any one year, with some comments. Chapter 118, Laws of 1879. Section 1. The total amount of school-district tax, here- after levied in any school-district in this state, in any one year, for building, hiring, or purchasing any school building, and for the maintenance of schools, including teachers' wages and incidental expenses, shall not exceed five per cent, of the total assessed valuation of taxable property in such school-district for the current year. Section 2. All acts or parts of acts conflicting with this act are hereby repealed. The object of this law is to restrain excessive taxation for school purposes. Under it the total amount of taxes levied by a district in any one year must not exceed five per cent. of the last valuation of property in the district. Although the taxes may be less than five per cent, the restrictions provided for in section 430 (subdivisions 5, 6, 9 and 10) are still in force. They are not in conflict with the above act and are not repealed by it. 11. _ To authorize the district board to borrow money as provided elsewhere in these statutes. Under section 474, the district may authorize the board to borrow money, as well as levy a special tax, to meet any unusual exigency. This authority is given to the district, partly in place of that formerly conferred by section 64 of the school code, not only to levy special taxes, but if done between the first Monday in November and the next annual 46 meeting, to assess and collect the same at once through the district clerk and treasurer. All such special taxes may still be voted, but will be collected as other taxes are. In the meantime, money may be borrowed to the amount of the tax. By section 475, a school-district is authorized to make a loan of money to aid in the erection of a school-house. Loans can also be made at the present time, from the trust funds of the state under section 261 of the revised statutes. Such loans can usually be more conveniently paid by in- stallments. Although the inhabitants of the district may,, by resolution, declare their intention to raise a certain amount annually for two or more years, yet the action of the meeting is limited to one of the installments, and it re- quires the action of the district at a subsequent meeting tO' raise another installment. Money cannot be borrowed, under section 475, for any other purpose than " to aid in the erection of a school-house." 12. To authorize the district board to admit to the priv- ileges of the school, persons over twenty years of age, and persons not residing in the district, whenever such admis- sion will not'interf ere with the accommodation or instruction of the scholars residing 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 to the school. The consent of the board should always be signed in writing, and should not be given until the tuition fee has been paid to the district treasurer. No teacher should admit a non-resident pupil into his school without express authority conveyed in writ- ing. It is sometimes difficult for the district board to deter- mine the liability of inhabitants for the tuition of persons. in their employment or under their protection. Crowding into a district in which a superior school is maintained, to enjoy its advantages free of cost, under plea of having resi- dence as an employe in a family, is an abuse that needs sometimes to be corrected. The tuition fee may with propriety be made merely nom- inal, however, to such persons as are residents of other dis- •47 tricts, but who are tax-payers in the district where they desire to send to school, provided, their distance be such a& to preclude the possibility of their being attached to the district. Tbe question of residence settles the right to free tuition in any school. The legal residence of the child is usually with the par- ent or guardian; but cases frequently arise where the nat- ural or legal guardian provides a residence for a child or ward in a district where the guardian does not reside. Where this is done, not for the purpose of taking advantage of school facilities, but for the purpose of a home, the child should be enumerated in such district where he resides, and be accorded free tuition in the school. See remarks on sec- tion 463. An orphan without guardian takes his residence with him wherever he goes. In all doubtful cases the board is authorized to exercise its powers liberally as regards a child having its home in the district and nowhere else. It is not for the public good that any child should grow up uneducated. The supreme court of this state in a recent decision, in the case of State vs. Thayer, State Superintendent, has sus- tained the opinion of the present and former incumbents of the office, indicated in the preceding comments. The case was that of a mother, a school teacher, whose husband deserted her, leaving her to support several children. For one of these she provided a home in the village of Wauke- sha. The school board refused the child free tuition in the public school, upon the ground that as neither the father or mother ever had a legal residence in the village, the child had none. The state superintendent set aside the decision of the board, and held that the child was a resident of the vil- lage, and entitled to attend the public school. The supreme court in sustaining that opinion, on appeal, say: "To es- tablish the rule that a minor cannot have a residence for school purposes other than that of his parents would in many cases deprive such minor of all benefit of such schools. When the minor has poor parents, the poverty of 48 the parents renders it absolutely necessary, in many cases, that a home for the minor children should be found in places different from that of the parents, and under the construction insisted upon by the learned counsel for the relator, such unfortunate children, for whose benefit our free schools were especially instituted, would be deprived of all benefit of them. Such construction of the law would be against its beneficent spirit, and should not prevail, un- less the language is so clear that no other can be given to it. We do not decide in this case, nor do we understand the learned state superintendent to decide, that the father or' mother or other legal guardian of a minor can transfer such minor from one school-district to another for the sole purpose of having the privileges of the public school of the district to which he may be transferred. The rule in such case is very clearly stated by the learned superintend- ent in the following language: 'Effort has been made to guard against the precipitancy of non-residents to points where superior advantages exist, and schools of high order are maintained, by holding that such children onl}' are en- titled to free tuition as are actually residing in the district for other, as a main purpose, than to participate in the ad- vantages which the school affords. * * * This y A • appears to be a just and equitable view to take, and one to */ /'^^■^jvvhich neither party should object." The facts in this case, JO^'i-KriAi as found by the learned superintendent, support the con- ttMA- ^1 ^ tention of the mother that Phillip Smith was sent to reside V in the village of Waukesha in order to give him a suitable home in the family of Mrs. Dr. Fox, and that the main purpose was not to participate in the advantages of the public schools of such village. The rule above stated was recognized by the supreme court of New Hampshire in the cases of School-Dist. v. Bragdon, 33 N. H., 507-516, and School-Dist. V. Pollard, 55 IST. H., 503, and, as said by the learned superintendent, is 'just and equitable.' The decis ion of the state superintendent herein is affirmed. " The district board has no authority to admit non-resident children into the school contrary to the vote of the district, nor has it authority to exclude them after a vote of the in- 49 habitants to admit them. It is the duty of the board, in this matter to carry into effect the instructions of the district. It will be seen that the board has power under section 439 to admit persons between twenty and thirty years of age to the schools in certain cases. This power is commented upon in the proper place. The teacher has no authority in the matter of admitting- or excluding non-residents, but will be governed by the in- structions of the board. 13. To authorize the district board to purchase text- books for use in public schools, to be loaned or furnished pupils under such conditions as, by such vote and regula- tions of the board thereunder, may be prescribed. This subdivision takes the place of chapter 315, of the general laws of 1875, and it is important that every district should avail itself of the privilege here given, as a means of great convenience in insuring a timely and uniform sup- ply of school books, and as a measure of economy. To this end, the board, having determined under section 440 what text-books shall be used, should bring the matter of pur- chase by the district before each annual meeting, having first carefully estimated how many of each kind will be wanted for the ensuing year. It should be remembered, however, that while the board has power to adopt, it has no power to purchase books, un- less authorized by the district. Being thus authorized, the board should not undertake to bind the district to purchase, at certain rates, for a series of years. Books once adopted must be used for three years, without change; but the dis- trict may not continue the policy of district purchase more than one year. Hence the caution not to enter into any agreement that the district shall buy the books for more than one year. Proposals of agents to contract for a series of years should not be listened to, because such contracts are not warranted by the school laws. District boards are cautioned against purchasing books or school apparatus of traveling agents, unless they are known to be reliable; especially against having anything to do with agents who call upon individual members of the 50 "board, and pretend that they have seen the other members and obtained their consent to certain purchases. A board •cannot legally purchase books, unless they have first been authorized and directed to purchase, by the district, and there must first of all have been an act of adoption of the books, by the board. A school board can do no business lawfully as a board, unless a legal meeting is called and held. An honest agent, while he may submit reasons to a board for adopting certain books, will not attempt to induce them to make any purchases or orders, until so authorized by the district. Until then, section 501 stands in the way. 14. To determine the length of time a school shall be taught in their district the then ensuing year, which shall not be less than six 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 school fund income, 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 de- termined at the annual meeting, the district board shall de- termine the same. The number of days 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 twenty, and this number includes legal holidays, viz. : New Year's day, the twenty-second of February, the thirtieth day of May (Decoration day), the Fourth of July, the day of gen- eral (or fall) election, and Christmas, together with days of fasting or thanksgiving appointed by state or national au- thority. If the matters enumerated in the fourteenth subdivision 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 427 "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 six months), the sex of the teacher or teachers, and the ap- plication to be made of the school moneys, the board have no discretion, but must carry out the vote of the district. 51 In case they find it impracticable to do so in any particular, the remedy is a special meeting, to give them further in- structions. 15. To give such direction and make such provision as may be 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. Tlie 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 section 442 and the comment thereon. 16. At the annual meeting only, to vote a tax to com- pensate the clerk, which, in districts supporting graded and high schools, shall be such sum as may be voted, and in other districts not more than ten nor less than five dollars. This subdivision embodies chapter 91, laws of 1876. It authorizes the district to vote compensation to the clerk, but not to the director or treasurer. The vote can be taken only at the annual meeting, and is operative for one year only, unless renewed. 17. To alter, repeal and modify their proceedings as occasion may require. The power to repeal proceedings cannot be exercised after thay have been carried into effect, so that rights have been acquired under 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 modify or repeal the contract only after securing a release of damages from all the par- ties who have acquired any rights of action. A district can repeal a resolution to raise a tax, at any time before the warrant to collect the tax is handed to the collector; but this power cannot be exercised after part of the tax has been collected (Gale vs. Mead, 4 Hill; Smith vs. Dillingham, 4 Barbour). It is advisable that resolutions should be repealed in express terms, when such is the inten- tion, 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 recon- 52 si(1(M-. 'V\\c i;onors(>n who Noloil with th(> inajorit.y on Iho quostion lhi> roi'oiisiiltM'atioii of whioh is propostnl: and this nUo is a propcM* ono i'ov Iho chairuian of tho nuvtiug* to obsorvi*: hut. if on appoal i'vom tho dooision of t.ho chair- man, llio nuijority of the mool.inj>' i'hiH>so to disroj^a.ni tho niU\ it. may bo sot asido. 'rh(> nsual ndos j>-ovorniii}j;- U\i2:ishi- tivo bodios aro nt>t binding;- ni>on district mooting's, uidoss snob moot injA's a(1opt snob ruU's. Any n^sobit ion directly or ,in>oossarily roiuij^iiant to a [>ri>v ions ono, ropcwls it: and tho nUo as hiid down (;> Howard, U. S. R.. (\;W) is that if a, sub- sequent statute be not repugnant in all its provisions to a prior ono. yot if tho hitter statute was oUvirly intondod to proscribe tho only rule that should govorn in tho case pro- vided for. it ropivils tho prior ono. Tho ro[H\U ol' a i\>poaling- statute does not rovivi^ ilu^ orig- inal onaotniiMit . l^tVu'ors olootod at an annual mooting oaiinotbo displaced by rooonsidoring or rosoinding former proooodiugs at an a^l- journod mooting. When an election has boon hohl in duo form, tho elective pmviM- o( the dist riot is exhausted, and the otticors chosen at tho annual mooting are tlie h^gal otticers of the district, luuil by doatb. icsignatiou. removal from the district, expiration o( [ovm. refusal to serve, or removal from ottico. a vacaui\v occurs proper to bo tilled by election or ap- pointment. And when a person oiUitlod \o hold otlico has boon olocitHl, and has not refusoti to serve, there is no power to take it fri^n him or debar him from assuming his duties. 11. niSTKir r OFFICERS AND BOARD. 8kctu>n VM. Tho otticors of oai'h scbooldistricv. shad be a director, treasurer, and clerk, who shall be residents of the distriet, and shall hold their respective oitices for three veal's, ami until their successors have boon ehosen or ap- pointed, but not beyond ten days, beyond the expiration of their term of otliee,. without being again oloi'tod or appointed; proridiuL that at the first eloetion of such olticers. in any lunvly organized district, the tderk shall bo chosen for one year, tho treasurer for two years, and tho diiootor for three vears; and thereafter, each othcor shall bo chosen for throc^ 53 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.* Comments upon the mode of electing district officers, and upon what constitutes an election, are made under subdivis- ion 3, of section 430. See also the comment immediately preceding the section now under consideration — 431. In reckoning the terms of district officers, the time from? the first meeting of a legally organized district to the first, annual meeting, no matter how short that may be, is to he' considered a year, because all subsequent elections must be' at the time fixed for the annual meeting; hence at the first annual meeting of a 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, treasurer, director. It may some- times be necessary, however, to elect one, or even two, offi- cers, to serve out an unexpired term, in addition to the officer elected for a full term. By reference to a provision added to section 443, in 1879, it will be seen that it restricts a district in the election of a treasurer. It is not probable that attempts are often made to give the office of treasurer to the director or clerk of the district. The act forbids such action, and likewise forbids that the teacher shall hold the office of treasurer in the same district. It does not by any means follow from this last prohibition, that it is now proper or allowable to em- ploy the clerk or director to teach the school. This is against public policy, and is very likely to breed difficulty or dis- satisfaction. See comments on section 438. *SeeFormNo. 16. 5— S. C. 54 By amendment of section 443, made in 1889, district treas- urers now hold the office until successors are elected or appointed, and qualified by filing the required bond. The question sometimes arises whether it is proper to elect persons as district officers who are not citizens. As there is no statutory jjrovision on the subject, a decision of the supreme court is given. In the case of Off vs. Smith (14 Wis., 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 restrictions, that the gov- ernment 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 district offices, if it is desired to elect them. But it is not allowed by the statute to elect a non-resident of the district to a dis- trict office. Under section 513, any woman of twenty-one years of age and upwards may be elected or appointed a school •officer. 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 present at an annual meeting must be notified if elected to office; and unless a person who 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 refusal to serve in a legal way, and within the legal time. Subdivision 8, of section 961, of the revised statutes, di- rects that the resignation of a district officer shall be to the district board. 55 ^, Section 962, of chapter 42, of the revised statutes, as amended by chapter 361, laws of 1889, declares when offices become vacant. That section is here inserted: Section 962. Every office shall become vacant on the happening of either of the following events: 1. The death of the incumbent. 2. His resignation. 3. His removal. 4. His ceasing to be an inhabitant of this state ; or if the office be local, his ceasing to be an inhabitant of the dis- trict, county, town, city or village by or for which he shall have been elected or appointed, or within which the duties of his office are required to be discharged. 5. His conviction of any infamous crime, or of any offense involving violation of his official oath. 6. The decision of a competent tribunal declaring void Ms election or appointment, or adjudging him insane. 7. The neglect or refusal of any loerson elected or ap- pointed or re-elected or re-appointed to any office, to give or renew his official bond, or to deposit the same in the manner and within the time prescribed by law. 8. The neglect or refusal of any officer in office to ex- ecute and file an additional bond, when lawfully required, in the manner and within the time so required or pre- scribed by law. 9. The death or declination in writing, of any person elected or appointed to fill a vacancy, or for a full term, be- fore he qualifies, or his death or such declination before the time when, by law, he should enter upon the duties of his office, to which he was elected or appointed. 10. On the happening of any other event which is de- clared by any special provision of law to create a vacancy. Another event which creates a vacancy in school-district offices by special provision of law, is absence from the dis- trict for a period exceeding sixty days. This law is as follows: (LjLt ^ 9 ^ CL Chapter 427, Laws of 1889. SEorpiON-H '. When any school-district officer, either clerk, director or treasurer, shall be and remain absent from the district for which he was elected for a period exceeding sixty days, the office shall be deemed vacant by reason of such absence, and the remainder of the board shall have the power to appoint a successor, or in their failure so to do the town clerk shall have the same power to fill the vacancy in said school-district office as provided by section 433 of chapter 27, of the revised statutes. <-k. 56 By this act a remedy is provided for an evil quite largely experienced in some sections of the state. Persons holding school-district offices absent themselves without resigning the office held, thereby greatly embarrassing the legal and orderly management of school-district affairs. An absence by an incumbent exceeding sixty days will hereafter work a vacancy in a school-district office, and such vacancy can be filled, and the district relieved from embarrassment. THE DISTRICT BOARD. Section 4o"-?. The director, treasurer and clerk shall con- stitute the district board. Meetings of the board may be called by any two members thereof by serving on 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. No act authorized to be done by the district board shall be valid, unless voted at a meeting of the board. It will be seen by this section that the powers conferred by law upon the district board must be exercised by the board meeting and deliberating at the same time and place, and not by one or two forming a determination and obtain- ing the assent of the absent. The decision of a majority at a meeting properly convened, is the decision of the board, but the decision of a majority, or even of all three, under other circumstances, is not the decision of the board. It is merelv the concurrent opinion of the members of the board, and is no more the decision of the board than the concur- rent opinion of the members of the legislature, arrived at by taking their separate votes at their respective homes,, would be an act of the legislature. The law supposes that a majority may be convinced by a minority and change its determination, and therefore will not allow the majority to act without giving the minority due notice to participate. It is held in lU Maine R , ISo, 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 tovv^n. 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 notice would be effect- ual to secure his attendance. Nor would it be entirelv safe 57 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 dissent- ing minority. It may often fiappen that those will be able to attend, who were believed to be so situated that their attendance could not be expected. Nor is there any diffi- culty in giving the requisite notice in such cases, as one left at the usual place of residence would be sufficient." It has long been held by the Department of Public In- struction that there must be a meeting of the board called, in order to any lawful action. This section now expressly provides that no act of the board " shall be valid, unless voted at a meeting of the board," and the amendment of 1875, which recognized the sufficiency of accidental meet- ings in certain cases, is expunged. A single member of the board may be authorized to carry out a vote or determination of the board, such as making a purchase, engaging work to be done, etc. Section 433. The said board shall have power to fill by appointment 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, the town clerk shall fill such va- cancy by appointment. 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 said vacancy. Any person appointed to fill a va- cancy, 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 appointment, at which the electors shall fill such va- cancy for the unexpired term.* .J^^X"^^^"^^^ l^%Xl^sf "sftl^n 433 The said board shall have power to fill by Vacancies usually occur from -vv^-^Jl' nnZ^lf^^it^^^^^^^ rylaSuch vice, and failure to elect a sue --^Eed wS^Un'dayVafafoS^^^ moval from the district, resignat ^°-^',f bVTp'poinlmeift f" Vse^" -cincy from office by the county judge, f-^^l^p^l^.f,^^^^^^ ^ 4-V. • + 1 • orvUaee in Which the school house is Situated more than sixty days; m case C^[-^Ufillsuch vacancy. Any person appoiut'^d to fill a vacancv. upon being notified of such ap- poii tment, shall ho deemed to have accepted the same unless he shall, within five days thereafter *See Forms Nos. 1 file with the clerk or director ? writ en refusa to =erve; and any person appointed to fill a va cancy shall hold the office until the annual mcetmg succeeding such appointment at which the electors shall fill such vacancy for the uuex- ^'sectlor^ This act shall take effect and be In force from aud after its passage and publica- tion. 58 to file a bond, as required by law, or througli removal by the governor. The power of the district board to fill a vacancy continues but ten days; if thoy do not fill it in that time, the duty de- volves upon the town clerk. But neither the board nor the town clerk is authorized to act judicially, and set aside an election, where an officer is deemed to have been elected illegally. Such person having been declared elected, and entering upon the office, will be held to be an officer de facto^ until the illegality of his election is determined by compe- tent authority. In other cases the board or the town clerk, before making an appointment, must of necessity decide in view of the facts that a vacancy exists, and in the order making the ap- pointment, the facts which have caused the vacancy should be stated. In case of expiration of a term of service, and no election to fill the vacancy, it is to be understood that the term does not actually expire until ten days 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 annual meeting. In case of a &.ingle vacancy in the district board, those in office possess all the powers of a full board for the purpose of filling such vacancy, but if two vacancies exist at the same time, the remaining member cannot fill them. It must be done by the town clerk. A person should not be re-appointed who refuses to serve, or whose resignation has been accepted. The statute re- gards the penalty for refusing to serve as an equivalent for the service. (See section 500.) It will be noted that in case of vacancy in a joint district, necessarj' to be filled by the town clerk, it is to be done by the clerk of the town in which the school-house is situated. In case of appointment, the term of office of the appointee expires 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 59 duty of the board to fill such vacancy, and if they neglect to fill it, this duty devolves on the town clerk. Section 434. The district board, in their corporate name, shall purchase or lease such a site for a school-house as shall have been designated by the district, and shall build, hire, or purchase a school-house out of the funds provided for that purpose, and when required, make sale of any school- house, site, or other property belonging to the district, and if necessary, execute a conveyance of the same, in their name of office, when lawfully directed by the qualified electors of such district, at any annual or special meeting. Chapter 190, Laws of 1885. Section 1. All churches, public and private school-houses, hotels, factories, or other manufacturing establishments, constructed at any time after the passage of this act, shall be so constructed that the doors shall swing outward, or both in and out, as the builders thereof may elect. A school-district is a corporate body, and as such has per- petual succession and existence in its corporate name, and the capacity to hold real and personal estate for its corpo- rate purposes. It possesses this power as a legal body wholly distinct from the individuals which from time to time com- pose 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 ex- clusively to the district board. It is often the case that a building committee is appointed by the district to superin- tend the erection of a school-house. Although the law con- templates no such committee, yet so far as it can aid the board by its advice and service in carrying out the wishes of the people of the district, there can be no objection to it. 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 by appointing a building commit- tee, or any other agents. The district may, however, through a committee, procure plans and specifications for a school-house, and may select such a plan as is deemed suit- able, and limit the power of the district board to make a 60 contract for erecting a house according- to the plans and specifications adopted. This is the only way of controlling the district board. It rests 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 materials and workmanship un- der the contract shall be determined by persons named in the resolution. A stringent contract, which in all cases should be in writ- ing, with proper provisions for the adjustment of any ques- tions that may arise under it, will relieve the district board from much personal responsibility and trouble, as well as prevent quarrels and perhaps litigation, which are in any event injurious. The inhabitants of a district, assembled in district meet- ing, should give plain and specific instructions to the dis- trict 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 yeas and nays, and all proceedings should be entered at length upon the record book of the district. Section 435. The district board shall have the care and keeping of the school-house, books, apparatus, and all other property whatsoever belonging to the district, except that especially confided by law to the clerk, and they shall an- nually make an inventory thereof before each annual dis- trict meeting, and deposit the same with the clerk of the district; they shall keep the school-house in good condition and repair, and provide all necessary appendages during the time a school shall be taught therein. They may grant leave to any responsible inhabitant or inhabitants of the district applying therefor, to occupy the school-house for such public meetings as will, in the judgment of the board, aid in disseminating intelligence and good morals: any such licensee, and if the school-house be so occupied without there being such responsible licensee answerable, then the district board shall be personalh' liable to the district for any injury done to any property and for any expense what- ever incurred by, at, or in consequence of any such use of the school-house. 61 Chapter 414, Laws of 1887. Section 1. Any school district board in the state, insur- ing in a town insurance company the school property in its charge, is hereby authorized to execute a note for the pre- mium. The board has exclusive control of the property of the district, including the school-house, unless it shall be espe- cially confided to the care of the clerk. In either case, it is important that the trust be 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, as he has, or may have a salary. That the district may be kept appraised of the nature and condition of its property, the law requires the board to make an annual inventory of the same, and deposit it with the clerk. This should be done before the annual meeting, and the inventory produced when called for. It is also the duty of the board to provide the necessary appendages for the school-house, without waiting for in- structions 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 promptly and efficiently performed. Under this section, the board has power to cause to be built suitable out-houses, and to provide blackboards, etc., neces- sary to the successful management of the school. In the discretion confided to the board under this section, they should distinguish between things necessary and things unnecessary, though perhaps desirable. A stove is a neces- sity] an organ is not so. It has long been customary to allow school-houses to be used, at proper times, for religious, literary, and other meet- ings; 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 allow- 62 ing* a discreet use to be made of the building. They are au- thorized to do this, as the law stands, but as a matter of prudence, may, if they prefer, grant the leave only to some responsible inhabitant, who is to be answerable for the proper care of the house, etc. If there is no such person made responsible, the board becomes personally liable to the district, if the use of the house is allowed. If a ma- jority of the tax-payers are opposed to having the school- house used for any other than school purposes, it may be better for the board not to allow it to be opened. As Amended by Chapter 93, Laics of 1885. Section 4;)G. The said board shall have power to purchase a record book and such other books, blanks and stationery as may be necessary to keep a record of the proceedings of the district meetings, and the account of the treasurer, and for doing the business of the district in an orderly manner, and such maps, charts, globes and school apparatus as have been or may be approved as suitable for use of the schools, by the state superintendent or by the county superintend- ent of the county, not exceeding seventy-five dollars in value in au}^ one year, and such scliool books as in their judgment may be^ necessary for the use of any children at- tending in their district, whose parents and guardians may not be able to furnish the same. All such purchases shall be unanimously approved at a regular meeting of said board, at which all the members thereof shall be present. The district board shall keep an accurate account of all ex- penses incurred by them under the provisions of this sec- tion, and present an itemized statement of the purchases to the annual school-district meeting. This section embraces portions of sections 48, 49 and 51 of the former school codes. It authorizes the board to pur- chase such books, blanks and stationery as may be needed, and to purchase apparatus to an amount not exceeding $75 in value in one year; also school books for the children of indigent parents. All these purchases must be approved by all the board, at a meeting at which all are present. If these conditions are not observed, accounts for expenses incurred may not be allowed by the district, and the mem- bers of the board purchasing illegally may become person- ally liable for purchases made. 63 If the board is authorized to purchase books for the whole- district, as provided in section 430, subdivision 13, no sepa- rate purchase for indigent children will be needed. The apparatus most likely to be useful in the public schools is: 1. Reading charts, phonetic charts, reading frames or cases, writing spellers. 2. Writing charts, drawing charts, drawing books. 3. Numeral frames, arithmetical charts, arithmetical frames, cube root blocks, geometrical forms. 4. Outline maps, especially a map of Wisconsin, a map of the United States, and a map of the world; also globes and map drawing scales. 5. Charts illustrating natural history, physiology and nat- ural science, including color charts. 6. Blackboards, clock, call bell, thermometer, microscope, magnet. In purchasing, schools boards would do well to deal di- rectly with the houses which make a business of furnishing school apparatus. To this end correspondence may be opened with them and circulars and price lists obtained. It is suggested that school boards first select and recommend the purchase of the simpler and more necessary apparatus of which the district may be destitute. 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 key. It will be useful to take the advice of the county superin- tendent, and of experienced teachers in making a choice of articles. The county superintendents are authorized by law to approve of such apparatus as in their judgment is best suited to the schools. The caution against purchasing, unless a meeting of the board is duly called and held, and the board has authorized a purchase, by the unanimous vote of all merubers, is re- peated. Chapter 272, Laws of 1889. Section 1. The school board of any city or district is hereby authorized to purchase at public expense, one or luon* ll;ii;s of {.\\o Ihiltod Stjii(\^. iiiid pl;u-(> lli(> s;im(> in the school i-oom or fooms, iiiuKm- Mump chnr.i'c*; also to purchaser such mH'(>ssnr>' npiiiiralus ;is may bo lUH'ossiiry for propcM'ly pr(\sorvin.i>' such llaij;- or llai^s; providoil, hovvovor. tliat not more tha,M ono lla,^- a.iul aip[)iirliOiuiiuHvs shall bo ixiivluised for each dt»[)iirljiH(Mit. As .\iiiciul,il (>!/ (VurpliT I'JI, Ldirsof \HSh. Skction 437. If any dislrici, shall not, at its annual nuH^tin^-, or at a, sul)siH]U(Mit sixH'ia.l nu>otin^i>-, prior to tho Ihird Monday of Ni)vonil;or roIloNvin.<>\ voto a, tax sullicicMvt to maintain n school in said district for tho torui of six months durin,i>- (lu> (Misuiui;- y(>a,r, tho district board sliall then, on or bcfon^ tlu> \V(Mincsda,y next followinj;- said third Monday of Nov(>nib(M-. (>stima,to and dotorniino tho sum n(>C(^ssary to ho I'aiscd to maintain such school, and th(> dis- trict clerk shall forthwith certify to the town clerk the amount so tixed, who shall assess the same as otluM- clis- tTit't taxt^s art^ a,ss(>ss(Hl, a.nd all schotd niom\v reiH>ived Tromtlu^ school fund income shall ho ai)plied exclusivtdy to the payment of t(\icluM-s' wai^ws. This section was a. part of section ll» (subdivision (>) of the former codes, b(>l'or(' the revision of the sta,tutes. Wliile the law has rcstraintnl districts on the ono hand, from voting" excessivi> ta\t>s, it has also provided a security a}>ainst the parsimony or ne.iiliL;(Mict> that would sometimes fail \o op(>n schools at all, or that would open them for an insutlicient ^ioriod. Six nuMiths' sclux^l in each year is the smallest anu>unt that entitles a dislrict io share in the in- come of the school fund. Not to provide for at least this amount is a -vvrono- to the children deprived, and an in- jury to the pul)lic ,i;\HHi. The district boanl are therefore charged with the duty of nuiking this provision, if it is not done by the district. The n(\i.vlect to do this is punishable by tine, ov the members of the board mav be removed from ofliceiMi complaint of such negi(>el (S(>et.ion 507). Section 4;5S. The district board shall contract with and hire duly qualitied teachers in tlu^ name of the district, and tho contract, made shall specify ihe wages per week, month, or year, to be paid, and when compK^ted. shall be tiled in the otlice of the district clerk, with a cH\p>' of the certificate of the teacher so tMuployed attaclnMl thereto, and a. ';opv of Si\ich contrat't shall be furnished by the clerk to the teacher. No contract with any person not holding a. tlipU>ma or I'cr- titicate then authorizing him to teach shall be valid; and all such contracts shall terminate if the authority given to teach shall expire by limitation and shall not be renewed, or if it shall be revoked. * The duty here devolved upon the district board, like any other act performed by them, must be preceded by a regu- lar meeting, as provided for in section 432. The comments upon that section are referred to in this connection. Two of the board may be in favor of hiring a certain teacher, and may think that because they are a majority, there is no need of a meeting to consider the subject. But each member of the board has an equal right to be heard. Two of the board have no right to assume that the other member may not be able to give good reasons for hiring some other person than their candidate. Common courtesy , ^ as well as the law requires a meeting for deliberation. -O w In negotiating for a teacher, the board should first of all -^"1 ascertain that the person is legally ''qualified." The only ^ \ sufficient evidence of this is an unexpired certificate from ^ ^ the proper superintendent. If the county be divided into ^ two superintendent districts, the certificate must be from J S 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 jurisdiction of one su- • \ ^ perintendent, the certificate should be from the superin- tendent within whose jurisdiction the school-house is situ- ated. A certificate has no validity or force beyond the county or jurisdiction within which it is given, although "indorsed" by some other superintendent. If the legisla- ture had intended that the certificate of one superintendent might be adopted (by indorsement) by another, it would ^? have so provided. A cv An understanding may be had with a teacher who is f ^- awaiting examination, but a contract with a person who • ^ holds no certificate is not only void, but a fraud upon the ^'V district. If a teacher's certificate will expire during the ^ ^ term of school, care must be taken that it be renewed in • ■< season. It is better that the certificate be renewed before "^ the school begins. *See Form No. 21. 66 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 harmony 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 arrange- ment is to give the teacher a specific sum, and let him board himself. The amount of the compensation to be paid to teachers is within the discretion of the board. The inhabitants have no legal power to control district officers in this respect, nor in the selection of individuals to be employed, though the board would act unwisely in disregardiiig the preferences and wishes of the people, when reasonable and just. There is little probability that school officers will make the compensation 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 dismissed without some violation of the contract on his part, during the time for which it was to continue, unless his certificate of qualification is annulled by competent authority. If the board discharge a teacher on the ground that he has failed to fulfill 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. The employment of any member of the district board to teach the school is not strictly forbidden by statute; never- theless, it must be considered illegal, because against public^ policy; and a contract by a majority of the board with one of their own number, could not be enforced (Pickett vs. Dis- trict No. 1, 35 Wisconsin, 551). But even if such a contract were legal, 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 advantage- ous to himself, and less so to the district, than if some other person liad been employed. Those who hold public trust 67 should carefully avoid putting themselves into situations where their pri vate interests may conflict with an impartial discharge of their public duties. If for any reason it is deemed desirable that a member of the board should teach the school, let him resign, obtain his certificate, and enter into contract with the full board. Similar remarks apply to the practice of employing as a teacher any near relative of a member of the district board. If the other members of the board and the people of the district desire it, it may be proper; but in many and perhaps in most instances, it breeds dissatisfaction, and often creates serious trouble. As districts annually vote taxes, elect at least one new member of the board, and determine, if they choose, upon the sex of the teachers that shall be employed, contracts with teachers to extend beyond the close of the school year are not binding upon the district or upon the incoming board (16 Wis. , 33). But if such contract be allowed to stand, the district will be liable for services rendered under it. The teacher should see that the board have acted legally before making any arrangement with them. To this end, he should know what is legal action on their part. It is quite proper for the county superintendent, at all examina- tions, to explain the law clearly as to contracts, especially to young and inexperienced teachers. The only safe course for a teacher to pursue, is first to secure a certificate. This done, to obtain a legal contract in writing, and not rest satisfied with a verbal promise of the school, from some member of the board. This promise may not be kept, and may be incapable of proof. The law will protect qualified teachers, who contract in good faith and are allowed to go on and fulfill the contract, although the board has not acted legally, or although the persons signing the contract, or some of them were not authorized to do so. It was held by the supreme court of New York (15 Barb., 323), "that where a person is employed for a corporation by one assuming to act in its behalf, and ren- ders services according to the agreement, with the knowl- 68 edge 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 agree- ment; * * but when the contract is still executory and nothing has been done under it, and the action is to recover damages merely for non-performance, it is for the plaintiff to show a legal contract binding upon the corporation. " Section 439. The board shall have power to make all needful rules for the government of the schools established in the district, such rules to take effect when 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 established by them, or by the teachers with their consent: to expel from school any pupil who shall persistently refuse or neglect to obey the rules above mentioned, whenever, upon due ex- amination, they shall become satisfied that the interests of the school shall demand such expulsion; and to admit any person between twenty and thirty years of age, residing in the district, to any public school under their control, free of tuition, when, in their judgment, it will not interfere with the pupils of school age therein. The rules and regulations adopted by 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 comprehensible and reasonable. They should be so framed as to aid the teacher rather than to supplant him. The district board have full authority to organize, regu- late, 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 accordance therewith. The rules and regulations made by the board must guide him until they are set aside by competent authority. The board have authority to suspend any pupil from the privileges of the school for non-compliance with the rules established by them, or by the teacher, with their consent. The right to attend a common school is a common, not an 69 exclusive or personal right. The supreme court of Massa- chusetts (S Cush., Mass, R., 164) says, in reference to the right, " like other common rights (that of way, for instance), it must be exercised under such limitations and restric- tions 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 could be law- fully prohibited, not for any fault, or crime, or wrong con- duct, but simply because his attempt to insist on his right to attend under such circumstances would be dangerous and noxious, and so an interruption to the equal and common rights ? " In the same case the court held that school officers have the right to exclude a child for open, gross immorality, manifested by licentious language, manners and habits, though not manifested by acts of licentiousness or immor- ality within the school; for says the court, "it is as neces- sary in the unreserved intercourse of pupils of the same school, as well without as within its percincts, to preserve the pure minded, ingenuous, and unsuspecting children of both sexes from the contaminating influences of those of depraved sentiments and vicious propensities and habits, as from those infected with contagious diseases." 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 de- feat the object for wh^ch the school is organized, yet we are not to forget that humanity dictates that we deal gently with erring children. Education seeks to deter from vice, and also to reclaim those who have become vicious through parental neglect or parental example. Remonstrance and persua- sion must be exhausted before suspension from school can be justified. Expulsion from school is justified only by such in- subordination on the part of the pupil as to render it impos- sible to maintain order and discipline without excluding him. The district board should, however, exercise this power only after earnest efforts 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 oppressive exercise of power leading to the insubor- 6— S. C. 70 dination which is made tlie occasion of a punishment so severe. Power must always be tempered with benignity, and justice must be administered in the spirit of mercy. In case the board neglects to make and establish rules, as provided for in this section, the teacher is not therefore in- hibited from managing and governing the school according to his best judgment, nor can any advantage be taken of the fact that his rules have not been consented to by the board. In case of serious insubordination he should call upon the board to sustain his authority; and when so called upon, the board should be careful not to weaken his au- thority by criticising his conduct before the school. (45 Wis., 150.) 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 misunderstanding of a decision by the supreme court (Mor- row 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. It does not declare punishment in other cases to be unlawful. Never- theless, corporal punishment should be resorted to only in case of necessity, and should be moderate and judicious. The supreme court held, in the case of State vs. Burton, (45 Wis., 150), that " in a proper case, and when not deprived of the power by affirmative action of the board, the teacher has the inherent power to suspend a pupil from the priv- ileges of the school; though such suspension should ^be promptly reported to the board, with the reasons therefor." The power conferred upon the board to admit persons be- tween twenty and thirty years of age to the school, was first given by chapter 184, of the laws of 1877. Its design was to enable persons deficient in a knowledge of the English language to become more proficient therein. Where no rule concerning admission of this class of pupils has been pre- scribed at an annual meeting, and fio fee for tuition has been fixed by the district under the provisions of section 430, this section authorizes the district board to admit them 71 free of tuition when in their judgment it will not interfere with the pupils of school age therein. As amended by Chapter 251, Laxos of 1883. Section 440. The district board shall determine what school and text-books shall be used in the several branches taught in the schools; they shall make a list of such books and file one copy with^the clerk, and keep one copy posted in the school-house. When any such text-books shall have been adopted, they shall not be changed for the term of three years, and no change of text-books shall be made by a school board, unless authorized by a majority vote of the legal voters of a district at a regular annual school meet- ing, and it is hereby made the duty of the district clerk to embody in his notice of such annual meeting the fact that the question of a change of text-books will be submitted to +Via moo+ino- ttection 1. Tiifit section 1, oi cJiapler 251, of the tXltJ lll«t;i)lllg. laws of 1883, be amended so thatit\nll read as Tf ia +V.O rIn+Tr /->f +V.O Kr^oT.rI +r> , ^'^^^9^'''f- '^'^^^ section 440, of Chapter 27, of the it IS tne aUty or tne DOara to ( revises statutes, be and the saine is hereby ,1 • i 1 • i- -j^ ,1 amended so as to read as follows: Section 440. upon them m this section, it th The district board shall determine what school ~ , , . , ,, and text books shall be used in the several budden, sweeping, and Uncalle bianches taught in the schools; ttey shall make a list of such books and file one copv with the made, but such as are necessa ^^^^' ^\^,^^^^ ^^^^ copy posted in the schooi- house. When any such text books shall have the best progress of the school J^een adopted, (^except in districts furnisW^^^ r is .. text books to all j>upils attending school therein) board should bold a Ipp-aI mppt ^liey shall not be changed ibr the term of three UUdlU bUUUlU UUIU a legai XUeeu yp^rs, and no change of text books shall be lution, what school and text-be ^S ^^^^ ^o^'^^^^^^a^^S^^- after duly recording the resol '^'^'^■^^\t^t^X'''t.^^.lJ^S^^^ ii T_ 1 XI 111 audit is hereby made the duty of the district the school room, they should S€ clerk to embody in his notice of such annual • , 1 1 1 1 -TTT1 -1 nieeting the fact that the question of a change introduced and used. While of text books win be submitted to the meeting ,^ r> . . . • 1 p, 1 1 Sections That section 3, of said chapter 251, the nrst instance is left by la'V^ t.e amended so that it win read as follows: That , , -,■,.,■, 1 .. . •, ^"f^'fion 514, of said chapter 27, of the revised the district board, it is, nevertr sti^Jiitesbe, andthesame is hereby amended so as (.0 read as follows: Section 514. The several suit with the best teachers in r boards of education having the government in cities of the pubhc schools, shall- determine In selecting text-books, all J^^a* school and text books shall be used in the *= ' several branches ot study pursued in the schools, spr'tarian tpnrlpnr'v Qlinnlrl hp p i-nd shall make a list of such books, file a copy iseoiaiiaa leuuency SnOUia Oe e ^.ith their clerk or secretary and keep a copy Alter a series OI books, or an text books shall have been adopted, except in J i 1 1 J X J '^c*! city or cities as furnish to the pupils at- Card, etc. , has been adopted, nc tending the public schools therein free text , , 1 , •; , 1 /. , ^ooks, they shall not be changed for a term of ject can be substituted for such! three years. Any board of education in any Elty v/here the district system is not in force, three years, but a new book on °?'*y' tmder the limitations of this act, order changes In text books asaforesaid; provided, ex- be added to the list at any tim ph«lfp«°in1? tl^^ ''°°^'' fi ''/"k''''"*^' that said •y crianges shall be approved by the common coun- ■*-hat tViP li'cst «Vimilfl "Kp pliano-ar ^'i or board of aldermen of such city; and the oUat tne list SnOUia Oe CnangeC uforesaid boards of education are herebVauthor- -nrp<5r^-r,A "\A7o/lnoc!f1 Q ^r r>f Anrvil August in each year, appoint three competent SeCOna W eanesaay or AUgl| persons, residents of this state, wlio shall con- COmpetent persons, resident stltute a hoard of examiners. Said board shall , , ^ -I 1 /• • 1 meet at the capitol once or more each year, at tUte aboard or examiners.' such times, and also at such otlrer places as the ra-nitol onPP or morP Paoh Vi state supetinteudent shall prescribe, for the ex. CapiLOl once Ol moie edCU y( ^^^^.j^^^j^j^ ^^ ^^^ applicants for stata such other places as the state certificates; provided, the state superm- for the examination of all s ^^^J' ^}^"'^^high"'^™1is' TiT'l^i The ,state superintendent i ^^^^.^^^^^^^J^J^^Z!^ making application, or cone ing such Wgh school, and to grant certificates to flminatioTici rpnortino* thp i successful candidates, valid for one year, and 14 ammdUlonb, lepoiling l^J^^*^. | ^ single locality. The state superintendent shall advice of the examiners, ll prescribe the manner of ruaking application, of addition to those fixed by Is ^;:^}^^^^^&,r^'^^T'^ ited state c^iAcate sh^ll be );l-^;;il^^-^i;S^^;t:^^^S Section 455. lO entitle i for an unlimited state certificate shall be ex- certificate, the examiners sh 'iL'ii"^^- ^.^^^, ^±j.kx amxix. import to the state superintendent that he possesses the requisite scholarship in all the branches of study required for a first 94 grade county certificate, and also in mental philosophy and English literature. To entitle him to an unlimited state certificate, they shall be satisfied and report that he pos- sesses the requisite scholarship in all the branches above named, and in all such others as shall have been prescribed. After successful examination each applicant shall furnish to the state superintendent such evidence as^he may require of good moral character, experience, and success in teaching, and thereupon the state superintendent shall issue to him such certificate as is awarded him by the report of the ex- aminers. A limited state certificate shall qualify to teach in any public school in the state without further examina- tion, for five years from its date, unless sooner annulled. An unlimited state certificate shall qualify to teach, with- out any further examination, in any public school in the state or until the same is annulled. Section 456. The state superintendent shall record the date of each certificate, and the name, age, and residence of the person to whom issued; and he shall preserve on file in his office all papers relating to the examination of appli- cants for state certificates. Section -1:57. Any state certificate may be revoked by the state superintendent for incompetency or immoral conduct; but before any such revocation, the holder shall be served with a written statement of the charges against him, and shall have an opportunity for defense. Section 458. TIk, ^.^H-tiom. sodUm f>i<, of (he'iovised stat\i'fet'*'easury, to eacn exammei aj "three." where it occurs In the seoond line there ^'V* P®^ day for all time act t>f and inserting in ita place the word "flvo," s Omg tO, l-.,^!^,*,-..^- .mrl ,.^+„„,, ^^"' stiid section when so nmondoi will read n ^„j qII nOlClmg, and return follows: There shall be paid out of the stal » ^^^^ ^^^ his actual and nec< i^?"^"''>'*Vt*,'f^ examiner uppointed as afoKxed and ,.j2 1 1 ,1 X , ^^iiJ. "vo dollars per day lor all time actuall , CertineCl by tne Stal and necessarily spent in going to, holding an returning from any such examination, and a] his actual and necessary expenses therein tob,.^ Since 1872, there hJi^ed and certified by the state superintendent. tlfiCateS. Section 2. This act shall take eft'eet and b Applicants for eitlKl^,^"^^^^'^" ^^"^ *^^^ after its passage aud pubiisatisfac- tory evidence of good moral character. The present requisites for obtaining a limited state certifi- cate, good for five years in any public school in the state, are a successful exami^iation in the studies now required for a first grade county certificate, with the addition of English literature and mental philosophy, and satisfactory evidence of success in teaching for at least three ordinary school terms. The rudiments of mental philosophy only are re- quired. For the unlimited certificate, the rudiments of botany, geology, political economy, zoology, and general history are added. Evidence of success in teaching nine terms will also be required. 95 When an applicant is personally known to the state su- perintendent, or to either member of the board of exam- iners, as having a good moral character, no specific testi- mony will be required; but when not thus known, written testimonials from one or more responsible persons acquainted with the applicant, must be presented. In respect to the length of time that an applicant has taught, his own declaration, giving the time, place and kind of school, will be sufficient. The proof of success in teaching must be clear and ex- plicit. Written testimonials from employers, or other re- sponsible and competent persons, will be required. The examination will be conducted by both oral and printed questions, in such manner that exact justice will be done to each applicant. Applicants who fail in any of the branches required, may present themselves for re-examination in the branches for the limited certificate, within one year; and for the un- limited certificate, once within two years. A re-examina- tion in those branches in which they have been successful, will not be required. The necessary stationery, etc. , will be furnished by the state superintendent, and no fee will be charged for certifi- cates. An unlimited state certificate entitles the holder to teach in any public school in the state, and will be valid during life, unless revoked for incompetency or immorality. The limited certificate is subject to the same conditions as the unlimited one, and confers the same privileges for a period of five years. It is the object of the law to recognize and honor those experienced and successful teachers who have given char- acter to their profession, and to furnish to young teachers a proper incentive to honorable exertion. It is hoped that through the hearty co-operation of all per- sons interested in the subject, the objects of the law may be fully realized, and that the standard of teachers' qualifi- cations may be essentially raised, and more clearly defined. 96 DIPLOMAS AND STATE CEKTIFICATES. As diplomas from the normal schools, from the state uni- versity, and from other colleges and universities in the state, may become state certificates, so much of the law as relates to the matter is inserted here. First is given section 405, of the revised statutes, relative to diplomas granted by the board of regents of normal schools : Section 405. Said board may grant diplomas in testimony of scholarship and ability to teach, but no such diploma shall be granted until such graduate shall have passed a thorough and satisfactory examination in the course of study prescribed by the board. When any such graduate has, after receiving such diploma, taught a public school in this state one year, the state superintendent may, after such examination as to moral character, learning, and ability ta teach, as to him may seem proper, countersign the diploma of such teacher, and thereafter such countersigned diploma shall be evidence of his qualifications to teach in any com- mon school, and shall have the force and efi:'ect of an un- limited state certificate. The said board may also, on such conditions as they may determine, grant a certificate of attendance, certifying that the holder has completed the elementary course in a normal school, and is qualified to teach a common school; and- the said superintendent may, upon conditions above prescribed respecting diplomas, coun- tersign such certificate, and thereafter such countersigned certificate shall be evidence of his qualification to teach in any common school of this state, and shall have the full force and effect of a limited state certificate. Next is given so much of section 387 of the revised statutes, as relates to diplomas granted by the board of regents of the university: Section 387. * * * After any person has graduated at the state university, and, after such graduation, has success- fully taught a public school in this state for sixteen school months, the superintendent of public instruction shall have authority to countersign the diploma of such teacher, after such examination as to moral character, learning, and ability to teach, as to the said superintendent may seem proper and reasonable. Any person holding a diploma granted by the board of regents of the state university, certifying that the person holding the same is a graduate of the state university, shall, after his diploma has been countersigned by the state superintendent of public instruc- tion as aforesaid, be deemed qualified to teach any of the 97 public schools of this state, and such diploma shall be a cer- tificate of such qualification until annulled by the superin- tendent of public instruction. The law passed at the session of the legislature in 1880, providing that diplomas granted by other colleges and uni- versities of the state may become state certificates, is as follows: Chaptee 209, Laws of 1880. Section 1. After any person has graduated at any in- corporated college or university located in the state of Wis- consin, whose courses of study are fully and fairly equivalent to the corresponding courses of study in the state univer- sity, and after such graduation has successfully taught a public school in this state for sixteen school months, the su- perintendent of public instruction shall have authority to countersign the diploma of such teacher, after such exam- ination as to moral character, learning, and ability to teach, as to said superintendent may seem proper and rea- sonable, and after having ascertained that the course of study from which such person has graduated, is fully and fairly equal to the corresponding course in the state uni- versity. Section 2. Any person holding a diploma granted by any such aforesaid college or university, certifying that the person holding the same is a graduate of such college or university, shall, after his diptoma has been countersigned by the state superintendent of public instruction as afore- said, be deemed qualified to teach any of the public schools of the state, and such diploma shall be a certificate of such qualification until annulled by the superintendent of public instruction. Chapter 376, Laws of 1887. Section 1. Whenever the diploma of any graduate of the university of Wisconsin shall, by the signature or en dorsement of the professor of science and art of teaching, in that institution, evidence that the person therein named has completed the full course in pedagogy provided for at the university, and such person shall have taught a public school in this state successfully for eight months after receiving such diploma, the state superintendent may coun- tersign the diploma thus held, after such examination as to moral character, learning and ability to teach, as to the said superintendent may seem proper and reasonable, and such diploma, when countersigned, shall be a certificate of qualification to teach in any public school of this state, until annulled by the state superintendent. 9S The statute rolatiiii;' to diplomas granted to graduates of the nonnal schools, allows sucli diplomas to become unlim- ited state certificates after the holder has taught successfully one year. The ruling of the state superintendent is that one year shall be understood as not less than eight school months. This applies to the diplomas granted to those wlio have taken the full or four years' course. In like manner, and on the same condition of having taught one year, the certificate granted to those who complete the elementary course may become a limited state certificate. The statutes in regard to diplomas granted by the state university and other incorporated colleges and universities of the state, prescribe that the holder shall have taught six- teen school months before such diplomas can be counter- signed and become state certificates (excepting such as take the full course in pedagogy in the university). A school mouth is understood to be twenty days in length. In regard to moral character, length of time that the graduate has taught, and his success in teaching, the rules by which the state superintendent is governed in counter- signing diplomas are similar to those announced in the comments on the law as to state certificates granted on ex- amination. Chapter 303, laws of 1882, authorizing the state superin- tendent to countersign first or second grade county certifi- cates and limited state certificates held by persons who have taught in the state successfully for the period of twenty-one yeais, and thus give such certificates the force and effect of life certificates, was repealed by chapter 205, laws of 1885. Chapter 180, Laws of 1885. Section 1. After any person has graduated from the Milwaukee high school and normal department thereof, and shall hold a diploma from the school board of Milwaukee certifying to these facts, and shall have successfully taught five years in a public school in this state, the state superin- tendent shall have authority to countersign the diploma of such teacher after such examination as to moral character, learning and ability to teach as to the said superintendent may seem proper and reasonable. 99 Section 2. The diploma of such graduate, countersigned by the state superintendent as aforesaid, shctll be evidence of the qualifications of such graduate to teach in any com- mon school in this state, and shall have the force and effect of an unlimited state certificate. TEACHER S MONTH AND LOSS OP TIME. As Amended by Cliapter 440, Laws of 1887. Section 459. In settlement for wages between teachers and district boards, and other employers of teachers in the public schools, twenty days of teaching shall constitute a school month, unless it be otherwise specified in the con- tract, and all legal holidays occurring on school days shall be counted, although no school be taught; but school taught on a legal holiday shall not be counted for two school days, and no Saturdays shall be counted. The district board may, in their discretion, give to any teacher employed, without deduction from his wages therefor, the whole or any part of his time spent by hiin in attending the sessions of any institute held in the county, embracing the school- district or any part thereof, upon such teacher's furnishing to the district clerk, to be filed by him, a certificate of reg- ular attendance on such institute, signed by the person con- ducting the same. This amendment does not change the ruling of the state superintendent, that a legal holiday can be counted but one day, whether school is taught or not, and hence teaching on such a day can not compensate for a day of teaching omitted on one which is not a legal holiday. But that rul- ing is now embodied in the statute. Both school boards and teachers should take notice that the teacher's month is always 20 instead of 22 days, unless it be otherwise specified in the contract; also, that all legal holidays, but no Saturdays, are to be counted. The legal holidays are named in the comments on section 462. It is recommended to school boards to exercise the power here given to them, and allow teachers to attend institutes without deducting all the time. The schools will be the gainers by this general policy. The certificate of attend- ance required by the law should be produced by the teacher, before his wages are paid. 100 TllK SrilOOl- KICOISTER. SiccTioN l(i(\ Kv(M-v iotu'iuM* (MnnloytMl In' a (listrict hoard vsliall tMii(M' in tlu> school roi>is((>r lluMuimos, aj;os and studies of all scholars attending;- school, and daily, thoir attonchuico mid ahsoncc. a,nd such i)tlu>r facts as tiic county sui)orin- tend(>iit or tho state sup(>rintcndont may require; which register the teacher shall (UUiver to the clerk at the time he shall cease to he empU)yed hy such district, or at any other time when the same may he required for the use of the dis- trict hoard; and tlu^ teacher shall make in writing and transmit to the district hoard, or to the county superintend- t>nt a report concerning any matter relating to his school, ill such form ami manner as the hoard or sui>erintendent may prescrihe, and any teacher who shall willtully neglect or ri^luse (o makt» tlu^ proper entries in tlu^ school r(\gister US ahove requirtnl, shall forfeit his wages for teaching dur- ing the time of such neglect or refusal. It is the duty of the clerk to furnish the teacher promptly with th(* r(\gister, and to caW his attention to this section of the school law. wliich provides that for willfully neglecting or refusing to comply with its requirements, he shall forfeit his wages during such neglect or refusal. The form of a school register is given in the appendix (No. J}r>). Kcouomy will he the best subserved in the end, if a goml and substantially bound book is procured for this pur- pose. Registers are not supplied by the department of Public Instruction. Registers of the form approved may be obtained at the bookstores, or of firms that deal in school supplies. The clerk should reipiire the teacher to return the school register 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 enable him to nuxke 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 sutHcient cau^ for. discharging the teacher thus violating the law. 101 IV. THE COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT. Section 461. It shall be the duty of every county super- intendent: 1. To examine and license teachers in his district and to annul certificates as provided by law. 2. To visit and examine each district, and all the schools in his district, at least once in each year, and as much oftener as may be necessary, to inquire into all matters relating to the management, course of study, mode of in- struction, text-books, and discipline of such schools, and the condition of the school-houses, sites and out-buildings and appendages, and of the district generally; to advise with and counsel the district boards in relation to the con- struction, warming and ventilation of school-houses, and the improving and adorning of the school grounds, and to recommend to school officers and teachers the proper stud- ies, discipline and management of schools. 3. To ''lirect, after proper examination, the district board to make any alteration and repairs which shall in his opin- ion be necessary to the health, comfort and progress of the pupils, and to abate any nuisance in or upon the premises, providing the same can be done at an expense not exceeding twenty-five dollars. 4. To make an order in concurrence with the chairman of the town board in which any school-house is situated, which they shall deem unfit for school purposes and not worth repairing, declaring such fact and reciting the reason therefor. They shall deliver such order to the clerk of the district, and transmit forthwith a copy thereof to the clerk of the town, and also to the state superintendent. Such order shall take effect from its date, unless within thirty da^ys after it is delivered to the district clerk, the same shall be reversed by the state superintendent for cause shown, and from the time said order shall take effect, the district shall not share in any apportionment of the school fund income for any school kept in any building so declared to be unfit for school purposes. 5. To report annually to the board of supervisors of his. county, the condition of the schools under his supervision. 6. To receive from the town, city, or village clerk, the abstracts of the reports of the district clerks required to be made by law, and to transmit the same to the state superin- tendent; and before the first day of May in each year, to transmit to the state superintendent the name and post- pfRce address of each town clerk in his district, and from time to time such other facts relating to education in his district as the state superintendent shall require. 8— S. C. 102 7. To org'auizo and (.'oiuluct at least one institute for the instruction of teachers in each year, aud to advise in all i|uestions arisinj;- under the operation of the school laws in his district. 8. To divide his district into inspection districts hounded hy town lines, and containing- not more than four towns each, where tlie number of schools in l\is district, including oraded schools, shall exceed one luiudred aiui tifty; hut to form not more than four inspection districts, if tlie nun\ber . No county superintendent of schools shall en- gage in any profession or occupation, nor shall he absent himself from the county or district for which he is elected, to engage in any occupation, profession or pursuit during the term for which he is elected, for such tune or in such manner as to interfere with the proper discharge of his duties as superintendent of schools. Section ;i Any county superintendent of schools who neglects or violates any of the provisions of sections 1 or 2 •of this act shall be subject to removal from office. Section 4. None of the provisions of this act shall be applicable to counties in which the salary of county super- intendent of schools is less than eight hundred dollars per iiiinum. 103 Chapter 80, Laws of 1887. Section 1. Whenever the county seat of any county in this state is located in an independent city, with a separate superintendent of schools having jurisdiction only in such city, it shall he lawful for the county superintendent of schools to reside in such city and to keep an office in the public building or other place provided for that purpose by the county, notwithstanding such county seat may not be under the jurisdiction of the county superintendent of schools. Section 2. Whenever any county in this state shall be di- vided into two suijcrintendent districts, and two county su- perintendents of schools shall be elected in and for said county, it shall be lawful for such county superintendents of schools to reside at the county seat of the county in and for which they were elected, and to keep an office in the public building belonging to the county, or other place provided for that purpose by the county, notwithstanding such county seat may not be within the jurisdiction of either of such county sufjerintendents of schools. This act permits county superintendents to reside at the county seat without vacating the office, if the city is not within his jurisdiction, and avoids all questions that might arise under the general law — section 962, revised statutes. . Section 975, Revised Statutes. Section 975. The judge of the circuit court may, in term- time, or vacation, by an order specifying the cause thereof, a copy of which he shall certify to the county clerk, remove any county superintendent of schools in his circuit for in- competency, willful neglect of duty, or for acting as agent for, or receiving any fee or reward from any author, pub- lisher, bookseller, or dealer in school books, maps or charts, or school library books, or school furniture or ajjparatus. Such removal shall be made only upon a petition, setting forth fully the charges preferred against him, and after a copy thereof, with a notice attached, stating the time and place, when and where such petition will be presented to such judge, shall have been personally served upon such superintendent, at least thirty days before the hearing, and an opportunity given him to be heard. The testimony shall be taken and the proceedings conducted summarily under such reasonable regulations as the judge shall prescribe. In the discharge of the duties imposed upon county super- intendents, these officers will find opportunity for doing in- estimable good. To properly perform them will require the exercise of patience, prudence and firmness, and gen- erally the assiduous employment of all their time. In this way alone will they secure the confidence of the people. EXAMINATION OF TEACHERS. 1, The examination of teachers should be confined to ascertaining their qualifications in respect, first, to moral character; second, to learning; third, to ability to teach. A superintendent can inflict no greater wrong upon a community than to license a man of immoral character as a teacher. When the superintendent is not acquainted with the applicant, testirnonials as to his moral character should be required, which should be explicit, and from persons of unquestionable integrity who are intimately acquainted with said applica.nt. Persons of questionable morals and bad manners should never be permitted to engage in the business oE teaching. The example of a teacher influences the character of his scholars, hence it should always be such as to inspire confidence. While no religious test can be required, a person who is habitually profane, or secta- rian in spirit, or uncharitable towards those of faith differ- ent from his own, or indiscreet in the utterance of his religious or political views, ought not to be permitted to en- ter a public school as a teacher. Neither should a person receive a certificate of good moral character, who is not truthful, temperate, orderly, honest, and prudent. A teacher should be courteous, simple in his tastes, kind and consid- erate toward the unfortunate, just in his dealings, patriotic, public spirited and pure minded. Comments upon the different grades of certificates au- thorized to be given, are to be found under section 450. As to the learning of applicants, the law specially sets forth the branches in which they must be examined, and the dif- ferent certificates which county superintendents are author- ized to grant. The method of examination required is by written and oral questions. Questions to be answered by writing should be prepared with great care. They should be definite, involving principles rather than facts, and suffi- cient in number to test the knowledge of the teacher. The 105 questions are generally printed on slips of paper, the super- intendent exercising due care to prevent candidates for cer- tificates from knowing beforehand what they are. All neces- sary preparation should be made, such as providing a room where teachers can write; removing all temptation to aid or seek aid; obtaining paper, ink, pens, etc. ; seeing that the blackboard is in good order, and that rubbers and crayons are at hand, and that the room is warmed, lighted and venti- lated. The time appointed for meeting should be such as will enable all to be present, who design to attend, and no allow- ance should be made for a failure consequent upon tardiness or unnecessary absence. The time allotted for each set of questions should be stated on the paper containing the printed questions, and such rules should be established as will preclude communication or interruption during the time of examination. County superintendents should carefully discriminate be- tween the standard of attainments in each branch of study which they are authorized to establish, and which each applicant for a certificate may be required to reach (see comments on section 450), and the standing or relative attainment, in those branches, which is to be shown in the certificate, as required by section 449. The standard in- volves the scope or extent of the candidate's ability, scholar- ship and powers, which are deemed indispensable qualifi- cations for teaching, and involves clearness of perception and understanding, with ability to communicate and eluci- date. Standing implies relative attainments in the several branches as determined by the particular test of the exam- ination. Discrimination in this matter will result in careful con- sideration of the i^lan of examination, as well as the ques- tions to be submitted. The latter can be properly prepared only after the standard is definitely determined, and should be rigidly confined to tests within the limits of the stand- ard fixed. As a rule, the examiner should not know the name of the person whose papers he examines. By numbering the can- didates and requiring them to use the numbers instead of 106 their names in signing their papers, there will be no suspi- cion of partiality. The 'name and corresponding number of each candidate should be written on a card. The cards should be collected and carefully laid aside until the results of the written examination are determined; and the owner of eaclj paper may be known by finding the name on the card corresponding with the number on the paper. All papers written at examinations should be preserved by the superintendent, kept on file in his ofiice during the life of the certificate issued thereon, and so arranged that reference may readily be made to them. In case of com- plaint, any errors that may have been committed may thus be corrected. In "marking " or determining the standing of candidates, ten should be taken as the niaxiniuni. The ivriting,pimctu- atioti and spelling should be correct. No attainments in science can be taken as an equivalent for deficiencies in the "common branches." In conducting the examination orallu, such notes should be made by the examiner as will enable him to avoid er- rors of judgment. Pronunciation, choice of words, facility of illustration, ability to use the crayon at the blackboard, power of expression, use of the voice, self-possession, man- ners, and, in general, scholarly culture, are things to be ob- served in the oral examination. If a person does not pos- sess these in some tolerable degree, he cannot teach, and ought not to be licensed. In many cases, too little time is given to the examination. No person can properly examine twenty or thirty teachers in a single day. At least ten hours diligently employed are necessary to enable the examiner to pass upon the qualifi- cations of twenty teachers seeking the lowest grade of cer- tificate. A record of all examinations should be kept. The names of applicants with their ages and residences, and the grades of those licensed, should be carefully and accurately re- corded. The dates of examinations and of certificates ought to be preserved as a portion of the permanent records of the office, and all papers relating directly or indirectly to 107 examinations should be preserved, arranged and filed for future reference. " Ability to teach," involves more than mere learning-. One who does not speak the English language with fluency, correctness and good taste cannot teach the branches re- quired "in the English language," as the law provides. It also involves knowledge of the usages of society and of the •rights of parents and children; also, of the laws relating to public schools, property, reputation and life. To teach requires courage, fortitude, forbearance, discretion and patience; hence, granting certificates to boys and girls is a violation of the spirit of the law, and shows a want of com- mon sense. In preparing questions for written examinations, effort should be made to so frame them as to fairly test a candi- date's knowledge of the facts and processes involved in the subject, the reasons of the processes, the relations and prac- tical significance of the facts and processes, and ability to develop the general subject by correct methods, to accom- plish the disciplinary as well as other advantages of the study. ANNULLING CERTIFICATES. The power conferred by law upon county superintendents to annul certificates, should be exercised with discretion and firmness. Deficiency in learning or ability to teach, or immoral character, constitutes a ground for annulment. If a teach- er's deficiency relates to learning, and it is within the knowl- edge of the superintendent, he should re-examine him; and if it relates to bad morals, he should investigate the matter^ giving the teacher proper notice; and if he fails to excul- pate himself, his certificate may be annulled. In case of complaint made to the superintendent by others, the teacher should receive notice of the time and place at which he will be examined, and at which proof will be heard on behalf of both complainant and teacher. When the complaint relates to the moral character of the teacher, full opportunity must be given him for defense. 108 He should be made acquainted with the precise charges affecting his character, and ample time should be allowed him to prepare jn'oofs, and to bring witnesses to explain or disprove the charges. The law authorizing superintendents to annul certificates, and directing the course to be pursued, is found in section 453. The superintendent should not subject the teacher to a. public accusation, unless some person shall make complaint to him, and sustain it by his own oath, or that of witnesses whom he produces. All testimony should be reduced to writing. It is for the complainant to produce the evidence of the charges he prefers. The accused is entitled to the privilege of cross-examining witnesses, and is not bound to offer any testimony until something is proved against him. As an appeal may be taken from the action of the county superintendent to the state superintendent, the former should take full minutes of the testimony, as it is given, as nearly as possible in the language of the witness. VISITING SCHOOLS. The duty of visiting schools is among the most important of those required of the county superintendent. School vis- itation depends for its efficiency upon the manner in which it is performed. A stated formal visit does no good, and sometimes does harm. A short call, without an opportunity to learn anything of the real condition of the school, is useless. The visits should be quite unceremonious, unexpected to teachers and pupils, and the superintendent should, besides observing the routine of the school room, inform himself in regard to the progress and attainments of the pupils. He should examine classes in spelling, reading and writing, in preference to those in algebra, French, and rhetoric, and should show both teacher and scholars that he attaches more importance to those branches that constitute the foun- dation of education than to those, a superficial knowledge of which may be obtained by very, poor, scholars. The teacher's method of classification should be examined. It sometimes happens that scholars are hastily assigned to the 109 wrong class, and there allowed to remain for months, on ac- count of the indifference or ignorance of the teacher. If classes can be consolidated with advantage, that should be done, and the superintendent should feel that he, as well as the teacher, is responsible for the progress of every school in his county. By his visitation, and by the reports he may require of teachers, the county superintendent can do very much to secure the use and promote the efficiency of a course of study in all the schools. He should take pains to explain its use and advantages to teachers, and inspire pupils with am- bition to compass all the work prescribed in the course thor- oughly and creditably; excite emulation among different schools; examine classes to determine the progress they are making, and for promotions, and upon completion of the course; interest patrons and officers in this systematic and progressive work, and secure, if possible, their hearty co-op- eration, by aiding in securing punctuality and regularity in attendance. The school register should be examined, and if not kept in such a manner as to show classification and progress of all pupils, and such comments as will aid a successor in taking up and carrying forward the work of the school from the point of advancement reached during the term, as well as name, age, sex and daily attendance, such instruction should be given and such measures taken as will lead the teacher to keep it in proper form. The condition of the school li- brary, apparatus, maps, etc., should be ascertained and noted. The desk, blackboards, furniture, stove, windows, doors, wood-shed, fence, outhouses, ecc, should be inspected, and a report of the condition of the school, school-house, and surroundings, should be made to the district board in writ- ing. Such suggestions as are required may also be made. The district officers should be reminded of the annual dis- trict report, and the necessity of accuracy and promptness in making it should be enjoined upon them. The manner in which the district records and accounts are kept, should be made a subject of investigation, and if necessary, of advice. Attention should be given to the certificate of the teacher, 110 and if public money is* paid to teachers not qualified, the consequences of such disregard of law should be pointed out, and measures taken to prevent it. No person has a right to teach in a public school who does not hold the certificate of qualification required; no oflBcer has a right to pay a dollar upon an order in favor of such unqualified teacher; the clerk and director who draw the order are misappropriating pub- lic money, and the duty of the county superintendent is to prevent this unlawful practice. The superintendent should seek to remove difficulties growing out of changes in district boundaries, family ani- mosities, or dissatisfaction with the action of school officers. He should invite the people of the district he is visiting to meet him at the school-house, and should then address them upon the educational interests of their district. The address should be plain, pointed and pertinent. No adulation or flattery should be indulged in. The results of observation and examination should be given with such plainness as discretion and good taste will warrant. An effort should be made to instruct and improve rather than please. If practicable, a report of the condition of each school should be made in writing to the district board. Their at- tention should be particularly called to those things that are necessary for the comfort, health and progress of the children. The school register will furnish, if properly kept, facts that may be made the basis of calculations in regard to attendance, absence, irregularities, etc., that will be both interesting and instructive. It is also well to address a communication to the teacher, commending what deserves approval, and calling special attention to those things that need correction. INSTITUTES. It is made the duty of the superintendent to hold insti- tutes, and at least one should be held each year. Such preparation should be made as will secure a prompt and general attendance. A suitable room, well ventilated, properly warmed, and furnished with desks, blackboards, etc., is indispensable. By proper effort, the co-operation of Ill the people in the vicinity of the place where the institute is held may be secured. Care should be taken not to tax the hospitality of the people for the benefit of those not en- gaged in teaching, merely to swell the number in attend- ance. The notice for the institute should suggest to the teachers the necessity of bringing with them paper, pencils, note books, and such school books as may be required. Arrangements should be made for addresses, and if the superintendent deems it advisable, some prominent teachers may be secured to conduct the institute exercises. For some years past, the board of normal regents has granted aid to institutes out of the income of the normal school fund. If preferred, a conductor from one of the normal schools is furnished to take charge of the institute, if practicable. The programme should, if practicable, be published with the notice, and should be strictly adhered to during the time the institute is held. When a conductor is furnished, it is expected that he will follow the " syllabus," or general system set forth for the purposes of institute work. A por- tion of each session should be devoted to discussion, and the superintendent, or other conductor, should be prepared to answer such questions in regard to the school law and school matters generally, as the teachers may wish to ask. Punctuality, regularity, and good order should be main- tained, and an effort should be made to render the institute a model school in its methods of recitation, instruction, and general arrangement and management. The county superintendent should preside and conduct the exercises in part, at least. Careful attention should be given to the register and the gathering of the statistics required to be recorded therein. In all respects, the institute should be a well-ordered and business-like body, diligently doing its appointed work. No time should be frittered away in excursions, picnics, or parties. EXAMINATION DISTRICTS, AND PRIVATE EXAMINATIONS. To facilitate the examination of teachers, and to lessen the trouble and expense to them, the law requires inspection 112 districts, and due notice of the time and place of the exam- inations. It will be noticed that the law is so amended as not to require more than four inspection districts in some counties, and in others not more than three, according to the number of schools. Examinations should be public, that there may be no sus- picion of favoritism or neglect. The uniformity in ques- tions required is not an identity of the questions submitted to each candidate, which would generally be impracticable in regard to oral questions, and sometimes unadvisable as to the written ones; but an equality, through the county, in the difficulty of the questions propounded, and in the thor- oughness of the test to which the candidates are subjected. Before granting private examinations, the county super- intendent should always satisfy himself that the absence of an applicant from the public examinations was necessary and unavoidable. Although the certificates granted at special examinations are of short duration, yet the candi- date should not be less thoroughly examined than if pres- ent at a public examination. Private examinations are mostly or quite avoided, by some superintendents, by ap- pointing a supplementary examination late in the season. Good judgment will be required to avoid, on the one hand, too much easiness, and, on the other, an arbitrary exercise of power. V. REPORTS. As amended by Chapter 298, Laws of 1883, Chapter 155, Laics of 1889, and Chapter 370, Laws of 1889. Section 462. It shall be the duty of the district clerk be- tween the tenth and^fteenth days of July in each year, to make and transmit to the town, city or village clerk, a written report, dated on the tenth day of July of such year, signed by him and verified by his affidavit, showing: First. The number of children, male and female, desig- nated separately, over the age of four and under the age of twenty years, residing in the district, and the names of their parents, guardians, or other persons with whom such children resided, respectively, on the last day of June pre- ceding. But no such children residing in, held or cared for 113 athny charitable or penal institution of this state shall hA lufcluded m such enumeration or renort Anrl wK? tKe state superintendent shall receive^fnfornf^jLf^^^^^ sudi children have been enumerated in tTe^^^^^^ on thi ba"s''of.^.th""'"^^^- ^" '''' reportVmade to'h m ^rww;,t. • ^^^^ apportionment of money from the becond The whole number of children malp nnrl f^ |. male designated separately, betweeHhe aie^of ^^^^^ Si h£iS^' '-*>'? ^&-''.'SXit. Swed ai y ww^f„'^'*^.f P,''"^ *° «^«h; and thi time Irf.i ft' amount received from tax voted by the distri r-t and the amount received from all other sources durinTthP number ofVhSdrL "^^i"^^ '^ embraced in suoli district, the 11^ The changes made in this section, forbid the enumeration by district clerks of any child held or cared for in any char- itable or penal institution; and repeal the clauses making it obligatory to report the names of the text-books used, and some other minor items of schools affairs, heretofore arbitrarily required by the statute to be reported. Chapter 95, Laws of 1887. Section 1. That in addition to the duties of the clerks of the several school-districts of this state, relating to the tak- ing of the census of the school children, as now provided by law, the said clerks shall also report the names of the children in their respective districts, and the age of each of them over the age of four and under the age of twenty years. This very important change in the law will involve a large increase of labor and carefulness upon those who take the annual census of the school population, but is justified by the greatly increased amount of public money appor- tioned upon the basis of this census. School officers will find that the blanks for annual reports and the forms of affidavits sent out conform to the provisions of this act. Blank forms for the reports of district clerks are prepared by the state superintendent, with printed instructions in re- gard to the mode of filling them, and are transmitted through town clerks to district clerks. These blanks will, from time to time, require other information in addition 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 that the annual district reports should be promptly completed and deposited with the proper town clerk. Some explanations are given below in reference to the foregoing subdivisions. The school year begins on the first day of July, and ends on the last day of June. The law requires that the names of parents or other per- sons, with whom children to be enumerated reside, shall be written. The greatest care must be exercised in taking the 115 census of the school children of the district. School money is apportioned on this census. For remarks on residence, see commentary on sections 428 and 430. Mere hoarders or lodgers are not to be included in the enumeration of pupils, for they are presumed to be- long to families residing in some other district of the state; but persons who pay for their board and lodging by devot- ing a part of the day to work, in the service of the household, while the rest is spent in attendance at school, and tvlio 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 furnish them instruction, that such district may receive an appor- tionment on their account, and care should be taken that the same children are not enumerated in two districts. (See remarks on section -430, under subdivision 12.) 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 association that has them in charge, and are not to be included in the enumeration. Children supported at public charge require a residence in the district where thus supported, and are to be instructed in such district. The law relating to this subject is section 512. All persons more than four and less than twenty years of age, although themselves the masters or mistresses of fam- ilies, are to be enumerated. The whole number of children who have received instruc- tion from legally qualified teachers since the first day of July 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. It is to be hoped that the annual reports will show few in attendance at school less than four years of age. All that 116 children need to learn before they are six years of age ought to be taught them at home. It is required that the whole 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 income of the school fund, must maintain a school at least six months of twenty days each, including legal holidays, and such school must be taught by a legally qualified teacher. The legal holidays in this state are New Year's day, the twenty-second of February, the thirtieth of May, the fourth of July, the day of general (or fall) election, Christmas day, and all days of thanksgiving which are appointed by na- tional or state authority. By section 2577 of revised statutes it is provided, that whenever a legal holiday shall fall upon a Sunday, the succeeding Monday is a legal holiday. See comment on section 459. Themonthly wages paid to a teacher includes all expenses incurred by the district on his account for board. If the district boards the teacher, the cost of board is to be added to the amount of monthly pay, and the sum of the two items constitutes his monthly wages. For directions in regard to making the annual report, the clerk will carefully study the blanks which are fur- nished by the state superintendent. In case a clerk fails to receive the blanks needed in time to make his annual re- port as required by law, he should, without delay, notify the state superintendent of the fact, that they may be sent. The clerk of a joint school-district must report to the town clerk of each town, a part of which is embraced in his dis- trict, upon a partial report blank furnished for that purpose, the number of children, male and female designated sepa- rately, 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 sent. Care should be taken not to report to any town clerk a greater number of children over four and under twenty years of age than reside in that part of the district lying within his town. In some instan- 117 ces, the whole number of children in a joint district is re- ported to each town clerk, causing the district to receive more than its share of school money distributed. This should be carefully avoided. He must also report to each town clerk whose town em- braces any part of the district, upon the partial report blank, the number of days a school has been taught in his district by a legally qualified teacher during the year covered by the report. This is obviously necessary to enable the town clerk to determine whether he can legally apportion money to the district. In addition to the foregoing items, the clerk of a joint school-district will report all the other items called for in the general blank, to the clerk of the town containing that part of the district in which the school-hcuse is situated. As amended by Chapter 298, Laws of 1883, and Chapter 156, Laws of 1889. Section 463. Each town clerk shall, on or before the first day of August in each year, make and transmit to the county superintendent of the county or district in which his town is situated, a report, bearing date on the tenth [first] day of said month, stating: 1. The whole number of school-districts separately set off within the town, and the number of parts of joint dis- tricts in which the school-houses belonging thereto are lo- cated in his town. 2. The districts and parts of districts from which reports shall have been made within the time limited for that pur- pose. 3. The length of time a school shall have been taught in each such district or parts of districts. 4. The amount of public money received in each. 5. The number of children taught in each, and the num- ber of children over the age of four and under the age of twenty years residing in each. 6. The whole amount of money received in the town for school purposes since the date of the last preceding report, setting forth separately, the amount received from the state, through the county treasurer, the, amount levied by the county board, the amount raised by the town at its annual meeting, in towns where the townsJiip system of school government has been adopted. 7. The amount of money raised by district tax for school purposes. 9— S. C. 118 8. The nianner in which said moneys have been ex- pended, and whether any and what part remains unex- pended, with such other information as the state superin- tendent may require, and as may be reported to him by the district clerks. Blank reports, prepared by the state superintendent, are annually sent to town clerks. Such instructions as are needed always accompany the blanks. In towns which have adopted the "township system of school government," the report required in the foregoing section will be made by the ''secretary of the town board of school directors," as provided in section 537 of the re- vised statutes, upon the same blanks which are used by town clerks in other towns. As amended by Chapter 298, Laws of 1883, and Chapter 154, Laivs of 1889. Section 464. Each county superintendent shall, on or before the fifteenth day of August in each year, make and transmit to the state superintendent a report in writing, setting forth the whole number of towns in his district, distinguishing those from which the required reports have been made to him by the town clerks, and containing an ab- stract of their reports, and also containing an abstract of the annual report of the secretary of each free high school in such district, and of each secretary of town board of school directors of towns having the township system of school government, and of the clerk of each incorporated village and cit}^ under his supervision. Each county superintend- ent shall also, within the time above mentioned, make and deliver to the county clerk and to the county treasurer, a written statement of the whole number of children in each town, village and city under his supervision over the age of four and under the age of twenty years returned from districts which have maintained schools for six or more months during the past year, as appears from the reports of town clerks. The county superintendent must now make his annual report by August 15, but is no longer required to file a copy with the county clerk. All necessary instructions accompany the blanks annually furnished to county superintendents from die office of the state superintendent. The greatest case should be exercised in making the annual report required by section 464, for it is upon this that the annual apportionment is made. 119 Section 465. The city clerk of each city, and the village clerk of each specially incorporated village, or the clerk of the board of education of each city and village under the jurisdiction of the county superintendent, shall, within the time prescribed, make and transmit to him the reports re- quired by section four hundred and sixty-three; and in all cities having a superintendent of schools, and which are not under the jurisdiction of a county superintendent, such superintendent of schools shall make the annual report re- quired by said section, directly to the state superintendent; and in such cities having no superintendent of schools, such report shall be made by the clerk of the board of education thereof. The clerks of cities (under county superintendents) and of villages use the same blanks as town clerks, and receive the reports of the district clerk or clerks. Section 466. The state superintendent shall, on or before the first day of June in each year, furnish to each clerk, superintendent, or other officer by whom a report should be miade, blank forms upon which such officers shall make their annual reports; and whenever any amendments shall be made to the provisions of this chapter, he shall furnish a copy of such amendments to every school-district in the state. VI. DUTIES OF TOWN CLERK AND TREASURER Section 467. It shall be the duty of the town clerk: 1. To report to the county superintendent within ten days after his election or appointment his name and post-office address, and likewise the name and post-office address of -each district clerk, within ten days after the same are filed in his office. 2. To see that the annual reports of the several district clerks are made correctly and in due form; to file and safely keep all reports whatsoever made to him; and all orders and notices of the town board relative to any school- district. 3. To record such description of school-districts, and such orders concerning the organization, alteration, or dissolu- tion thereof, as shall be made by the town board. 4. To make and keep in his office a map of the town, showing the exact boundaries of all the school-districts therein, as appear from the records on file; and when a new district is formed, to make and furnish a map thereof to the district clerk. 5. To apportion the school money collected by the town, on the third Monday of March, and that received from the 120 state on the third Monday of June of each year, or as soon thereafter as the same shall be collected or received by the town treasurer, to the several districts and parts of districts, within the town, as provided in these statutes.* The duties here devolved upon the town clerks have an intimate connection with the welfare of the public school system, but need no special comment other than that in the election of town clerks the electors will do well to select persons, if practicable, who are not only competent to per- form clerical duties efficiently, but who take a deep interest in the public school system. The further duties of the town clerk as to the apportion- ment of school money, are embraced in sections 558 and 559. Section 468. It shall be the duty of the town treasurer: 1. To apply for and receive from the county treasurer all moneys apportioned for the use of common schools in his town, and to pay the same, together with all the moneys- collected in the town for the support of schools, to the treasurers of the districts entitled to receive them, upon the order or apportionment of the town clerk. 2. To pay the district treasurer on demand all school-dis- trict taxes raised in each district, and collected by him, and the amount of all school-district taxes returned to the county treasurer of his county as delinquent, whenever the same shall have been paid to him by said county treasurer, or whenever he shall receive credit from the county treasurer for such delinquent tax or any part thereof, on account of any demand or claim due from such town to such county. 3. On or before the second Monday of March in each year, to certify to the town clerk the amount of school money in his hands, to be apportioned by said clerk, and immediately upon the receipt of any money from the school fund income, to certify the same to the said clerk for apportionment, f 4. On the last Monday in June in each year, to make and forward to the clerk of each school-district, in whole or in part, in his town, a certified statement of the amount of money paid by the town treasurer during the year next pre- ceding, to such district treasurer, specifying the date and amount of, and the account upon which each such payment was made. 5. If the county treasurer shall neglect or refuse to pay over the school money, which by law should be paid to the town treasurer, he shall commence and prosecute an action on the official bond of such county treasurer for the reco v^- ery of such money. • / * See Form No. 26. f See Form No. 27. / 121 The town treasurer will hold, subject to the order of the several district treasurers of his town, all district taxes col- lected by him. Also, all money raised by taxes levied upon the town by the county board of supervisors, and all money raised by the town in addition thereto, and pay the same over to the several district treasurers, according to the ap- portionment made by the town clerk under the law. He will also receive from the county treasurer the amount apportioned by the state superintendent to his town, out of the income of the school fund, and pay the same over to the district treasurers according to the appor- tionment made by the town clerk. The town treasurer will also receive all money paid on account of delinquent taxes, and pay the same over to the proper district treasurers. No school taxes except district taxes will be returned, if the law is complied with. It is the duty of the town treasurer to notify the town clerk of any money which he holds subject to apportion- ment by said town clerk, and to inform district treasurers promptly of any funds in the town treasury belonging to the respective districts. District treasurers are not required to accept any taxes or school funds from the town treasurer in anything but cash. The certificate required to be made on or before the sec- ond Monday in March, in each year, must state specifically the several amounts received from town and county tax, and the amount of income unapportioned which remains in the town treasury; it must also include any money ap- portioned the previous year, which has not been paid over to the district treasurers. Reference is here made to sec- tion 557. The purpose of the certified statement to the district clerk of the amount of money paid by the town treasurer during the year next preceding, to the district treasurer, is to give the district clerk the data upon which settlement with the district treasurer can be made in time for report at the an- nual meeting. As the annual meetings are now held on the first Monday in July, the statement should be furnished earlier. 122 VII. DISTRICT TAXES. Section 469, All school-district taxes, unless otherwise specially provided by law, shall be assessed on the same kinds of property as taxes for town and county purposes;, and all personal property which, on account of its location or the residence of its owner is taxable in the town, shall, if such locality or residence be in the school-district, be like- wise taxable for school-district purposes. Section 470. Whenever any real estate in any school-dis- trict shall not have been separately valued in the assess- ment roll of the town, and the valuation of such real estate cannot be definitely ascertained from such assessment roll, the town clerk shall estimate the value of the same in pro- portion to the valuation affixed in said assessment roll to the whole tract of which such lot or piece of land forms a part. Section 471. In case of a joint district, the town assessors. of the towns in part embraced therein shall meet at the dis- trict school-house on or before the Saturday next preceding- the time fixed for the return of the assessment rolls, and shall then compare the valuation of taxable property in the several parts of such district separated by town lines, and determine whether the relative valuation be just or not; if considered unjust, they shall then determine the relative proportion of district taxes to be assessed upon the several parts. If they cannot agree upon either of said matters, they shall call to their aid the supervisors of the several towns so in part embraced; if the assessors and supervisors cannot determine the question, they shall call to their aid the chairman of an adjoining town, whose vote shall decide the controversy. The determination when made shall be certified in writing to the district clerk. If any assessor or supervisor shall refuse or neglect to act when called on as. above provided, he shall forfeit twenty dollars.* Several sections are here brought together by the revisers from different parts of the former school code, which should be carefully examined by the officers concerned. As amended hy Chapter 241, Laws of 1885. Section 472. Bach district clerk shall, on or before the third Monday of November in each year, deliver to the town clerk a statement in writing verified by his affidavit, show- ing the amount of taxes voted to be raised at the last an- nual meeting, or at the first meeting after^the organization of the district, or both, as the case may require, and all taxes voted at any special meeting held during the then * See Form No. 29. 123 next preceding year, and also the amount of tax thereto- fore voted to be collected in such year, if any, for the an- nual payment on any loan, and also the amount to be paid by such district, if any, under the provisions of section four hundred and twenty-one. In case of a joint district, he shall deliver to the town clerk of each town in which any part of the district is situated, a statement so verified, showing the proportion of such taxes to be assessed in that part of the district within such town. If such proportion shall not have been determined as provided in the last pre- ceding section, it shall be ascertained from the valuation contained in the last assessment rolls of the respective towns; and to that end the town clerk of each such town shall on or before the last Monday in September in each year, deliver to the district clerk a certified statement of the valuation of the real and personal property in that part of such district lying within his town, as the same appears from said assessment roll, f Chapter 305 of the general laws of 1881, changed this section so as to require each district clerk to deliver his statement to the town clerk on or before the last Mon- day of October in each year; the revision of the statutes changed it to the" third Monday. The section as now amended, restores the section as originally enacted in the statutes of 1878, in that particular, and changes the provis- ion relating to the time when town clerks shall furnish dis- trict clerks of joint districts a statement of the valuation of property in the district, or part of district, to "on or before the last Monday intSeptember." Section 473. The town clerk shall assess the taxes so as- certained, upon the property liable thereto, placing the same in a separate column, in the next tax roll of his town, when- ever so certified before he shall have delivered the roll to the town treasurer for collection, although after the third Mon- day in November; if any such shall not be assessed in the next tax roll after being voted, it shall be assessed in that of the next succeeding year. Such taxes shall te collected or returned delinquent by the town treasurer and collected by the county treasurer in all respects like other taxes. Upon the delivery to him of such statement, the town clerk should give the district clerk a certificate that he has received the same, stating the amount of the tax, and the time when received, which certificate should be filed in the office of the district clerk. fSee^^^Forms Nos. 30 and 31. 124 TOWN SCHOOL TAX. Only those town s which have adopted the township system, no w have power to vote a town school tax. This power was given to all towns, under section 2, of chapter 15, of the re- vised statutes of 1858. It was also embodied in section 76, of the revised school code of 1863. In 18'^6, the power was eliminated from section 2, of chapter 15, of the revised stat- utes, but section 76, of chapter 155, of 1863, was left unal- tered. In the statutes as newly revised, no authority is to be found, either in the powers conferred upon towns, or in the school code, under which towns can vote a school tax, ex- cept such towns as have adopted the township system. This is much to be regretted, as such a tax tends to equalize the burden of sustaining the schools of a town, which is espe- cially desirable, where wealth and population are unequally distributed. With the general introduction of the township system, the local support of schools would be a common town charge. Care should be taken not to include in the blank for report, in the financial statement of district clerks, the amount raised in the town as a county school tax in the item " From tax levied at annual town meeting." That item is for use only where the township system of school govern- ment is in use. VIII. BORROWING MONEY. Section 474. Whenever upon any unusual exigency any school-district shall, before the annual meeting, vote a spe- cial tax to be collected with the next levy, the district may, by vote, authorize the district board to borrow, for a period not exceeding one j^ear, a sum not exceeding the amount of such tax, and by such vote set apart such tax when collected to repay such loan; and thereupon, the dis- trict board may borrow such money of any person, and on such terms, and execute and deliver to the lender such obli- gation therefor, and such security for the repayment, in- cluding a mortgage or pledge of any real or personal prop- erty of the district, subject to the directions contained in the vote of the district, as may be agreed upon, and not prohibited by law. 125 It will be seen that sections 64 to 75 inclusive, of the for- mer school code, are omitted, from the revision, and the pre- ceding section put in their place. The district may, at any time before the annual meeting, upon any unusual exigency, vote a special tax to be collected with the next levy (notice of such purpose being duly given, as provided in section 427), and the district may authorize the board to borrow the same amount for immediate use. Section 475. For the purpose of aiding in the erection of a school-house, any school-district may, by vote at an an- nual or lawfully called special meeting, authorize the dis- trict board to borrow money. The resolution to be voted on shall be in writing, specifying the amount to be borrowed, the rate of interest, and the time and manner of payment, which shall be in annual installments, the last of which shall be payable in not exceeding ten years from the first day of February next ensuing. Such resolution shall be read to the meeting and the vote taken thereon by ballot. The ballots shall be written or printed; those in favor, " for the loan;" those opposed, " against the loan. " The resolution and the vote shall be recorded, and if adopted by a majority, the district board shall be thereupon authorized to borrow such sum of any person, on such terms, and execute and de- liver to the lender such obligation therefor and such security for payment, including a mortgage or pledge of any real or personal property of the district, subject to the direction contained in the resolution voted, as may be agreed upon, not prohibited by law, and shall also levy a tax to be annually collected thereafter, sufficient to pay the interest annually on such loan, and the annual installment of the principal provided to be paid in each year. Section 476. The money borrowed under authority of either of the last two preceding sections shall be paid into the district treasury, and be expended only for the purposes for which it was voted or borrowed. After any such loan shall have been made, no power shall exist to rescind or re- consider any such vote, or obstruct the collection of such tax; and the district treasurer shall apply every such tax when received by him, exclusively to the payment of such debt so far as necessary to discharge the amount to which such tax was devoted, The special provisions of the law as to borrowing money to aid in building a school-house, should be carefully exam- ined and complied with; likewise those contained in the last preceding section, which apply to both the sections preced- ing it. Particular care should be taken to notify the elect- 126 ors, as provided in section 427, and every opportunity should be given for a fair and full expression of the will of the people. LOANS FROM THE TRUST FUNDS. Section 258 of the revised statutes authorizes the commis- sioners of school and university lands to make loans from the trust funds of the state to school-districts for the pur- pose of erecting school buildings therein. Application may be made to the Land Commissioners, at Madison , for infor- mation, blanks, etc. The law govering such loans is embraced in the following sections : As amended by Chapter 541, Laivs of 1887. Section 261. Every loan to a school-district may be made for such time, not exceeding ten years, and of such amount, which, together with all other indebtedness of such district shall not exceed five per centum of the last preceding as- sessed valuation of the real property in such district, and not exceeding in any case ten thousand dollars, as may be agreed upon; the principal shall be payable in equal annual installments from a time fixed by said commissioners, with interest at the rate of six per centum annually in advance. No such loan shall be made until proof be filed in the office of said commissioners, of the complete performance on the part of such district of each and every act hereinafter re- quired to precede the same; provided, that the amendment herein contained shall not apply to loans heretofore made. Thapter 279, Laws of 1889. Section 1. The commissioners of public lands of the state of Wisconsin are hereby authorized and empowered to loan the trust funds of the state at a rate of interest not less than five per centum per annum; provided, all such loans shall be made in accordance with the provisions of chapter 17 of the revised statutes and the several acts amendatory thereof.^ B '^s amended by Chapter 393, Laws of 1889. Section 262. Before applying for such loan, every school- district shall authorize such application by a vote of a ma- jority of the legal voters of said district voting on such question; and if at a special meeting, the object of such meeting shall be clearly stated in the notice thereof, and 127 such district shall not thereafter rescind said tax, recon- sider such vote, or in any wise hinder, delay or postpone the levy and collection of the tax §o voted, and shall not expend the money so raised or loaned for any other pur- pose. Application for such loan shall be made by the dis- trict board of such school-district in writing, stating the amount required, the assessed valuation of the taxable real property of such district, and the total assessed valua- tion of the taxable property of such district as shown by the last assessment roll; and if such district be a joint dis- trict, such assessed valuation in its several parts separately, so that the valuation of so much thereof as lies in each town of which it is a part may be readily known; and the total amount of all the other indebtedness of such district and the facts in detail in respect to the holding of the meet- ing and passing the votes required as aforesaid, and shall be accompanied by a correct map or plat of such district. Such application and map shall be recorded in the office of said commissioners; and such application and the record thereof and such statement shall be conclusive evidence of the facts therein stated. All such applications shall be acted upon by the said commissioners in the order of time in which they shall be filed. By this amendment the clause requiring school-districts before obtaining a loan to vote a tax equal to one-half of the amount of the loan asked for, to be collected within two years, and to be used in addition to the amount borrowed for building purposes, is repealed. This, together with the reduction of the rate of interest upon trust funds to five per cent, per annum, provided for by anocher statute, en- ables school-districts to borrow money for building pur- poses upon very favorable terms. Section 263. All the taxa.ble property in any school-dis- trict which has heretofore obtained or shall hereafter ob- tain any loan from the state, shall stand charged for the payment of the principal and interest thereof; and the boundaries of such district shall not be so altered as to ex- clude therefrom any land included therein at the time of making such loan, until such loan shall be fully paid, with- out the consent of said commissioners and upon such terms as they shall prescribe; and there shall be annually levied upon the taxable property of such district, besides all other taxes, a tax sufficient to pay the annual interest, and an- nual installments of principal, of such loan as herein- after provided. Whenever a joint school-district shall make any such loan, the clerk of such district shall notifv, in writing, tlie town clerks of the several towns of which 12S such district is composed, of such loan and the terms thereof; and thereafter the town clerk of each town shall, on or before t|ie second Monday of September in each year, until such loan be paid, transmit to the secretary of state a statement certified by him of the valuation of all taxable property belonging to that part of such district which lies in his town, according to the last assessment roll: or if the same shall have Ijeen equalized, as provided in section four hundred and seventy- one, such equalized valuation thereof. The secretary of state shall in every year furnish to the county clerk of each county in which lies any such school-district, or part of dis- trict, from which any such payment is to become due, the amount to be levied upon such district, or, if a joint district, upon each such part of such district as lies in any town in such county, at the same time as he furnishes that officer a statement of the state tax. In apportioning such tax to the parts of a joint school-district lying in separate towns, the secretary of state shall take, as the true valuations, the val- uations of the taxable property stated in the application for such loan, until amended by the certified statements afore- said of the town clerks of all the towns in which such joint district lies. The county clerk on receiving such statement shall include the amount due from such district, or part of district, in his apportionment of state taxes to the town: but it shall be carried out in a separate colunm, and the district from which it is due shall be specified. The town clerk shall charge and carry out such amount on his tax roll to the district, or part of the district to which it belongs in a separate column, and the tax shall be collected and paid .over with and in the same manner as the state tax. /y 7 V <^ Chapter 331, Laws of 1887. Section 1. Any school-district may, by vote at an annual or lawfully called special meeting, authorize the district board to borrow money for the purpose of refunding its in- debtedness upon loans previously made. A written resolu- tion shall be presented and read at such meeting specifying the amount to be borrowed, the rate of interest and the time when each installment of principal shall be paid and the amount of each installment: the last installment or princi- l^al, however, shall be payable in not exceeding twenty years from the time the indebtedness was originally contracted. The vote on such resolution shall be taken by ballot. The legal voters favoring the adoption of such resolution shall cast a ballot on which shall be the words, "for the loan:" those opposed shall cast a ballot on which shall be the words, " against the loan." If a majority of the votes cast are in favor of the loan, the district board shall be thereupon au- •1) 129 thorizecl to borrow such amount from any person or persons on such terms as may be agreed upon, not in conflict with the directions contained in such resolution and not prohib- ited by law; and the board shall execute the bonds or other obligations of the district, in such sums not exceeding the amount so voted as to the board shall seem best, and deliver the same to the person or persons lending such money. The district shall also levy a tax to be collected annually there- after sufiicient to pay the annual interest on such loan, and the installments of the principal to be paid in any year. Section 2. After any such loan shall have been made, such vote shall not be rescinded or reconsidered, nor shall the collection of such tax be obstructed, and the tax when collected shall be applied exclusively to the payment of such indebtedness. Section 3. The money borrowed by authority of this chapter shall be paid into the district treasury, and shall be expended solely for the purpose for which it was borrowed. This law relates only to refunding loans previously made, not to loans made in the first instance by school-districts, and authorizes such districts to extend the period for twenty years during which the loan is to be paid. IX. ESTABLISHMENT OF SCHOOL-HOUSE SITES. Section 477. Whenever a school-district shall have des- ignated by a majority vote of the electors thereof present at an annual meeting, or at a special meeting called for that purpose, a school-house site, or an addition thereto, and shall be unable to obtain the same on account of the refusal of the owner to sell or lease the same for a just and reason- able compensation, or on account of his being a non-resi- dent, or unknown, the district board, when directed so to do by a vote of the electors of such district meeting, shall make application to the town board of their town to locate and establish the site, or any addition thereto, so desig- nated. • Section 478. Whenever any such application shall be made to the town board, said board shall make and sign a notice in writing of such application, containing a descrip- tion of the land upon which it is proposed to locate such a site or addition, and the time and place when and where they will meet to decide upon the same. Such notice shall be served or caused to be served by the district clerk, upon all the occupants of such land, and all the owners thereof who are known and are residents of this state, at least six days previous to the day fixed for such meeting. Such no- tice shall be served by delivering a copy thereof to each 130 such occupant and owner, or by leaving the same at their respective residences, with some person of suitable age and discretion: and if the owner or owners of said land be unknown to said board, or shall reside M'ithout this state, then such notice may be served by publishing the same in the newspaper published nearest said land, once in each week for six successive weeks next before the said day of meeting. Section 479. The town board shall meet at the time and place fixed in said notice, and upon due proof of the service or publication of said notice, they shall locate and establish such site or addition for said district. They shall cause an accurate survey and description thereof to be made, and fix and award the compensation to be made to the respective owners for the same, including all damages respectively sustained by such owners by reason of such taking of said lands, and within ten days thereafter make out and sign duplicate certificates, containing a statement of their action upon such application, an accurate description of the land taken, and the amount of compensation and damages awarded to each of said owners, one of which shall be de- livered to the occupant or owner of the lands so taken, if known, and a resident of this state, and the other, together with the proofs of publication or service of said notice and such survey, to the clerk of said district, who shall cause said certificate to be recorded in the office of the register of deeds of the proper county; provided, that said board may, in their discretion, before agreeing upon their award, ad- journ from time to time, not exceeding in all ten days. Section 480. The sum of money so awarded by said board shall be paid to the owner of the land upon which such site or addition is located, or in case the owner is a non-resident or unknown, or refuses to accept the money, it shall be de- posited with the treasurer of the district, to the order of the owner of said land; said district shall not occupy said land without the consent of the owner thereof, until such money shall be paid, tendered, or deposited, as aforesaid. Section 481. Any person aggrieved by the decision of the town board, in the award of damages or otherwise, may, within twenty days after filing their duplicate certificate with the clerk of such district, appeal therefrom to the circuit court of any county in which such site or addition or any part thereof is situated, by filing with such clerk a notice of appeal, specifying all the grounds of his appeal, and paying to such clerk one dollar for state tax and one dollar for making return thereto. Within twenty days thereafter, such district clerk shall deliver to the clerk of said circuit court a certified copy of such certificate, together with such notice of appeal, with the date of service thereof indorsed thereon, and pay to him one dollar state tax; and thereupon the clerk of said court shall enter an action in his court record, in which the said 131 appellant shall be plaintiff and the school-district defend- ant. The issues in said action shall be the legality of all the proceedings taken by the school-district and town board in taking the lands of the plaintiff for such school-house site or addition thereto, which are set forth in the notice of appeal as grounds therefor, and the amount of compensa- tion and damages to which he is entitled therefor. Such issues shall be tried without further pleadings as other is- sues of fact are tried, and judgment thereon be rendered and enforced as in other personal actions in said court; pro- vided, that when the legality of the proceedings is not made an issue, or is sustained, and the plaintiff does not re- cover a larger sum for damages than was awarded to him, he shall not recover, but shall pay costs. Section 482. No school-house site shall contain more than one acre, unless with the consent of the owner of the land taken therefor. All land so taken against the will of the owner, when it shall cease to be used as a school- house site or addition, shall revert to the original owner, his heirs, or assigns, and no lands shall be so taken that may not be taken for highway purposes, without the con- sent of the owner thereof. Sectiox 483. If such application be made by a joint dis- trict, it shall be made to the town boards of the several towns in which such district is situated, and such town boards shall act together as one board in all proceedings as hereinbefore prescribed. Section 484. Whenever any school-district shall locate a site for a school-house upon any land owned by an infant, or in which an infant has an interest, the circuit or county court of the county in which the land is situated, may, upon application of the parent or guardian of such infant, author- ize such parent or guardian to execute a perpetual lease of such site, not exceeding one acre in quantity, and when any such land is held in trust for an infant, his trustee may in like manner apply for authority to make such perpetual lease. All such leases shall vest in the lessee the interest of such infant and of his trustee in such land, so long as the same is occupied for school purposes. Such authority shall not be granted unless it shall be made to appear satisfac- torily to said court that the premises are needed for school purposes, that the said school-district is willing to pay there- for a consideration deemed adequate by the court, and that the interest of such infant will not be prejudiced by reason of said lease; and before making such order the court shall require the person authorized to make such lease to give a bond to account for and pay over the consideration received therefor, as in cases provided by law for the sales of lands of minors. The foregoing sections embody the laws in force as to the establishment of school-house sites. The town board is to 132 be called upon, not to select or designate a site in any case^ but to locate and establish the same, or any addition thereto, when the district cannot obtain it on reasonable terms, or because the owner is a non-resident. The last section points out the course to be pursued when the site selected is on land owned by an infant, or in which an infant has an interest. X. LIBRARIES. The two sections immediately following constitute the school-district library law. Very few school-districts have provided for libraries under this law, and most of those which have undertaken to do so, have found the effort un- satisfactory. The system of public school libraries by the law of 1887, amended in 1889, has proved far more efficient, and better adapted to the needs of schools. However, as this law has not been repealed, it is retained here, and also the regulations relating thereto. Following this is the later law, to which attention is particularly directed. Section 485. The clerk of the district, or such other pei*- son as the legal voters shall appoint, shall be the librarian, and have the care and custody of the district library, under the supervision of the district board. All actions relating to such libraries, or for the recovery of any penalties law- fully established in relation thereto, shall be brought in the name of the proper school-district. Section 186. The legal voters of any two or more adjoin- ing school-districts may, with the approval of the town board, unite their libraries and library money, and may purchase a joint library or additions thereto for such dis- tricts, to be selected by the district boards thereof or by such person as they shall designate, and to be under charge of librarians to be appointed by such district boards. Every such joint library and its appurtenances shall be vested in, and all actions relating thereto shall be brought in the names of all the districts owning such joint library. In case such district shall desire to divide any such joint li- brary, such division shall be made by the directors of the districts owning the same, or by the town supervisors, if such directors cannot agree; and any school-district may donate and sell any book or books belonging to the district library, to the town in which it is situated, to form a part of the town library. 133 REGULATIONS. The following regulations for the management of school- district libraries, are prescribed by the state superintend- ent, under the authority of section 166 of the revised statutes : 1. The district librarian shall have charge of the library, and keep a catalogue of all the books in the library under his care, in a book to be provided by the district for that purpose. 2. Every volume in a library shall have pasted on the in- side of the cover a printed paper, specif ying the name of the district; the number of the volume; the fine for not return- ing it within the specified time, and for the loss of or injury to any book. Blanks for this purpose vvill be furnished to districts upon application to the state superintendent. 3. Every volume loaned shall be entered by the librarian in a book, to be provided by the district for that purpose, by its number, with the day on which it was loaned; the name of the borrower, and the name of the person to whom it is charged^ (see regulation 5); the date when returned, and con- dition of the book; the fine assessed for detention, or injury done to the book, in the following form: Time of delivery. Number of book. To whom delivered. To whom charged. When returned. Condition of book. Fine for detention. Fine for injury. 1890. June 10... 41 Jno. Ward. W. Green. June 34 Good. 4. No person shall be allowed to have more than one volume at a time, or to retain the same longer than two weeks; nor shall any person who has incurred a fine imposed by these regulations, receive a book while such fine remains unpaid. 5. Books may be loaned to minors and charged to their parents, guardians, or other persons with whom they re- side, who shall be responsible fey the books under these. regulations. 10— s. c. 134 6. On the election of a librarian, his predecessor shall, within ten days thereafter, deliver to him all the printed and manuscript books, pamphlets, papers, cases, and all other property belonging to the library which are in his custody, for which the librarian shall give him a full receipt, dis- charging him from all responsibility therefor, except in the case herein provided; and on receiving the library property, the librarian shall carefully examine all books, etc., and if any loss or injury shall have been sustained, for which a fine has not been imposed by his predecessor; or for which a fine has been imposed and not certified by him to the treasurer, the librarian shall certify the amount thereof to the treas- urer, who shall collect the same of such predecessor in the same manner as other fines are collected. 7. In case of vacancy in the office of librarian, the district clerk shall perform the duties of librarian until the vacancy is filled. 8. If any person, having held the office of librarian, shall neglect or refuse to deliver to his successor all the library property, as prescribed in the sixth regulation, the director shall forthwith commence an action in the name of the dis- trict board for the recovery of the property he shall so neg- lect or refuse to deliver. 9. On the return of every book to the library, the libra- rian shall examine it carefully, to ascertain what injury, if any, has been sustained by it, and shall charge the amount of the fine accordingly; and in every case of injury not speci- fied in these regulations, he shall assess the amount of dam- ages to be paid, subject to revision by the district board. 10. The following fines are established by the state su- perintendent, viz. : 1st. For detaining a book beyond two weeks, five cents per week. 2d. For the loss of a volume, the cost of the book; and if one of a set, an amount sufficient to replace it, or to pur- chase a new set. 3d. For a leaf of the text torn out or lost, or so soiled as to render it illegible, the cost of the book. 135 4th. For any injury beyond ordinary wear, an amount proportionate to the injury, to be estimated by the librarian. 5th. Whenever any book shall not be returned within six weeks from the time it was loaned, it shall be deemed to be lost, and the person so detaining it shall be charged with its cost in addition to the weekly fine for detaining the book, up to the time such charge is made. But if the book is finally returned, the charge for loss shall be remitted; and the fine for not returning the same be levied up to the time of such return; provided, that in no case shall the amount of weekly fines exceed double the cost of the book. 11. On the third Monday of August, November, February, and May, and also immediately before he vacates his office, the librarian shall report to the district treasurer the name of every person liable for fines, and the amount each such person is liable to pay; and the treasurer shall give the librarian a certificate of the same, and immediately proceed to collect the same, and if not paid shall so certify to the director, who shall forthwith bring an action in the name of the district board for the recovery thereof. 12. All library fines shall be paid to the district treasurer, who shall keep account of the same, and shall report thereon to the annual district meeting, giving the name of each in- dividual fined, the amount of the fine, and the sum total of all fines, which report shall be recorded by the clerk; and the district treasurer shall be responsible for all fines uncol- lected through his neglect. 13. On the first day of July in each year, the librarian shall report to the district clerk as follows: 1st. The number of volumes in the library; 2d. The number of volumes purchased during the year; 3d. The number of volumes presented during the year; 4th. The number of volumes loaned during the year [counting each volume once for each time it is loaned'] ; 5th. Amount of fines collecfced; 6th. Amount of fines expended; 7th. Amount of fines remaining unexpended. 14. The library fines collected must be first applied to 136 the replacing of lost volumes, binding pamphlets, and re- binding such books as may require it. 15. In case of joint libraries, the reports required above shall be made to the otticers of the district in which the library is located. TOWN LIBRARIES. As districts may donate or sell their books to the town, to form part of the town library, the provision of the statutes in regard to town libraries is given: Section 770. The qualified electors of each town shall have power at any annual town meeting: 4. To vote by ballot to establish a town library for the use of tlie people tliereof. In taking such vote the electors voting in favor thereof shall vote a separate ballot contain- ing the words, "for a town library," and those voting against, a separate ballot containing the words " against a town librar}"," and when established, to make all by-laws, rules., and regulations for the management thereof, afid raise a sum not exceeding one hundred and fifty dollars in any one year for the purpose of purchasing books, furnish- ing a place to keep such library, and paying the librarian for his services, to be expended under the direction of the town board. / CH .winjU i 4-vHi, Lawj ou 1887. n Q ^ -•!'' (^mended hi/ C/i 388, fmrnt &f 1889. I ^1. The treasurer of each town in ilie state may withhold annually from the money received from the school fund income, for the several school-districts whose school- houses are located in the town of which he is the treasurer, an amount equal to ten cents for each person of school age residing in such school-districts for the purchase of books as herei nafter provided. JJCTTrr* •^. Between the tenth dav of July and the thirty- first day of Angust in each year, the town clerk, with such assistance as he may be able to obtain from the county superintendent of schools, shall expend all money withheld by the town treasurer, as provided in section 1 of this act, ill the purcliase of books selected from the lists prepared by the state superintendent as hereinafter provided, for the use of the several school-districts from which money has been so withheld, and he shall distribute the books thus selected and purchased, among the several school-districts in proportion to the sums of money withheld from each. 137 fffigi*iaaT ^. It is hereby made the duty of the state su- perintendent to prepare annually or biennially, as he may deem necessary, lists of books suitable for use in school-dis- trict libraries, and furnish copies of such lists to each town clerk and each county superintendent, as often as the same shall be published or revised, from which lists the several town clerks shall select and purchase books for use in the public school libraries in the several towns of the state, as provided in this act. SlLLiiiuK i-JUIt shall be the duty of each town clerk to keep a complete record of the books purchased by him and distributed to the several school-districts, and he is hereby authorized from time to time, a» he may deem necessary, to collect and re-distribute among the several school-districts the books purchased under the provisions of this act, in the same manner as provided for first distribution, to the end that each district may have the use of all books purchased for use in school-district libraries of the town. For such services, properly rendered, the town clerk shall be allowed the usual per diem of two dollars per day for time actually and necessarily spent. Sbodiom 5. Unless the school-district shall at the annual meeting elect some other person to be librarian of the dis- trict, the district clerk shall act as librarian for the district, and shall receive and have the care and custody of the books distributed to the district, pursuant to the provisions of this act, and shall loan them to teachers, pupils and other residents of the district in accordance with rules and regulations prescribed by the state superiiitendent. The state superintendent shall have the authority to suspend the operation of this act for any year, in any or every town, by giving due notice of such suspension to the respective town clerks on or before the 10th day of June. ,, The important changes in the law providing for public school libraries made by the chapter above cited are three in number: 1. All money withheld for library purposes during the year is to be withheld at one time, and from one fund — the state school fund income. This is theui-ww^ap- portioned June 15, annually, by the state superintendent, based on the reports received in August of the preceding year. 2. The amount withheld is equal to ten cents for each person of school age residing in the district, whether they all reside in the town where the school-house is situ- ated or not. 3. The town clerk is to make the purchases of books, with the money withheld for that purpose, calling to his aid the county superintendent of schools in making selections of the books to be purchased. 138 The time for the purchases to be made is so adjusted that the new books annually bought, can be on hand ready for use promptly at the opening of the fall or winter terms of school. All questions and difficulties concerning withhold- ing money and furnishing • books in connection with joint school-districts are settled by ignoring the fact that they are joint districts, and requiring the town treasurers and town clerks to treat all joint districts as though they were entire districts belonging to the town where the school-house is located. These changes will very greatly simplify the operation of the library law. In submitting the rules and regulations for public school libraries, and the forms of records to be kept by town and district clerks, prescribed by the state superintendent, it may be helpful to some to re-state in concise form some points cautionary and explanatory, which are important to keep in mind. SELECTION OF BOOKS. For the use of average country districts, selection should be made from the first three lists prepared and recommended by the state superintendent. These lists, in pamphlet form, are furnished to school officers, upon application. Remember that the primary and principal purpose of these libraries is to furnish the pupils of public schools with read- ing matter relating to the studies pursued in the schools and supplementary to them. The library thus becomes a part of the system of public education. The selections should be made in some just proportion from each of these three lists, that all grades of pupils may be provided with suitable books. For most country schools, selections should be made very largely from the first two lists. PURCHASE OF BOOKS. Town clerks are to purchase the books, and, of course, are at liberty to purchase wherever they please. In consid- ering proffers, however, town clerks should remember that different editions of a good many books are published; that these editions differ greatly in size, in binding, and in the 139 kind of type and paper used. In considering the prices offered, the state superintendent took all these things into account, and the edition recommended is the one deemed best suited for the library. With this caution there would seem to be no occasion for misunderstanding, or disappoint- ment. If the edition proffered to any board is the edition specified in the list, that ought to be satisfactory. If the edition is not the same, then care should be taken to ascer- tain whether it will be satisfactory. The only way this can be safely done is by inspection of the book. If purchases are made of the firm which is mentioned in the list, and which guarantees to furnish the editions named, for the prices published, upon application by mail to them a form of order will be furnished with full instructions re- lating to order and payment. RECORD BY THE TOWN CLERK. 1. The town clerk shall make a catalogue of all books purchased in a book provided for that purpose, numbering each book in the order in which it is entered. The cata- logue shall be in the following form: Form No. 1. No. Date of Purchase. Title of Book. Cost. 2. The town clerk shall, in a book provided for that pur- pose, open an account with each school-district in the town to which books are distributed, charging each school-district with all books delivered to the same, describing the books by the catalogue numbers, and giving the date when such books were delivered. The account shall be kept in the following form: 140 Form No, 2. No. of District. No. of Book. Date of Delivery. Remarks. 3. Whenever the town clerk deems it advisable lie shall give the librarians of the several school-districts in the town tliirty days' notice to collect all the books which have been distribnted to each, and return the same to his office for re-distribution, together with a report of all books lost or injured, and the tines collected for detention, injury or loss of any book or books. The money so collected shall be paid to the town clerk, at the time the report is made, and by him be paid to the town treasurer, to be credited to the public school library fund of the district paying the same. 4. When the town clerk shall have received from the district librarian the books called in for re-distribution, he shall credit each district with tlie books thus deliv- ered to him, describing the same by the catalogued num- bers. 5. Tlio town clerk shall carefully compare the books re- turned to him by the district librarian for re-distribution, and the statements and returns of fines and penalties col- lected for detentions, injuries and losses, and if any book or books charged to any district are not returned, or the penalties for injuries and losses are not paid to him in full, the same shall be made good from the amount of public school money withheld from the district liable, for library purposes, the ensuing year. . The town clerk shall annually report to the state su- perintendent the amount of public money withheld from the several districts during the year preceding for library purposes, the amount expended for library b6oks, the num- ber of volumes added during the year, the whole number purchased by the town, and such other facts as the state Itl superintendent may require, and the record kept by the clerk shall clearly show these facts. RULES FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL LIBRARIES. The following regulations for the management of public school libraries have been prepared by the state superin- tendent. The labels for pasting in each volume, giving the regulations for borrowers, can be obtained, on application, from the state superintendent. The regulations should be entered at length upon the records of the town: 1. The town clerk shall distribute all books purchased for public school libraries among the several school-districts of the town, in proportion to the amount of public school money withheld from each for that purpose, and from time to time, as he may deem necessary, call in the books so distributed for re-distribution. 2. Before any distribution shall be made of any books purchased for public school libraries, the town clerk shall cause to be pasted on the inside of the cover of each vol- ume, a printed label giving the name of the town to which the book belongs, the county in which the town is located, the number of the volume, and the regulations prescribed by the state superintendent relating to the loan of the same, and the fines for detention, injury or loss of the volume. 3. The district clerk of the respective districts, or the li- brarian elected by the district, shall be the custodian of the books distributed to the district, shall loan the same to per- sons resident of the district, collect all fines incurred for detentions, injuries and losses of books, prescribed by the state superintendent, and pay over the same to the town clerk as required, and shall collect and deliver to the town clerk all books delivered to him, whenever required to do so, and shall deliver to his successor in office, all books, papers and property of every description belonging to the town and to the public school library thereof, within ten days after the election or appointment of such successor. 4. The district clerk or librarian shall keep a catalogue of the books delivered to him by the town clerk. In con- nection with his annual report, the district clerk shall re- 142 port the number of volumes, the amount of fines collected, and the condition of the library on the 30th day of June to the town clerk. The librarian shall give out and receive books on such days as the school board may direct, under the following rules: I. The teacher of the public school may, while the school is in session, draw from the library such number of vol- umes as may be needed for use in the instruction of pupils and classes, and shall be responsible for the books drawn for that purpose. II. No individual shall have from the library more than one volume at a time. Books may be loaned to minors, and the record account shall be kept with the parent, guardian or person with whom such minor resides. III. No volume shall be retained longer than two weeks under a penalty of a fine of ten cents for the first week of such detention, and five cents for every week thereafter. The librarian shall report monthly all delinquencies to the school board. I |IV. Fines shall be assessed for injuries to books as fol- lows: 1. For an injury beyond ordinary wear, an amount pro- portionate to the injury, as estimated by the libra- rian. 2. For the loss of a volume, the cost of the book; and if one of a set, an amount sufficient to replace it, or to purchase a new set. o. No person having incurred a fine shall be permitted to take books from the library until the fine is paid. V. The district clerk or librarian of each school-district shall keep a record of all books loaned, in a book provided for that purpose, which shall show the name of the person to whom the volume is loaned, the catalogue number of the volume, the date of the loan, the date of return, and the amount of fine, if any, imposed and assessed by the libra- rian, for any detention, injury or loss of. any book, and the date at which said fine was paid. The record shall be kept in the following form: 143 Form No. 3. Name of Borrower. No. of Book. Date of Loan. Date of Return. Fine, VI. Books may be loaned to minors and charged to their parents, guardians, or^ other persons with whom they re- side, who shall be responsible for the books under these regulations. VII. On the return of every book to the library the libra- rian shall examine it carefully to ascertain what injury, if any, has been sustained by it, and shall charge any fine that may have been incurred by such injury, or by deten- tion or loss of any book as provided in the rules. XI. JUDGMENTS AGAINST SCHOOL-DISTRICTS. Section 487. No execution shall issue on any judgment against a school-district, except upon leave of the court, upon motion, after the failure of the remedies provided in these statutes. Section 488. Whenever a final judgment shall be ob- tained against any school-district, the judgment creditor, his assignee or attorney may file with the town clerk a cer- tified transcript of such judgment, or of the docket thereof, together with his affidavit, showing the amount due thereon, and all payments, if any, and that the judgment has not been appealed from or removed to another court, or if so appealed or removed, has been affirmed; and thereupon the town clerk shall assess the amount thereof, with interest from the date of its rendition to the time when the warrant for the collection thereof will expire, upon the taxable prop- erty of such district, placing the same in a separate column on the next tax roll; and the same shall be collected and re- turned as town taxes are, and paid to the party entitled thereto. In case of a judgment against a joint district, a transcript and affidavit as aforesaid shall be filed with the clerk of each town in which any part of the district is situ- ated, and the town clerk in each town shall assess on the taxable property of the part of such district situated in his 144 town, the same proportion of the whole amount, with inter- est as aforesaid, as is assessed on such part for the other district taxes in such year. Such proportion may be ascer- tained by the certificate of the district clerk, or the certifi- cate of the several town clerks interested to each other, showing the amount of other district taxes certified by the district clerk to each town clerk. Whenever, for atiy cause, the amount which ought to be assessed on any such district or part of district, as above provided, shall not be so assessed in the next tax roll after the filing of such transcript and aflBdavit, the town clerk shall assess the same on the next or any subsequent tax roll within two years thereafter. Section 489. Whenever an appeal shall be taken from any judgment against a district, and a transcript thereof and affidavit shall have been filed, as above provided, the director may file a certificate of such appeal with the town clerk, and thereupon he shall suspend the assessment of such judgment, until the determination of such appeal. If such judgment be thereafter affirmed, on proof thereof by certificate of the clerk of the appellate court, the town clerk shall assess the same, with interest, in the next tax roll. The property belonging to the district is not liable to levy or sale upon an execution. Under the rendition of any judgment against a school-district, a transcript of the same is to be filed with the town clerk, or, if the district be a joint district, with the clerk of each town in which such district is in part situated. The town clerk is then required to assess the amount of the judgment, with interest there- on, in a separate column, in the next assessment roll, and the tax, when collected, shall be paid to the party entitled thereto. XII. FREE HIGH SCHOOLS. The law relating to free high schools underwent several amendments, in the revision of the statutes, but some of these amendments not proving satisfactory, the law under- went further modifications at the sessions of 1879, 1882, 1883 and 1885. The several sections, as now in force, are given below, with comments upon each: 145 Sections 490, 491, 492 and 493, Revised Statutes, as amended by Chapter 245, Laws of 1879. Section 490. Any town or incorporated village or city, or school-district which contains within its limits an incor- porated village, or which has a graded school of not less than two departments, with not less than twenty-five pupils prepared to begin a high school course, may establish and maintain not exceeding two high schools in the manner and with the privileges herein provided. The question of establishing such schools may be submitted by the town, school-district, or village board, or common council, at any annual or duly called special meeting, or election, upon written resolution therefor, proposed for adoption; pro- vided, notice of such purpose, embodying such resolution, be given in the manner provided for notifying a special district meeting, town meeting, or charter election. The vote shall be taken by ballot, and canvassed according to the statutes for conducting elections in such municipality, those ballots in favor being writ- ten or printed "for high school," those opposed, "against high school." If the resolution be adopted, such towns, school-districts, village, or city, shall constitute a high school-district. But no city, incorporated village or school- district, in which a high school heretofore established has been reported, recognized and aided as a free high school, shall be required to take any vote on the resolution pro- vided for in this section, but may continue to report and re- ceive aid, on due compliance with the law in other respects. Under this section, as amended, any district having a graded school of "not less than two departments " may es- tablish a free high school, as well as any town, city, incor- porated village, or district containing an incorporated vil- lage; but the restriction is imposed that there must be not less than twenty-five pupils prepared to begin a high school course, before a high school can be established under the law. Hereafter, in each municipality proposing to- establish such a school, a vote must be taken; but this does not apply to any case in which a school has already been recognized under the law, and received aid. Such schools will con- tinue to be recognized on. due compliance with the law in other respects. Section 491. Two or more adjoining towns may unite in establishing and maintaining any such high school. The resolution proposing the same shall be approved and sub- I 146 mitted, and the notice of election signed by at least two supervisors of each town, and the election shall be notified and conducted in each town as provided in the preceding section. Such resolution shall not be adopted unless a ma- jority of the votes cast in each town be in favor thereof. The votes shall be canvassed at the first election and all subsequent elections in the several towns, as at town meet- ings; and the supervisors of the several towns proposing to unite, shall, within one week after such elections, meet and canvass the votes, and certify the result to the town clerk of each town. If such resolution be adopted, the several towns so voting to unite shall constitute a joint high school- district. In the revision of the statutes, this section, which was section 2 of the original law, has been amended by requir- ing that the resolution proposing the establishment of a school by the joint action of two or more towns, " shall be approved and submitted, and the notice of election signed by at least two supervisors of each town." Towns thus uniting in the establishment of a school form a joint high school-district. The privilege is no longer granted to one or more districts to establish a school where the town declines to do so, but is confined to districts already having a graded school, or em- bracing an incorporated village, as provided in section 490. Section 492. The officers of each such district shall be a director, treasurer, and clerk, whose term of office shall be each three years, beginning with the annual town meeting, and until his successor shall have been chosen or appointed; provided, that at the first election the clerk shall be chosen for one year, the treasurer for two years, and the director for three years; and all of said officers may be chosen first at the same election at which the question of establishing a high school is submitted, to take their offices if the resolu- tion therefor bo adopted. Thereafter, such officers shall be elected at the annual town meeting or charter election. The votes cast shall be canvassed, and the results declared and certified, as provided in the preceding sections. But in all cities not under a county superintendent, which now consti- tute ^ree high school-districts, or which shall hereafter adopt the resolution provided for in section four hundred and ninety, and become free high school-districts, the board of education in each such city shall be the high school board, and the city treasurer shall be, ex-officio, the treasurer of the high school-district, unless the board of education em- braces a treasurer; and in all districts maintaining a graded 147 school of not less than two departments, which now consti- tute free high school-districts, or which shall hereafter adopt said resolution, the district board in each such district shall be the high school board; and the district treasurer shall be the treasurer of the high school-district. Section 493. The officers aforesaid shall constitute the high school board, and, as such board and such officers, shall conduct the affairs of such high school-district on the same general plan provided for a school-district, and shall have and possess, with respect to such high school-district, all the powers, including all such as may be conferred by vote of a district meeting, and be charged with all the duties con- ferred and imposed in these statutes on the district officers and district board of a school-district, p.pplicable to such high school-district; the treasurer shall give a like bond, to be approved and filed in a similar manner. The high school- district clerk shall make a similar report to that provided in section four hundred and sixty-two, omitting the first sub- division. They may grade such school and establish the branches of study to be taught therein, under the advice of the state superintendent. Every forfeiture and punishment enacted against neglect or violation of duty in a school-dis- trict officer, shall be held equally to apply to a high school- district officer for like neglect or violation. The reports of free high schools in cities not under a county superintend- ent, shall be included in the reports from such cities to the state superintendent, made by the city superintendent or clerk of the board of education. These two sections combine sections three, four, five, six, and nine, of the former law, omit some provisions, and, as amended, simplify the election of officers and the constitu- tion of the board. The officers, if elected, are to bear the same names and to be elected for the same terms, as ordi- nary district officers. In the independent cities, the board of education is to be the high school board; in single dis- tricts, the district board is to be also the high school board. The duties of the several officers, and of the board are simi- lar to those of district officers and boards. There are spe- cial provisions as to the treasurer. The clerk is to make a report which will be sent to the proper county superintend- ent, as formerly provided in section ten of the high school law; but in independent cities, the report is embodied in the report of the city superintendent, or of the clerk of the board of education, if there be no superintendent. The course of study is established under the advice and con- 148 sent of the state superintendent, as provided in the next section; and in addition to the general report above mentioned, a financial report is to be made in duplicate to the state superintendent, as provided in section 496. Blanks for both reports are furnished from the office of the state superintendent. Section 494, Revised Statutes, as amended by Chapter ^45, Laios of 1879, and Chapter 146, General Laws of 1881. Section 494. All such high schools shall be free to all pupils resident in the district. Every principal of any high school hereafter elected or appointed shall be a graduate of some university, college or normal school, or shall hold a state certificate, or shall pass an examination in the studies required to be taught in any such school; and the high school boards or boards of education having charge of such schools shall determine, with the advice and consent of the state superintendent, the course of study and minimum standard of qualifications for admission to the same. IScct'.uul. Section 491 of the revised sliitutes, as amended by chapter 245, laws ol' 187'J and , chapter 146,of the laws of ISSl.is hereby amended so as to read as follows: I Section 494. All such high schools shall be free to all pupils resident in the district. Every principal of any high school hereafter elected or J appointed, shall, in addition to his legal qualili- ' cations as teacher oi a common school, be a grad- c( ^^^^ -t uate of some university, college or normal 1 T.TQi-vQ,»£i o bECTION 1. school, or shall hold a state certirtcate, or shall ^ piepd-ie ct nnnrap nv /-•nnT P''^^^^ "'* examination in the studies required to I in f ree llisfh course Ol COUl^,y,a„j.i^tj,^j,„y ^,j^,]^g^j^Q^,.^,j.Q^j^g,^_J^^^^^^^^Mii iicciiib" schools, public cortincates authorized by the laws of Wisconsin, 30n appilCa- ■fi/M-. -fz-^T. +1to ■I'li^'i lliii ccrtilicates authorized by section 1, of Tnlatino- thp- tlOn tor tlie l chapter 242, of tlie laws of 1885, as amending ■^P^'*."* ' i maintenance (Ci^aptGr ps of t4u; laws of isss, shaii icgaiiytsercise such J 1 q'l'ili'.v their holders, both as principals and as Lc!T^£i/^+ir> -1-1 r\f personal SUpeiteachers of common schools; and each principal l^lSpeCtlOll 01 thp wnrlr nf ol«'iil each assistant teacher in a free high school dcr tllC DrO- ine worK or aigi^..^ ^^ ^1;^^^^^ t^ ^g.^^,^ ^^^^^ ^^^ approval ofr; ! ^• visions 01 the his certificate by the state superintendent; andni tO require o-n/^ ^+l-i£i-.' ^,,i.'the high school boards or boards of education/] ViPTnavPan and Otlier aUtl having charge of such schools, shall determine , ^^^ ^^'*< . to his aSSistan^^'^'h''i''--'"^viceand consent of the state supor-l SUpCl'VlSlOn ££ -u- T^ niteudent, the course of study and minimumiJ ovf in +V10. 01 tree hlgn S( standar(i of qualiiications for admission to the^^ ^''^ ^^ ^'^^ university, an '''^t^on2. This act shaU take effect and be inf"^ ?•''* ''^K'u fere with a pr f^^^fs irom and after its passage and publication. ineCtlOll Wltn the university; "he shall examine or cause to be examined, all teachers of high schools required by law to pass a special examination to qualify them for teaching in high schools, and grant certificates to such as pass examinations satisfac- torily, which certificates shall be in such form and for such time as he may prescribe, and shall authorize the holders to teach in such special place or places, or in the whole state as the qualifications of the candidate may warrant. The courses of study herein authorized to be prepared shall in- clude instruction in the theorv and art of teaching, and or- 149 V ganization, management and course of study of ungraded schools, and all examinations of teachers shall include ex- aminations upon these subjects. Section 2. The state superintendent shall furnish suita- ble blanks for annual and special reports for all free high schools, which shall include the number, age and sex of all pupils enrolled, the number in each class or year of the course of study, the number pursuing English branches only, the number completing the course of study each year, and such other statistics as may be deemed necessary. The free admission of all resident pupils is based, of course, on ability to pass the required examination. The ambiguity in the law relating to the examination of principals who are not graduates of the schools mentioned, or do not hold state certificates, and also relating to the supervision of free high schools, is removed by the law of 1883. These schools are now determined to be under the personal supervision of the state superintendent. The examination of teachers required to be examined is also to be made under the direction of the state superintendent, and certificates of different grades may be issued by him. By the provisions that the courses of study shall include instruction in theory and art of teaching, organization, management and course of study of ungraded schools, and that examination of teachers shall include examination upon these subjects, public recognition is made of the fact that one of the legal functions of free high schools is to prepare for teaching in the common schools of the state. As a rule, these examinations will be conducted by county or city superintendents in the locality where the teacher is to be employed, under regulations prescribed, and the papers written will be transmitted to the state superintendent. The grade of certificate issued thereon will be determined by the character of the papers, the age, experience and suc- cess in teaching of the applicant. The course of study to be adopted and the standard for admission to the school are to be determined with the ad- vice and consent of the state superintendent. Three courses have been arranged, and published in pamphlet form, with 11— s. c. 150 the text of the law relating to free high schools, and com- ments thereon, which will be furnished on application to lo- calities proposing to establish free high schools. It should be understood that any modification of the prescribed courses of study must have the approbation of the state superintendent. Section 495. The high school board shall annually, on or before the second Monday in September, meet and determine the amount necessary to be raised by tax for the support of such high school, and certify the same to the proper town, city or village clerk; if a joint high school-district, they shall certify to tlie town clerk of each town the proportionate amount thereof to be raised by such town, such proportion to be determined according to the total valuation of all the taxable property in such town as equalized by the town boards of review. Such tax shall be assessed on the next tax roll by such cle.'k or other officer making the same, and collected and returned as otlier taxes, and paid to the high school-dis- trict treasurer. Such moneys shall be paid out only on orders drawn and countersigned as prescribed in case of school- districts. Any town which is a single high school-district, may, by resolution adopted at the annual town meeting, limit the amount to be raised for high school purposes in such town, during such year. In case of a joint high school- district, the town boards of the several towns embraced may, by a joint resolution adopted by all such town boards, be- fore the first day of July, likewise limit the amount to be raised in such district. The certificate of the amount necessary to be raised for the support of the high school, is to be made in Septeinbei;, instead of July, as formerly. Towns having a high school may, by vote, limit the amount to be raised: and in case of a joint high school-district, the town boards may limit the amount. Section 496, Revised Statutes, as amended hi/ CJia^iter 345, Laws of 187i), Chapter 373, Laws of 18S3, Chapter 430. Laws of 1885, and Chapter 466, Laxcs of 1889. Section 40(). Aii}^ high school-district which shall have established a free high school, according to the provis- ions of these statutes, and shall have maintained the same for not less than three months in • any school year, shall be entitled to receive from the general fund of the state, annually, one-half the amount actually expended for instruction in the high school of such district during Section statutes bectiou 49(i or the revised bZ^T.\..^llL^J^^ ,?.^J^"°.V.'*^cd the treas shall such oportsannexed; '^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ district he secretary of state in the state tax, all addition to all other Jlrst day of December, the certified he paid to the district trea«nrpr oi less I aCtor, when by any ijeglect or omission, any n-w hav^ •I'*' ! ■'^'^'^'"'i ^■'^'^^^ '"'^ ^" '^''^'c 'ipportionodto it, "«-/ '^ Its share of state aid nnder tliis act, the state this f^.'iperintendc^U may, after the time hereinbefore fVio '^^ "l '^^^'''^ apportionnicnt by him, fix lui me aiiionntton per centum less than the amount the n''ll'.'-»«"ch free high school would have been ^^A <^;.' '/.'c'-^ ^f ■ bad It complied with the provisions amq o tins act, and certify the same to the secretary Thri ?'■ '^Z'^^'-'' '*^''"' *'^'-' ^"^'P"''' <^f such district or dis- iut tncts annexea thereto, and the secretary of .stMtc tins '^""'^ thereur^on dr/iw his warrant for such An.V *^"';"?"/ or iiiiiotiiits ill favor of such district or UOi districts. Iho whole amount aniuuilly paid Shal "'.'-''' ^'^°, l»i''Jvisions of this section shall +1,^ no exceed the sum of twenty-five thousand tne nollars, and it more be demanded bv such dis- f rp« t"cts,tlicy shall be paid proportionally.Provided, il «« however, that if (he whole amount authorized to ChS J"^ 1'""^ 'iiinually in aid of free lii.,'h schools in towns haviii- no graded scliools, by chapter .'io" 01 the general laws of 18S'), is not domaiidod or expended under the |)rovisions of that law, then tne unexpended balance of the amount therein (iiinually anthori/;ed to bo paid in aid of free hiRh schools m towns having no graded sclioois may be added to and apportioned among the tree high schools provided for In sections 'i'.io and 491, of the revised statutes; but no more than htty thousand dollars shall bo apportioned to botn classes of free high schools in any one year as now provided by law, •Section 2, appd ^P'^id tothedi;'trTcVtTe;.s^Trer'''ou^o?u';^sn^^^^^^ I'i^ ^^^^^^r this act, the .i-^ I treasn.v T.„ ..„„„ _. .. ■' "^ "'« ^"^^^ j^g horeinbeforo fixod L amount ten per cent. ■ee high school would with the provisions of )cretary of state, with annexed thereto, and his warrant for such district or districts. nder the provisions of 1: twenty-five thousand jy such districts, they ded, however, that if ^id annually in aid of no graded schools, by So, is not demanded or t law, then the unex- annually authorized s in towns having no ad apportioned among n sections 490 and 491, •e than fifty thousand . classes of free high ided by law. exj: per tol grs the of do sc This act shall take ofToct and be in force from .-ind atler its passage and publication. -A'-l!!^!,^"^'' ^ Api;^l 22, 1801. he effect ot tnib Id w wiii oe iv ixicrease materially the amount which free high schools in connection with graded schools will annually receive. But few high schools in towns having no graded schools have as yet been estab- lished. Hence the larger part of the fund provided for that ^ 152 class of high schools will be available for apportionment among the free high schools of the former class. It will be observed that each free high school established and maintained in accordance with the provisions of law is entitled annually to share in the apportionment in aid of free high schools. An itemized report of the actual cost of instruction for the previous school year, ending June 30th, is required to be made in duplicate on or before the first day of November. Chapter 352, Laws of 1885. Section 1. Whenever any town in which no graded schools exist or when any two adjoining towns in which no f;raded school exists, shall vote to establish and maintain a ree high school, as provided in sections 490 and 491, revised statutes, and such free high school shall have been estab- lished and maintained in the manner now provided by law for establishing and maintaining free high schools for at least three months, and when the high school board of such town, or of such two towns adjoining which unite to main- tain such school, shall make the report required by section 496, revised statutes, in order to obtain the aid furnished by the state of Wisconsin in maintaining free high schools, they shall append thereto a certificate to the effect that such school is established and maintained in a town or by towns wherein no graded school exists. Section 3. Upon receiving the reports and appended cer- tificate provided for in section 1 of this act, it shall be -the duty of the state superintendent to make a separate and distinct class of the schools thus established and main- tained in towns where no graded schools exist, and each such school shall be entitled to receive from the general fund of the state annually one-half the amount actually expended for instruction m such school, and the state superintendent shall fix the amount to be paid to each of said high schools and certify the same to the secretary of state, at the same time and in the same manner as he is now required to fix the amount to be paid to high school-districts, and certify the same to the secretary of state. On such certificate, at any time after the first day of December, the same shall be paid to the dis- trict treasurer out of the state treasury; but the whole amount so paid shall not exceed twenty-five thousand dol- lars in any one year to this class of free high schools, and if more is demanded by such districts, they shall be paid proportionally. The secretary of state shall annually in- clude and apportion in the state tax all such sums as shall 153 have been so paid, in addition to the amount authorized to be paid in aid of free high schools by section 496, revised statutes, and in addition to all other sums to be levied for the year. By this act an annual appropriation of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars is made to encourage the es- tablishment and maintenance of free high schools in towns where there are no other but ungraded district schools. This was the principal purpose of the first act proffering aid to free high schools. But few of these places took ad- vantage of the assistance thus tendered, and the amount of the annual aid is now entirely absorbed by high schools established in connection with graded schools. In organization, manageinent, and methods of applica- tion to obtain aid, these schools will conform to the law heretofore existing relating to organization, management, and aid of free high schools. It is earnestly hoped that at least a hundred of these schools will be established within a year, and within two years there should be not less than two hundred organized. In them, for five or six months every winter, the advanced pupils of the town should be gathered for better and more advanced instruction than is now possible in the district schools, with their large num- ber of all grades of pupils. Chapter 426, Laws of 1889. Section 1. The state superintendent is hereby authorized to appoint a person of suitable qualifications to assist him in visiting, inspecting and supervising the free high schools of the state, and to aid in giving information and needed assistance to localities in organizing and maintaining free high schools in towns where no graded schools exist. Section 2. The person appointed pursuant to the pro- visions of this act shall receive an annual salary of eighteen hundred dollars, and reimbursement for all actual and neces- sary expenses incurred, payable monthly, upon the certifi- cate of the state superintendent, from the annual appropria- tion to encourage the establishment of free high schools provided in chapter 352, of the general laws of 1885. Section 3. The person hereby authorized to be appointed by the state superintendent may be assigned such duties in the office of the state superintendent when not engaged in 154 the specific duties enumerated in section 1, of this act, as the said state superintendent may determine and designate. This is a new statute, and provides for an additional as- sistant, the need of which has been almost universally- recognized for many years. XIII. APPEALS. Section 497. Any person conceiving himself aggrieved by any decision made by any school-district meeting, or by any town board in forming or altering, or in refusing to form or alter, any school-district, or by any other thing done by any officer or board under the provisions of this chapter,' may appeal to the state superintendent. Such appeal shall be taken and heard in the manner prescribed by him, and he shall make and file his decision thereon within thirty days after the hearing thereof is closed. The decision appealed from shall be operative until the same shall be reversed and no decision on appeal to said superintendent made by him after the lapse of thirty days from the time the hearing thereof is closed, shall be effectual. An effort has been made to give, under the appropriate section, in the foregoing pages, such an exposition of the statutes relating to common scliools as will aid school offi-^ cers in the discharge of their duties. If, however, after ex- amination of these instructions, it is deemed necessary to apply to the department of public instruction for further information, it must be borne in mind: 1. That no decision can be rendered on any subject af- fecting in any manner the rights or interests of different parties, without giving to both sides an opportunity of being heard. This occurs when an appeal is regularly brought in the manner prescribed in the rules regulating appeals, or when all parties have signed and united in transmitting a statement of facts in regard to which they agree. 2. That an opinion given without affording to both sides a hearing must be regarded as valid only so far as the statement on which it is founded represents fully and fairly the facts in the case. Sometimes it happens that two per- 155 sons applying for advice upon the same question, state the facts differently, and of course receive dissimilar replies. They are thus confirmed in their difference of opinion, in- stead of being reconciled. To avoid this, all parties should be careful to state accurately all the facts of the case, with all practicable certainty as to dates and number, and in such a manner as to indicate the object of the inquiry. Those addressing the office,- no matter how frequently they may write, should state the name of the post-office to which thej^ desire replies to be sent. If it is decided to take an appeal to the state superintend- ent, the following rules are to be observed: RULES RESPECTING APPEALS. 1. An appeal must be in writing, addressed to the state superintendent, and signed by the appellant, but no particu- lar form of statement is necessary. 2. The appeal should be as brief as is consistent with a complete statement of the case. It should set forth the action or proceedings appealed from, and the reasons why such action should be set aside. If the appeal is founded upon the refusal of the supervisors to act, the reasons why the action asked for should have been taken by such super- visors, must be clearly shown. If the appeal relates to the formation or alteration of a district, a map or plat of the territory affected by the action appealed from should be pre- pared, showing the boundaries of the district or districts embraced therein, the location of the residences of the in- habitants, the highways, marshes, etc. A statement show- ing the assessed valuation of the district or districts, or of the several parts of a district divided, and the number of children over four and under twenty years of age residing, in each, should accompany the map, and form a part of the papers in the case. When the papers are completed, they should be fastened together, numbered or lettered for refer- ence, and an affidavit attached, setting forth that the statements therein made are true, and that the map, list of children, and valuation of property are correct. The affi- davit may be in form as follows: 156 A. B. , being duly sworn, deposes and says that the state- ments made in the above appeal, all and several, are true, according to the best of his knowledge and belief, and fur- ther that the accompanying map, list of children, and valu- ation of property are correct. * [Signed] , Appellmit. Sworn to and subscribed before me this day of . 18-. CD., Justice of the Peace. 3. A complete and correct copy of the appeal and affidavit, and all accompanying papers, should be made, to which an- other affidavit should be attached, stating that they are cor- rect copies of the papers in the case. The form of the affidavit may be as follows: A. B., being duly sworn, deposes and says that the above is a full and correct copy of an appeal, and all accompanying papers, designed to be sent to the state superintendent. [Signed] . Sworn to and subscribed before me this day of , 18-. . CD., Justice of the Peace. This affidavit should be made upon the copy only— not upon the original appeal, that is to be sent to the state su- perintendent. The copy should then be served upon the party from whose action the appeal is taken, either by handing it to him, or leaving it at his residence. If the ap- peal is from the action of the supervisors, the chairman of the board is a suitable party upon whom to serve the copy. If from the proceedings of a district meeting, upon the clerk or chairman of the meeting. It should not be served, however, upon an individual who did not sustain the action appealed from as in that case no answer is likely to be made. The person serving the copy of appeal should carry with him the original appeal, so that the party from whose action the appeal is taken, may, if willing, admit service of a true *In other matters than formation or altei'ation of districts, the latter part of the atfida%'it after the word " belief," may be omitted, or any needed change may be made. 157 copy, by the following form indorsed upon the original ap- peal: I, E. F., do hereby admit service of the above (or within) \ appeal. [Signed] . In case no such admission of service be made, the appel- lant will append to his appeal an affidavit of the following form : A. B., being duly sworn, deposes and says that upon the day of , 18 — , he did serve a true and verified copy of this appeal, and all accompanying papers, upon E. F., by handing the same to said E. F. (or by leaving it at his resi- dence, as the case may be). [Signed] . Sworn to and subscribed before me this day of ,. 18—. CD., Justice of the Peace. When several persons unite in making an appeal, the affidavits may be so changed as to admit the names of all the appellants, and each should sign the appeal and sub- scribe to each and every affidavit. When the action ap- pealed from is the action of several persons, it is sufficient to serve a copy of the appeal upon any one of the number, but it should always be served upon one not agreeing with the appellants, that an answer may be made. When all the above directions are complied with, the original papers are ready to be forwarded to the state su- perintendent. 4. An appeal should be taken within thirty days from the performance of the act appealed from, or within thirty days after the action complained of has come to the knowl edge of the appellant. THE ANSWER. 1. The appellee has fifteen days in which to prepare his answer, and all the directions above given in reference to the preparation and service of a copy of the appeal papers, should be complied with in preparing and serving the an- swer upon the appellant, before it is forwarded to the state 158 superintendent. The forms of affidavit given above will . answer in all cases for forms to be used by the appellee, by changing the words so that the affidavit shall refer to an "answer to an appeal," instead of to an appeal, and by signing it as appellee instead of appellant. 2. The answer to an appeal may be served upon any one of a number of appellants. When the town board of super- visors is a party, and papers have been served upon the chairman, if he is in favor of the party appealing, one of the other supervisors should make answer. 3 . In case of neglect of the proper appellees to answer an appeal, any person having an interest in the matter may make answer to it, being governed in all cases by the same rules as would govern an appellee. REPLICATION OR REJOINDER. A replication or rejoinder will be allowed, upon proof that new facts have come to the knowledge of the party wishing the rejoinder since the appeal or answer was submitted to the state superintendent, or that there are material errors in the statements of the other party. GENERAL REMARKS. If the appellant or appellee presents statements of other parties, these statements should be verified by the affidavit of the person making the same. All decisions on appeal must be filed or recorded as the state superintendent shall direct. No decision can be rendered on ex parte statements. No papers will be considered that are not properly verified, and properly served on opposing parties. The propriety of leaving out of appeals all matters of a purely personal character, except as they may have a direct bearing upon the subject, is obvious. As appeals are usually decided upon written and not upon oral evidence, it is not necessary or proper for either party to appear in person, expecting to be heard in the case, with- out the presence of the other party. 159 Particular care should be taken to follow the directions in regard to affidavits, serving copy, etc., so that it may not be necessary to send papers back for correction. Not only must every paper presented in a case, by either party, be verified by affidavit, and a copy be served on the other side, but in making the copy, care must be taken to copy every affidavit as well as the statement which it veri- fies. If this is not done, the party upon whom such copy is served has no evidence that the original was sworn to. If the appeal is not taken or the answer or rejoinder made within the prescribed time, the reasons for the delay must .be given. Most of the appeals made to the state superintendent, grow out of the alteration or f ormatioh of school-districts, orthe re- fusal to form or alter the same. In view of this fact, the super- intendent is led to remark, not only that these controversies are often very injurious to the interests of education, but that they would be avoided, so far as they relate to the mat- ters mentioned above, if towns favorably situated for the purpose would adopt the " township organization of schools," the law providing for which is given on subse quent pages. APPEALS BY TEACHERS. Any person refused a certificate by the county superin- tendent of schools, may make appeal to the state superin- tendent, according to section 452, using the following form. To A. B., County Superintendent of Schools for County: Sir: You are hereby notified that I intend to appeal from your refusal to grant me a certificate, and I hereby ask you for your reasons for such a refusal, that I may pre- sent the same to the state superintendent, with my appeal. Respectfully yours, . The refusal is ordinarily for alleged want of learning. In this case the appellant will usually appear before the state superintendent for re-examination. He should not come, however, without previous notice; but after notice to the county superintendent, as above, and on obtaining the 160 statement of reasons for refusal, he should forward the same to the state superintendent, notifying him of his de- sire for a re-examination, that a time may be fixed which may be convenient to both parties. If the appellant and county superintendent mutually agree that the appeal shall be decided on the papers on which a certificate was refused, a re-examination may not be necessary. If the refusal is for alleged want of ability to teach, or for alleged immorality, the appeal will be decided on the evidence submitted in writing by the parties. The papers should be made out and verified, and copies served, as provided under the Rules for Appeals. In case a teacher's certificate is annulled, he also has a right of appeal. For this purpose the following form may be used: To A. B. , Coioity Superintendent of Schools for County.' Sir: You are hereby notified that I intend to appeal from your action in annulling my certificate, and I hereby ask for your reasons for sucli action, that I may present the same to the state superintendent, with my appeal. Respectfully yours, . The directions given above, in regard to an appeal from a refusal to grant a certificate, are to be followed, as far as applicable, in an appeal from the action of a superintendent in annulling a certificate. XIV. PENALTIES AND MISCELLANEOUS LAWS. Section 498. Every district clerk who shall willfully neglect to make the annual report for his district, as re- quired by law, shall be liable to pay the whole amount of money lost by such district in consequence of his neglect, which shall be recovered in an action in the name of and for use of the district. Section 499. Every town clerk who shall neglect or re- fuse to make and deliver to the county superintendent his annual report as required in this chapter, within the time limited therefor, shall be liable on his official bond to pay the town the amount which such town or any school-district therein shall lose by such neglect or refusal, with interest 161 thereon; and every county superintendent who shall neglect or refuse to make the report required of him by this chap- ter, to the state superintendent, shall be liable to pay to each town the amount which such town or any school-district therein shall lose by such neglect or refusal, with interest thereon, to be recovered in either case in an action prose- cuted by the town treasurer in the name of the town. All money collected or received by any town treasurer, under the provisions of this section, shall be apportioned and dis- tributed to the school-districts entitled thereto, in the same manner that the money lost by any such neglect or refusal would have been apportioned and distributed. Section 500. Every taxable inhabitant receiving the no- tice mentioned in sections four hundred and thirteen and four hundred and fifteen, and every chairman of the first district meeting in any district, who shall willfully neglect or refuse to perform the duties enjoined upon him by this chap- ter, shall respectively forfeit the sum of five dollars. Every person duly elected to the office of director, treasurer, or clerk of any school-district, who shall neglect or refuse, without sufficient cause, to accept such office and serve therein, or who, having entered upon the duties of his office, shall neglect or refuse to perform any duty required of him by the provisions of this chapter, shall forfeit the sum of ten dollars; and every school-district officer who shall neglect or refuse to deliver to his successor in office all records, books, and papers appertaining to such office, shall forfeit not exceeding fifty dollars. ^ Section 501. Neither the state superintendent, his as- sistant, or any person in his office, nor any county superin- tendent, nor school-district officer, nor any officer or teacher connected with any public school, shall act as agent or so- licitor for the sale of any school books, maps, charts, school library books, school furniture, apparatus or stationery, or furnish any assistance to, or receive any reward therefrom from any author, publisher, bookseller, or dealer doing the same. Every person violating this section shall forfeit not less than fifty nor more than two hundred dollars for each offense, and be liable to removal from office therefor. Section 502. Every district clerk who shall draw an or- der upon the treasurer for any purpose not authorized by law, and every director who shall countersign such order, shall forfeit for each such order not less than twenty nor more than one hundred dollars. As amended by Chapter 251, Laws of 1883. Section 503. Every member of a district board in any school-district in this state, every member of a board of education in any city of this state in which a list of text- books has been adopted according to law, who shall within three years from the date of such adoption order a change 162 of text-books in such district or city, shall forfeit the sum of fifty dollars ($50). Section 504. In case the town board, or any other offi- cer, shall neglect or refuse to carry into effect any decision of the state superintendent made upon an appeal from their or his action or refusal to act, each supervisor or other offi- cer thus refusing or neglecting shall forfeit the sum of fifty dollars; and every town clerk who shall so neglect or refuse shall also be liable to removal by the town board, upon proper notice thereof. Section 505. All actions for the recovery of any forfeit- ure incurred under the provisions of this chapter, shall be prosecuted by the director of the school-district interested, except when such director has incurred a forfeiture, in which case such action shall be prosecuted by the treasurer of such district, and in case either shall refuse or neglect to prosecute, he shall forfeit twenty dollars. All forfeitures recovered shall be first applied to the necessary expenses of such prosecutions, and one-half of the remainder shall be paid into the district treasury for the use of the district, and the other half to the county treasurer, for the benefit of the school fund. Section 506. Whenever any person or officer designated in this chapter to prosecute an action for a forfeiture, or for a neglect of duty, shall fail to prosecute such action for the space of ten days, after being requested in writing by a vote of the proper district, so to do, any voter may prose- cute such action for the recovery of such forfeiture, or for any neglect of duty, in the manner herein prescribed. Section 507. Any school-district officer may be removed from office by the county judge, for willful neglect of any duty, upon the written application of the majority of the legal voters of his district, or of any person aggrieved by suchnegioci, containing a full statement of all the charges preferred against him. A copy thereof, with a notice of the time and place when and where a hearing upon the same will be had, shall be served upon such officer at least ten days before such hearing. Such officer shall have full op- portunity to be heard in his defense: and the judge, upon satisfactory proof of such neglect of duty, may by order re- move such officer from his office, and in case of removal shall forthwith file such order in the office of the town clerk, and cause a copy thereof to be served upon each of the other officers of the district. The person so removed from office shall not be appointed to fill the vacancy occasioned by such removal; and for all services performed by the county judge under the provisions of this section, he shall receive three dollars for each day actually employed, to be paid by the county. i 163 JOURNAL OP EDUCATION^ DICTIONARIES, ETC. Section 50S. Each school-district clerk, and each town clerk or secretary of a town board of directors, may sub- scribe annually for one copy of the Wisconsin Journal of Education, to be paid for by the district or town respect- ively, out of the school money. The subscription price of the Journal of Education is $1.00 a year, if paid in advance. Subscriptions, with remittances, should be addressed to "Wisconsin Journal of Education, Madison, Wis." Section 509. The state superintendent is hereby author- ized to furnish to any school-district, or to any school, or dis- tinct department thereof, in any city or village, one copy of Webster's unabridged dictionary, on receipt of an affidavit of the district clerk, or the school superintendent of such village or city, that such school or department has not yet been supplied; or, that the dictionary furnished to said school has been lost or is unfit for use, and on payment in advance of the cost price to said superintendent for any so to be replaced. [And he may, in his discretion, distribute to the school-districts, so that no one shall have more than |^ six copies, the printed edition of the constitution of the United States, and of this state, heretofore prepared and * longer furnished by the state. Section 510. All such dictionaries and constitutions, heretofore or hereafter received by the several districts, shall belong to the district library, but during the time a school is taught they shall be and remain in the school "^ rooms, during the hours of school, for the exclusive use of Ci<^ the scholars and teachers and under the control of the teachers or princii3als, who shall be responsible to the dis- ^\^ tricts for their loss, or for any unnecessary damage they ^ may receive. Section 511. The state superintendent shall pay to the state treasurer, all money received on account of diction- aries sold as aforesaid, and render an account of all dic- tionaries sold, in his annual report to the legislature. MAP OP WISCONSIN. Chapter 358, Laios of 1883, amended by Chapter 22, Laws of 1887, and Chapter 373, Laws of 1889. Section 1. There shall be published annually, under the supervision of the railroad commissioner, ten thousand copies of the railroad map of Wisconsin — of which five 164 thousand copies shall be mounted on muslin and provided with rollers, to be distributed by the state superintendent of public instruction among the schools of the state, two thousand copies shall be likewise mounted on muslin and provided with rollers to be apportioned and delivered to the members of the legislature, and the remaining three thou- sand copies shall be unmounted and distributed by the rail- road commissioner; and a sum of money sufficient to carry out the provisions of this act is hereby appropriated out of any money in the state treasury not otherwise appro- priated. Under this law, about five-sevenths of the schools of this state can annually be supplied with an excellent railroad map of the state. Doubtless, as heretofore, these maps will be distributed through city and county superintendents. The first distribution will take place in the spring of 1890. Chaptee 417, Laws of 1889. Section 1. The governor is hereby authorized to set apart by proclamation one day in each year to be observed as a tree planting or arbor day, requesting all public schools and colleges to observe the same by suitable exercises, hav- ing for their object the im.parting of knowledge of horti- culture, in the department known as arboriculture, and the adornment of school and public grounds. Section 512. Every person of lawful school s.^e, main- tained at the public charge, shall, for school purposes, be deemed a resident of the district in which he lives; for every person so maintained by the county, the county board shall for each year allow to the district in which such person may attend school, an amount for each person so attending, equal to the amount expended in that year for each pupil m such district for school purposes; and in case such person be maintained by any town, such town board shall allow a like amount to such district. Such account shall be reckoned by the district officers without reference to the number of pauper children attending such school. Section 513. Every woman of twenty-one years of age, and upwards, may be elected or appointed as director, treas- urer, or clerk of a school-district; director or secretary of a town board, under the township system; member of a board of education in cities; or county superintendent. Section 2. That section 3, of said chapter 251, be amended so that it will read as follows: That section 514 of said chapter 27, of the revised statutes be, and the same is hereby amended so as to read as follows: Section 514. The several boards of education having the government in cities of the public schools, shall determine what school and text-books shall be ased in the several branches of study pursued in the schools, and shall make a list of such books, file a copy with their clerk or secretary and keep a copy posted in each school building. When any such text- books shall have been adopted, except in such city or cities as furnish to the pupils attending the public schools therein free text books, they shall not be changed for a term of three years. Any board of education in any city where the district system is not in force, may, under the limitations of this act, order changes in text books, as aforesaid; provided, except as to free text books, as aforesaid, that said changes shall be approved by the common council or board of alder- men of such city; and the aforesaid boards of education are hereby authorized to purchase text books tor use in the public schools, and to loan or furnish them to pupils under such conditions or regulations as they may prescribe. But shall have all the powers, and be charged with all the duties imposed by these statutes on school-district boards, so far as the same are not provided for or limited by the special pro- visions of the act of incorporation, or other act under which such board or body is constituted. Every city or village not having a system of school government specially provided by law therefor, shall be governed by the provisions of this chapter. Chapter 458, Laws of 1889. Section 1. There is hereby annually appropriated out of any funds in the state treasury not otherwise appropri- ated, the sum of one thousand dollars to aid in maintaining a summer school of science, literature, language and peda- gogy, in connection with the University of Wisconsin. Section 2. All teachers employed in the school men- tioned in section 1 of this act shall be designated by the state superintendent and the president of the university jointly, and all expenditures for assistants, apparatus and other incidental purposes, together with the salaries of teachers, shall be certified by the same officials. Section 3. Whenever the state superintendent and the president of the University of Wisconsin shall certify that a summer school for teachers has been maintained during 12— S. C. 166 the months of July or August in any year for the period of four weeks or more, and the person named in the certificate is entitled to the sum named therein for services or material furnished in connection therewith, the secretary of state shall draw his warrant on the state treasurer in payment thereof. But no warrant shall be drawn in excess of the amount herein appropriated, in any year. By this act Wisconsin becomes a pioneer among the states in recognizing in a material and substantial form a feature of educational work which has in itself the " promise and potency " of great helpfulness to many schools and teachers. This school, which for two years has been supported by volunteer aid wholly, will now be enabled to present in- ducements for attendance in the way of varied and eminent special instructors not practicable heretofore. EXTRACTS FROM REVISED STATUTES — OFFENSES. Section 4442. Any person who shall willfully, mali- ciously or wantonly cut down, injure or destroy, any tree or timber growing or standing upon land belonging or mort- gaged to or held in trust by the state, or any countj^ therein, or take and carry away any timber or wood so cut or sev- ered, or previously cut and severed, and remaining upon said land, or who shall so dig or carry away any min- eral, earth or stone from such land, or mutilate, deface, in- jure or destroy any building or other structure belonging to the state, or to any county, town, city, village, school- district or school board, board of trustees, corporation, company or association, and used for religious, educational, penal, correctional, charitable or other public purposes, or any building or any personal property whatever, of any private person or co-partnership, shall be punished by im- prisonment in the county jail, not more than six months, or by fine not exceeding one hundred dollars. Section 4549. Any officer, agent, or clerk, of the state, or of any county, town, school- district, school board, city or village therein, or in the employment thereof, or any of- ficer, regent, treasurer, secretary, superintendent, clerk or agent, of any penal, correctional, educational or charitable institution, instituted by or in pursuance of law, within this state, or any member of any body or board, having charge or supervision of such institution, who shall have, reserve or acquire, any pecuniary interest, directly or indi- rectly, present or prospective, absolute or conditional, in any way or manner, in any purchase or sale of any per- sonal or real property or thing in action, or in any contract, proposal or bid in relation to the same, or in relation to any 167 public service, or in any tax sale, tax title, bill of sale, deed, mortgage, certificate, account, order, warrant or re- ceipt, made by, to or with him, in his official capacity or employment, or in any public or official service, or who shall make any contract or pledge, or contract any indebt- edness or liabilitj^, or do any other act, in his official capac- ity, or in any public or official service, not authorized or re- quired by law, or who shall make any false statement, cer- tificate, report, return or entry, in any book of accounts or of records, in respect to anything done or required to be done by him officially, or in any public or official service, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail, not more than one year, or by fine not exceeding five hundred dollars. Section 4550. Any person mentioned in the next pre- ceding section, who shall pay, redeem, discount or j^ur- chase any debt, claim or demand, in favor of any other person; against the state, or any county, town, school dis- trict, school board, city or village therein, or against any fund thereof, below the true and full amount thereof, or who shall pay any such debt, claim or demand, for any purpose, out of any fund not provided for such purpose, or who shall willfully violate any provision of law, authoriz- ing or requiring anything to be done, or prohibiting anything from being done, by him, in his official capacity or employ- ment, or who shall refuse or willfully neglect, to perform any duty in his office, required by law, or shall be guilty of any willful extortion, wrong or oppression therein, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail, not more than one year, or by fine not exceeding five hundred dollars. Section 4553. Any public officer whatever, in this state, who shall, after the expiration of his term of office, refuse or willfully neglect to deliver, on demand, to his successor in office, after such successor shall have been dulj' qualified and be entitled to said office according to law, all moneys, records, books, papers, or other property belonging to said office, and in his hands or under his control by virtue thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail, not more than six months, or by fine not exceeding one hundred dollars. Section 4572. Any person who shall willfully, maliciously or wantonly interrupt, or in any way molest or disturb any private or public school, while in session, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail, not more than thirty days, or by fine not exceeding fifty dollars. 168 XV. TOWNSHIP SYSTEM OF SCHOOL GOVERN- MENT. The laws relating to a ''township system of school gov- ernment " have been amended at nearly every session of the legislatm-e since that in which they were first enacted. In all these changes the purpose is apparent to bring the general system into harmony with the independent district system, so far as general principles of administration are concerned. In the sessions of 1887 and 1889 the legislature made numerous changes in these laws. In this compilation the law as at present in force is given, without special reference to the year in which the changes were made. Section 516. Every town which is now or may hereafter be organized in this state is hereby declared and constituted one school-district for all the purposes in this chapter here- inafter prescribed, and the several school-districts and parts of joint districts, which are now or may hereafter be estab- lished in the several organized towns, shall be styled and known as subdistricts, whenever such town shall have voted therefor, as provided in section five hundred and fifty-two. Section 517. New subdistricts may be formed, and the boundaries of any subdistrict may be altered, by th« town board of directors at any regular meeting of said board ; but the formation and alteration of any joint subdistrict shall \)Q by concurrent action of the boards of directors of all the towns embraced in part in such subdistricts. Section 518. The clerks of the several subdistricts in any organized towm, together with the clerks of the joint sub- districts, the school-houses of which are situated in such town, shall constitute the town board of school directors. Section 519. The said board shall be a body corporate, and shall possess the usual powers of a corporation for public purposes, by the name and style of " the board of school directors of the town of " (the name of the town to which the board belongs), and in that name shall sue and be sued, and be capable of contracting and being contracted with, and of holding real and personal estate, and of selling the same, as authorized by the provisions of this act; and the clerks of the various school-districts, together with the clerks of the joint school-districts, the school-houses of which are situated in any town adopting the township system, shall constitute the first board of directors of such town; they shall meet and organize within 169 two weeks after the election at which such township system shall be adopted; and they shall hold their offices until the next annual meeting of the subdistricts of such town. Section 520. The board of directors in each town are hereby invested, in their corporate capacity with the title, care and custody of all school-houses, school-house sites,' furniture, apparatus, and other property of all kinds be- longing to the subdistricts therein, with full power to con- trol the same in such manner as will best subserve the in- terests of the schools in such town. Section 521. The said boards shall hold two regular meetings in each year. The first regular meeting shall be designated the annual meeting, shall occur upon the second Monday in July in each year, and be held at, or as near as may be the place where the last annual election was held. The second regular meeting shall be designated the semi- annual meeting, shall occur on the third Monday in March in each year, and be held at such place as the board may designate by rule, or at the preceding annual meeting. The hour of meeting shall be ten o'clock in the forenoon. Section 522. Special meetings may be called by the sec- retary, or in his absence or disability, by the president, upon the application of one-third of the members of the board. Such meetings shall be called by notifying each member of the board personally, or by leaving a written notice at his place of residence or business, stating the time, place and objects of the meeting, at least five days before the time appointed therefor. The members of the board of school directors shall be reimbursed for expenses actually and necessarily incurred in attending all meetings of the board, bills for which shall be audited by the board. Section 523. The members of the board of school direct- ors, a majority of whom shall constitute a quorum, assem- bled at the first and each succeeding annual meeting, shall elect from their number a president and vice-president; also a secretary who may or may not be of their number, but who shall be a resident of the town to which the board belongs, and hold said office for one year, or until his suc- cessor is elected. Such secretary shall receive a compensa- tion for services rendered at not less than two nor more than three dollars per day, and he shall present a statement of his services rendered at the annual meeting of the board- Vacancies in either of the offices herein provided for may be filled at any special meeting of the board, the notice for which shall state the object of the meeting to be to fill the vacancy existing, or at any semi-annual meeting, and per- sons elected to fill any vacancy shall hold the office for the remainder of the unexpired term. Section 524. The board of school directors of each town shall have power, out of the funds provided by the town for that purpose, to purchase or hire sites, houses and 170 rooms for the use of schools, and to fence and improve the same, as they may deem proper, and upon such sites to build, enlarge, alter, improve and repair school-houses, out- houses or any other building for school purposes, as they may deem advisable; and also whenever in the opinion of the board any school-house, or school-house site is no longer needed for school purposes, the same may be sold and con- veyed in the corporate name of the board, such conveyance to be executed by the president and secretary of the board. Section 525. Said board shall, at the regular raeeting in March, annually, estimate and determine the amount of money which will be necessary for the support of schools, and for the building and repairing of school-houses in the town, for the year beginning on the first day of July next following. Section 526. Said board shall establish and maintain such and so many schools in the several subdistricts under their charge as they may deem requisite and expedient; provided, that there shall be at least one common school in each subdistrict, and that all such schools shall be kept each year not less than six months.- The board shall have, in all respects, the supervision and management of all the schools, with full power to adopt, enforce, modify and repeal from time to time, all rules and regulations, not inconsist- ent with the laws of this state, necessary for their organi- zation, gradation and control, and for the instruction given by them in the different branches of education taught therein, and to establish and enforce proper penalties for the violation of such rules. Section 527. All powers conferred upon district boards by the provisions of this chapter, excepting those the exer- cise of which would conflict with the provisions of law rela- tive to the township system, are hereby conferred upon the town boards of directors herein provided for. Section 528. The president, vice-president, and secretary of the town board of directors shall constitute an executive committee, who shall carry out, put in force, and execute al] orders of the board; and for this purpose, all power and authority vested in such board shall be deemed vested in the executive committee; and any duty devolved upon the said board shall devolve upon the executive committee; but all the acts of the executive committee shall be subject to review by the board at any regular meeting thereof. Section 529. The executive committee shall employ so many qualified teachers as they shall deem necessary to give instruction in all the schools under the charge of the board. Each contract shall be in writing, shall be signed by the teacher and by the president and secretary, shall specify the wages per week, month or year, agreed upon by the parties, and when completed shall be filed in the office of the secretary of the town board of school directors, with a copy of the teacher's certificate attached thereto. in Section 530. The secretary shall record all the proceed- ings of the board; he shall keep an accurate and specific account of all expenses incurred by the board including a list of all orders drawn by him, with the date, amount, per- son in whose favor, and object for which each order was issued; he shall properly file all papers deposited with him in accordance with law, and shall keep and preserve all books, papers, and records belonging to his office, and de- liver the same to his successor. Section 531. He shall make and keep in his office an accurate map of his town, showing the boundaries of all subdistricts and joint subdistricts, the location of all school- houses and highways therein. When a new subdistrict is formed by the board of directors, or one is altered, he shall, within ten days thereafter, certify to the clerk of each sub- district affected by such formation or alteration, a copy in writing of the record of the action of the board in the matter. Section 532. He shall have the immediate charge and supervision of all the schools in the town, and shall, under the direction of the board, organize and grade them, and assist the several teachers thereof in classifying and ar- ranging them. He shall visit each school in his town at least twice during each term thereof; shall examine into its condition and progress, consult with and advise the teachers in regard to the methods of instruction and gov- ernment, and shall report to the board from time to time such improvements as his experience shall dictate are cal- culated to benefit the school. Section 533. He shall draw orders on the town treasurer for money in the hands of such treasurer, which have been apportioned to the town, and for money collected or received by him from other sources for school purposes, for the pay- ment of teachers' wages, the purchase of school-house sites, the building, buying, hiring, repairing, and furnishing of school-houses, and for all other lawful purposes, and each order shall designate the object for which and the fund upon which it was drawn, and shall be countersigned by the president. Section 534. It shall be the duty of the secretary, at least five days before the annual town meeting or election, each year to make to the board of supervisors of the town a written statement, showing the receipts of money for school purposes from all sources, and the disbursements of the same, during the year ending on the last day of June pre- ceding, in which statement shall be given under separate heads : 1. The amount in the treasury at the beginning of the year. 2. Amount received from the state fund. 3. . Amount collected by town treasurer. 172 4. Amount received from all other sources. 5. The manner in which such sums have been expended, specifying the amount paid under each head of expenditure. 6. Amount remaining in the treasury. 7. Amount of indebtedness of the township district, and when and how payable. The secretary shall accompany the above statement with estimates of the board of the amount necessary for the sup- port of schools during the year beginning on the first day of July next following, specifying the sums needed, under the following heads : 1. Amount for teachers' wages. 2. Amount for school-house sites, and for building, hiring or purchasing school-houses. 3. Amount for fuel. 4. Amount for incidental expenses, including repairs, maps, globes, charts, and for all needful school room appur- tenances. 5. An amount not to exceed one hundred dollars to pur- chase library books. Section 535. It shall be the duty of the town board of supervisors of each town in the state to present the state- ments and estimates above mentioned to the electors of the town at the annual town meeting or election, and the items of said estimates shall be passed upon separately by a vote of the electors present; but upon motion they may be in- creased or diminished; and if for any reason, money for the support of schools shall not be voted at the annual town meeting, or a sufficient amount shall not then be voted, the supervisors shall present the estimates before mentioned to the electors at the general election in the fall for a vote thereon. Section 536. The secretary shall furnish school. registers in the form prescribed by the state superintendent, in which every teacher in the town shall be required to enter the names, ages and studies of all the scholars attending school, and daily, their attendance and absence, which regis- ter shall be deposited with the clerk of the subdistrict at the end of each term of school. Section 537. It shall be the duty of the secretary, on or before the first day of August in each year, to make and transmit to the county superintendent a report in writing bearing date on the first day of August in the year of its transmission, stating: 1. The whole number of subdistricts separately set off within the town, and the number of parts of joint subdis- tricts in which the school-houses belonging thereto are located in his town. 2. The subdistricts and parts of subdistricts from which reports shall have been made within the time limited for that purpose. 173 3, The length of time a school shall have been taught in each of said subdistricts or parts of districts by a qualified teacher, 4. The number of children taught in each, and the num- ber of children over the age of four and under the age of twenty years, residing in each, designating males and females separately. 0. The whole amount of money received in the town for school purposes, since the date of the last preceding report, setting forth separately the amount received from the state through the county treasurer, thf' amount levied by the county board, and the amount raised by the town at its annual town meeting or general election. 6. The manner in which said money has been expended, and whether any, or what part remains unexpended, with such other information as the state superintendent may from time to time require. Section 538, The town clerk shall assess all sums voted at the annual meeting, or at the general election, for the support of schools, upon the real and personal property of the town, as found in the assessment roll for the year in which said money is voted, and the sums so assessed shall in all respects be collected or returned delinquent like other taxes, and when collected, the money shall be held by the treasurer, and by him paid out on the order of the president and secretary of said board.- Section 539. If for any reason the electors of a town shall fail to vote an amount of money sufficient to maintain a school in each subdistrict for the term of six months dur- ing the year ensuing, the secretary shall, on or before the third Monday of November of the year in which the electors shall fail to vote as aforesaid, certify to the town clerk the amount estimated by the board of directors, necessary for teachers' wages, fuel, repair of school-houses, and incidental expenses, and the town clerk shall assess the aggrega.te sum thus certified, upon all the taxable property of the town in the assessment roll for that year, and the town treasurer shall collect the same as other taxes. The certificate of the secretary to the town clerk should be made on or before the third Monday in November, See section 472. Section 540. The town treasurer of each town shall ap- ply for and receive from the treasurer of his county all money apportioned for common schools in his town and pay out the same, together with all money collected or received by him for school purposes, upon the order of the president and secretary of the town board of directors. Section 541. The annual meeting of each subdistrict shall be held on the first Monday in July in each year. 174 The time of such meeting shall be seven o'clock in the after- noon. Section 542. The inhabitants qualified by law to vote at a subdistrict meeting when assembled in annual meeting, shall have power, and it shall be their duty: 1. To appoint a chairman for the time being. 3. To appoint a secretary if the district clerk shall be ab- sent. 3. To choose a clerk. 4. To recommend to the town board of directors the num- ber of months they desire to have school maintained in their subdistrict the ensuing year, and whether they desire a male or female teacher; the improvements and repairs which ought to be made on the school-house, outhouse, and grounds ; what maps and charts or other aids in teaching should be furnished, and generally any thing, matter, or plan, which, in their judgment, will advance the cause of education and benefit the school of their subdistrict. Section 543. The clerk shall record the proceedings of all district meetings; shall certify to the town board of di- rectors any recommendations adopted by the electors of his subdistrict, in accordance with the provisions of the pre- ceding section, and shall have charge of the school-house, and of all property therein or belonging or attached thereto, subject to the order or direction of the board of directors. Section 544. The clerk of the subdistrict shall be a member of the town board of school directors, shall attend all meet- ings of the board, and shall carry out all lawful orders of the same having reference to the school-house of his dis- trict, or the school maintained therein. It shall be the duty of the subdistrict clerk, between the tenth and fifteenth days of July in each year, to make and transmit to the sec- retary of the town board of school directors a written re- port, dated on the tenth day of July of such year, signed by him and verified by his affidavit, showing: 1. The number of children, male and female, designated separately over the age of four and under the age of twenty years, residing in the district, and the names of their par- ents or other persons with whom such children resided, re- spectively, on the last day of June preceding, 2. The whole number of children, males and females designated separatel3^ between the ages of four and twenty years, taught in the district school during the year for which such report is made, by teachers duly qualified. 3. The number attending school during the year, under the age of four, and the number over tbe age of twenty years. 4. The whole time, in days, any common school has been taught in the district, including holidaj^s, and the whole number of days, including holidays, such school has been taught by teachers qualified according to law. 175 5. The names of all teachers employed during the year^ the number of days taught by each, including holidays, and the monthly wages paid to each ; ctnd the time allowed any teacher for attendance on any institute, for which no wages were deducted. 6. The kind of books used in the school. 7. Such other facts and statistics in relation to the schools, public or private, in such district, as the state superintendent may from time to time require. The clerk of each joint subdistrict shall report to the secretary of the town board of school directors, or to the town clerk of each town, as the case may require, a part of which is embraced in such subdistrict, the number of children residing in such part, in the manner set forth in this section, and the re- mainder of the items specified in this section shall be em- braced in the report made to the town in which the school- house is situated. Section 545. The subdistrict clerk shall give at least six days' notice of every annual meeting of the electors of his subdistrict, by posting notices therefor in four or more pub- lic places in the subdistrict, one of which notices shall b© aflBxed to the outer door of the school-house if there be one in the subdistrict; and he shall act as secretary of all meet' ings when present. Section 54G. When a new subdistrict is formed or a vacancy occurs in the office of the subdistrict clerk, the executive committee of the board of directors shall appoint a clerk, wbo shall hold his office until the annual meeting of the subdistrict succeeding such appointment. Section 547. When a subdistrict is composed of parts of two or more towns, the board of directors ot the town in which the school-house is situated shall have the entire control of said subdistrict, and shall maintain school therein as in other subdistricts; and the clerk of such joint subdis- trict shall be a member of the board of directors of said town. At the annual meeting in July, the board of direct- ors shall calculate and determine the cost of maintaining the schools m said joint subdistrict for the year ending on the last day of June preceding the meeting of the board, and the secretary shall certify such amount to the secre- tary of the board of each town embraced in part in such joint subdistrict, together with the assessed valuation of said subdistrict, and each part thereof, as found in the as- sessment roll of the said town for that year; on the receipt of such certificate, the secretary of the board of directors of each of said towns shall draw an order on the treasurer of his town in favor of the town in which the school-house of said j"oint subdistrict is situated, for such a proportion of the whole cost of maintaining said school as aforesaid, as the assessed value of the property of his town, embraced in said joint subdistrict, is to the whole valuation thereof; 176 unless the proportion of such school-district taxes to be assessed in each such town shall have been ascertained, as provided in section -tTl, in which case he shall draw his order for such proportion, and said order shall be paid out of any nione}'" in the hands of said treasurer collected or received by him for the support of schools in his town. "<« Section "'^-48. In case either of the towns embraced in part in said joint subdistrict shall not have adopted the township system of school government, the certificate be- fore mentioned shall be made to the clerk of said subdis- trict. and it shall be his duty to incorporate the propor- tional sum mentioned in the preceding section in the returns of district taxes made by him to the town clerk of the town not having adopted such system, on the third Monday in November succeeding the receipt of said certifi- cate; and the said sum shall be assessed and collected with the other taxes of that part of the joint subdistrict, and shall be paid over by the town treasurer collecting the same to the treasurer of the town in which the school -house of said joint subdistrict is situated. Section 549. When the school-house of a joint subdis- trict is situated in a town which has not adopted the town- ship system of school government, the taxes for the support of schools shall be raised, assessed, and collected as pro- vided in this chapter; but if any portion of said joint subdis- trict shall be embraced in a township which has adopted the township system, then the proportion of any district tax, which should be assessed upon the property of such part of said subdistrict, shall be certified by the town clerk of the town in which the school-house of said subdistrict is situated, to the secretary of the town board of directors of the town comprising the part of the said joint subdistrict before men- tioned; and said secretary shall draw an order upon the town treasurer of his town in favor of the treasurer of the joint subdistrict for the amount of tax tlius certified; and the said town treasurer shall paj^ the same out of any money held or received by him for school purposes. Section 550. Prior to the erection of any school-house by the board of directors, they shall estimate and determine the valuation of all the school-houses and sites in their town, and, w^ien so determined, the secretary shall place upon record a tabular statement, containing the number of each subdistrict, the value of its school-house and site, and the valuation of its taxable property as appears from the last assessment roll of the town; and thereafter, for a period of ten A-ears from the date of the meeting at which such de- termination of values was had, when a tax shall be voted to build a school-house or purchase a. site, such tax shall be so distributed and assessed upon the several subdistricts, that those having the least amount invested in school- houses and sites in proportion to the assessed valuation of 177 their property, as appears from the record made at the time of the determination of vakies aforesaid, shall pay most toward said tax in proportion to the valuation of the prop- erty at the time the tax is assessed, in order that the sums paid by the different subdistricts in the town for the pur- chase of sites and the erection of school-houses shall be equalized ; but if the board of directors of any town shall decide that taxes for the purchase of sites and the erection of school-houses shall be assessed equally upon property, then the aforesaid provision in reference to equalizing such taxes shall not be operative in such town. Section 551. Whenever the territory of a school-district of an incorporated village shall extend beyond the limits of such village, the whole of such territory shall remain in such district, and form a part thereof until detached by authority of law; and such district and every village con- taining a graded school of three or more departments shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter relating to the township system, except as hereinafter provided. Section 552. The legal voters of any town in the state may at any annual town meeting, or at any general elec- tion, vote upon the question of township school govern- ment. Such voting shall be by ballot, and the ballots used shall have written or printed thereon the words, "township school government, yes;" or the words, "township school government, no." A separate box shall be provided for the reception of said ballots, and the votes cast shall be counted, canvassed, and a record thereof made as in case of other votes cast at such election; and if it shall appear that a majority of the ballots cast have written or printed thereon the words, "township school government, yes," then the provisions of this chapter, providing for the township system, shall immediately become operative in such town, otherwise they shall have no force or effect therein. Ko vote shall be taken on the question of town- ship school government in pursuance of this chapter un- less notice thereof shall be given as hereinafter pro- vided. The town clerk of any town, upon the petition in writing of any ten electors of said town, shall publish by posting in three of the most public places in said town, a notice in writing that the question of township school government will be submitted to the electors of said town at the ensuing annual town meeting or general election. Such notice shall be so published and posted at least ten days before the holding of any such town meeting or elec- tion; and any town having adopted the township school government according to the provisions of this chapter, may abolish the same at any town meeting or general election, in the same manner as provided for its adoption in this sec- tion; but when the system of township school government shall be adopted, it shall continue in force two years from 178 the date of its adoption, before the question of abolishing it shall be acted upon. Whenever the electors of any in- corporated village, having a graded school with three or more departments, shall desire to adopt the township sys- tem of schools, they may vote upon the question at any charter or general election held in such village; such vote shall be by ballot of the form above described, and upon like notice, and if a majority of the votes cast upon that subject shall be in favor of the adoption of said system, then such village shall become a part of the township system, of the town in which the same is situated. Whenever any town having adopted the township system of school government shall vote to abolish the same, it shall be the duty of the town board of supervisors, on or before the first day of June next succeeding the date at which the. vote was taken, to meet, and by an order made in pursuance to section 413, of chapter 27, of the revised statutes, divide the town into suitable independent school-districts, making the order to take effect on the first day of July next following. The subdistrict clerks and the secretary of the town board of di- rectors for the year preceding, shall make the necessary annual reports for the year ending on that day, as required by law, although the offices held by them shall have been abolished. Section 553. Whenever any school-district in any town, adopting the township system, shall be indebted at the time of such adoption upon a loan from the state, or otherwise, such district shall remain liable for the payment of such in- debtedness, and no alteration of the boundaries of such dis- trict as a subdistrict in such town shall ever be made until such debt is fully paid, except as is pro voided in section two hundred and sixty-three. The clerk of such subdistrict shall annually certify to the town clerk the sum necessary to be raised as taxes in such subdistrict for the payment of such indebtedness, with interest thereon in the same manner and with like effect, as the clerk of such district was required by law to certify the same, and the town clerk shall extend the amount of such taxes upon the tax roll, upon the taxable property of such subdistrict, in like manner as if the same had been certified by the clerk of such district; and the same shall be collected by the town treasurer and be applied by him exclusively to the payment of such debt. Chapter 204, Laws of 1885. Section 1. Whenever any town in this state shall have attempted to adopt the township system of school govern- ment, under and pursuant to section 552 of the revised stat- utes of 1878, the validity of any and all taxes for school purposes heretofore or hereafter levied and assesed in any such town, shall not be questioned in any action or proceed- 179 ing heretofore or hereafter commenced, so far as the regu- larity of the proceedings of any such town, in the adoption of such township system of school government is concerned, unless the plaintiff shall show that he would be required to pay more than his equitable proportion of taxes; and any and all school taxes heretofore levied in any such towns which have been voted at the annual town meeting, are hereby declared to be legal and valid, even though the pro- visions of section 535, of the revised statutes of 1878, shall not have been in all respects complied with. Chapter 354, Laws of 1885. Section 1. The board of school directors of any town in which the township system of schools exists may borrow money from the trust funds of the state for the purpose of building school-house or school-houses, and the commis- sioners of public lands are hereby authorized to loan money from the trust funds of the state to the board of school directors of any town in which the township system of schools exists upon their compliance with the following rules and regulations: 1st. If at an annual meeting of the electors of such town a resolution shall be voted on by ballot and adopted, author- izing the said town board of school directors to make appli- cation to the commissioners of the public lands therefor, stating the amount to be borrowed, and the time of pay- ment. 2d. Such authorization may be given such town board of school directors by a special meeting of such electors called in the same manner as special town meetings are provided to be called by the revised statutes. Section 2. After such authorization shall be given, the whole matter of such loan, both as to amounts and time of payment, as well as all other matters pertaining to same, shall be governed and controlled by the general law gov- erning loans from the trust funds of the state to school- districts, found in sections 261, 262 and 263 of the revised statutes, except that the application shall be made and signed by the president, vice-president and secretary of such board, and the notes given as evidence of such debt shall be signed by the same three officers. The town treas- urer shall receive and receipt for the moneys received on such loan, and pay it out as other moneys belonging to such township district for the purposes as provided for in section one of this act. The changes in the law relating to township system of school government are numerous and important, and should be carefully noted by the administrative officers under that system. Among the more important changes, will be found, a change in the time of holding annual meetings in subdistricts, to tlio first Monday in July; one requiring clerks of subdistricts to make an annual report to the sec- retary of the town board of directors; one requiring con- tracts with teachei-s to be in writing, and with a copy of the 'teacher's certihcato attached, filed in the office of the secretary; and one providing for organizing independent school districts, when a town having the township system votes to abolish the same. Not many towns have as yet made trial of the system provided for in tlie preceding sections. There is a natural hesitation in changing from the methods of school manage- ment with which people are familiar, to others that are new to them. It will be seen that section 552 provides tliat any town which adopts the system and is not satisfied with it. can return to the old one, but not till after a. trial of two years. With a little patience, however, and a willingness to consider the general good rather than local advantage, the town organization will be found much better than the plan of single, independent districts. The advantages of the system may be briefly restated, at this time, under the following heads: 1. It would promote economy and simplicit3^ A town with ten districts, not an unusual number, requires the ser- vices of thirty school officers, besides those of the town clerk, the town treasurer, and the town board, in the admin- istration of school affairs. A board of five directors, with the town treasurer, would do all the business more intell gently, more eificientl5% and at much less expense. 2. It would aid in securing peace and quiet. As shown by numerous appeals taken to the state superintendent, and by the correspondence of the office, there are constant disputes about district boundaries, the lawfulness of the action of district meetings or district boards, to the great detriment of the schools. Under the consolidated system, this trouble would mostly disappear. Each voter would'have, as now, a voice in the election of the school officers, and in the deter- 181 mination of the school policy. Each tax-payer would pay his school taxes for the general good, and be allowed to send to the most convenient and appropriate school. 3. School taxes would be uniform and equitable. Public schools are for the public good, and should be supported at the public charge. The state school tax, supplementing the income of the school fund, leaves the local taxation lighter, and the burden of sustaining the schools is still further equalized. 4. The schools would also be much more uniform, and of better average quality. At present, we find an excellent school, perhaps, in one district, and in the next a poor one; chiefly, sometimes, because the people are poor. But the state cannot afford to tolerate poor schools. 5. Graded schools are generally out of the question, un- der the present system. Under a town system, they could be much more readily introduced, as increase of population and the advancement of pupils might render it desirable. A considerable number of towns could at once establish a central school of higher grade, open to all pupils of sufficient advancement. This would, in effect, grade the other schools. Some advantages, beyond those of elementary instruction, would thus be attainable, more especially in towns embrac- ing villages. 6. A course of study could be much more readily intro- duced, and made uniform. 7. Text-books and apparatus could be uniformly and adequately supplied, and at reasonable rates. 8. Teachers would be employed for their fitness, be longer retained, and would do far better work. A superior teacher would naturally be secured for the central school of highest grade, if established, who would diffuse correct methods of teaching through all the schools. 9. Supervision, now almost a nullity, would be exercised by such head teacher, or by the secretary of the tgwn board; and the general care of the schools on the part of the county superintendent would be properly supplemented. 10. School-houses would be better, and better located, the 13— S. C. '^ 182 law providing, as it does now, for the equalization of costj, for a series of years. 11. Town libraries would naturally and readily connect themselves with a town system of schools, greatly to the public benefit. 13. Statistics would be uniform, reliable, and of some value. No human system is perfect. The school system here advocated opens possibilities, nevertheless, which cannot be realized under the present one, except in rare cases. It would certainly render it practicable to make the bulk of the country schools much better than they now are. The town system, as distinguished from the single district sys- tem, is in fact the original school system of our country. This subject is discussed in the report of the state superin- tendent for 1879. The system should, therefore, be enacted into law, without much longer delay. The present permis- sive law was intended as an experiment. Though well devised, in the main, it retains too much of the present sys- tem, and should be carefully recast. XVI. OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE SCHOOL FUND INCOME. As amended by Chapter 134, Laws of 1885, and Chapter 277, Laws of 1887, Section 554. The school fund income which shall have .^. ^ been received up to and including the first day of June, shall ^^ be appoitioned by the state superintendent between the y tenth and fifteentii days of June, in each year. Such appor- Qs^ tionment shall be mdde among the several counties, and the several towns, specially incorporated villages, and cities in (jvs,' each county, according to the number of children in each \J over the age of four and under the age of twenty years, ^^ as shown by the reports made to the state superintendent n3 d.uring the year preceding; but no apportionment shall be ^made to any town, village or city which shall have failed to raise by tax during the preceding year, for the support of common schools therein, a suni equal to the amount of .^^ its share from the school fund income, as determined by the county board of supervisors, in pursuance of section 1074,»^ revised statutes, unless the town or village board or com- mon council of such city so failing shall have transferred. 183 as they are hereby authorized to do, from the general fund to the school fund of the town, village or city, for such pur- pose, the amount of deficit in such school tax, and the town, village or city clerk shall have filed with the state superin- tendent his certificate, showing such transfer to the school fund, and his apportionment thereof to the proper school districts, or transfer to the board of education, before the tenth day of June; and no apportionment shall be made to any city, village or town for any school-district therein, for any year during which such district shall not have main- tained a common school, taught by a qualified teacher, for six months, unless the state superintendent shall be satis- fied that the school was so taught for three months^ and the failure to maintain it for the full six months was occasioned by some extraordinary cause, and not arising from neglect or intent to avoid the legal obligation ; nor to any town, vil- lage or city, nor for any school-district, reports of which as required by law, shall not have been made and transmitted during the preceding year to the state superintendent; nor to any city for any year, the report for which shall not show that the number of children between the ages aforesaid re- siding therein, has been ascertairiftd bv an actual census, taKen under tniBLi'ssp-ii^rt iBoijnod hb jo pu^ 'suoprtzunssjo ■'■" /^T./^+ki/M uuu^y iidrViiig l-od xiu JO soLTBtnud uouoap aqx •iuotjoss by their purpose. clerk •^■^^'^noj ^w ^OBua op 'A^qmassu ptiB ojBtins nt ;u3S3Jd3J 'iiisuoosij^ JO a^Tj^s aqj jo a^dood aqj, j ' •siin);TqT3quj >'0ox Stiipaaoxa nopTJindod v gnjABq saijunoo I s'l.inuiTid uoijoaia jo }uatmi.iaAoX pnu The change lUiob 'uoininSa-i sqi lof epiAOid 0} XOV MV " 'est aaxdVHO that clause VJSI 'si -^^'K P^qsuqnd] [-V '981 -ON make any aiji oj ^^x jtav i^aata aq^o ginsodsiai/, ■^ -^ .jaO 0} sdBui pvoj[iu}j jo aotjnqiijsio: jc which fails to r^^^^ ^.pf'^av oi uoptujdojddv (m'mi 5 pun smnqo jo juamamag jrauad oj/^ +1tp> p-n-nnrfinnm^A tusiioosiAS. o} pan'udojddy ooy'ocs T uiio a^j^jyji. uiviiiiij. 'X^aioos iRiniiiioi.iSv s^wig oj xiuoi i fliA pminfv ]-,^gfl9-l 8nn^SanjO)p93midojddyooTS9 liiitJ UUUiiLj UUcf):j sainjujs pai'cqounY JO noimqijistdc 1 07 J. nf f hp rf^TT^ '^^"-'"^ '"^"^ °^ r^aiifi.idojddy o6lSZ L\Jt-k OI lllKi levij puB aonod }0 s.iaquiaj^ iioisiiaj oxig I ' •sranmtajj j Bjon ■nT auamaAOjdrai aSwjhooujr oxU \ tioiiWiuiuosifi guijiqiqoij ^oy uv's 'b es-Bqoj'nfi aqj aof apiAOJj oj joy nyig 19 '0 05 oni-T^ "IT-l-'r.S JO uon'Bijdo.iddvii liTOJOPH; oxq^HJBqo oj tioijtiijdojddy 'f Section 1. '"jJOnqnci aoj apTAcij oj uoi^niidojddy g , , , *p 9 uraTiny jaj boO'oS JO noijmjdojddyif a state tax OI C^ub SuTqsTiqna joj aptAOjj; 0} py uy g ntirm of flTp fn-yi sAVBi 'o-.c jajdijqo itJsdaH ouoy ny S ciunjij. \jL Lia.c iJO-^d^qQ ;o tiouTssnadtaoQ Smxi^ joy uyii when so levied StnnsiA aAij^isiSaT 0} uoiitJudo.Tddy|g ar>>ior,l fnn/l in ^^"^''I -J" °n™oog ai^inSa^ oj joy uy z OuiiUUi lUiiu liij-B UT3IUSS0JI diniqd: 0} uoijBiidoiddy 9 quired by law i fund income manner and un ^iisuoostav o; ooo'i-s jo uopBpdoiddy z f no joq'B^ loj uaii apiAoaj o} joy ny z Jig oj luiOHTw JO AjTo aqj azuoqjny ox I ■at jjnoo iBdioiuriK ajuajo oj joy uy f JO :3ijajo jtjanonBJS aoj IjBiiig Sutxiqlg TVi i « fl nt -nvi '^I^ ^l^'^-^X sqi 9J'c;iodaooni oj joy uy \z -Liiio ciuu JJJ-^^jauoiJBjg asuqojnj; OJ uoxjBijdoaddy!^ for 'the snpp^y ^ ^° ^wstg loogog Jimjak 6% joy uy g from this sou: 6 \?.9f I \Lff 9 88^ ,8 !0X^ 6 IS68 TXI88 Ot f<2S I [oSG 9 088 8 iSS yn, or other 3ls therein, nt for that "™ection is in jotendent to -o( or village its share of srmined by of section d annually issed valu- Ji amount, le common the same 'ictions re- _ion school ing money it received ity boards ^ -^5 4 184: of supervisors in determining the amount to be raised by each town, city and village, as a county school tax, and the tax thus levied must be equal to the amount received from the school fund income and this state tax together; as this amount derived from the tax is to be disbursed in the same manner and under the same conditions and restric- tions now prescribed by law for the disbursement of the school fund income. Under section 1074, of the revised statutes, the county board is required to levy a tax upon each town for the sup- port of common schools therein the ensuing year, which shall not be less than the amount apportioned to such town in the last apportionment of the income of the school fund. ^' In case of new towns where no apportionment was made tb such new town by the county board, then the tax levied by the town should be proportionate to that levied upon the other towns. If by any mistake or oversight an amount less than that last apportioned is levied upon any town, the town board is authorized under the foregoing section, to transfer the de- ficiency from the general fund to the school fund of the town, and the town clerk will certify to the state superin- tendent that ' the transfer has been made, and that the money has been properly apportioned. The town is then entitled to receive its share of the income of the school fund. But under section 1075, the deficiency in the tax is to be added to the school tax levied the ensuing year. Formerly the legislature, by special acts, authorized the apportionment of school money to districts which had been prevented from maintaining five months' school, in conse- quence of the burning of the school-house, the prevalence of an epidemic disease, or any similar extraordinary cause, if there had been as much as three months' school, and the general law is to be interpreted in the same spirit. Section 555. The state superintendent shall certify the apportionment made as aforesaid to the secretary of state, and shall immediately give notice thereof to each county •clerk and county treasurer, stating the amount apportioned to his county, and to each town, village and city therein. Upon receiving such apportionment, the secretary of state 185 shall draw his warrant upon the state treasurer, payable to the proper county treasurer, for the total amount appor- tioned each county. Section 550. Whenever any officer shall omit to make, within the time fixed, any statement or report required to be made to the state superintendent, he shall notify such offi- cer by mail or otherwise, of such omission, but the failure of the state superintendent so to do shall in no manner affect the consequences of such omission. If, at any time within two years after an apportionment, in which any town, vil- lage, city or school- district was excluded upon any ground mentioned in section five hundred and fifty-four, satisfac- tory evidence shall be filed with the state superintendent that such exclusion was due to some mistake or omission of some officer, and that such town, village, city or school-district was legally entitled to have shared in such apportionment, the state superintendent shall certify such facts, and the amount justly apportionable thereto to the secretary of state, and notify the county clerk and treasurer of the proper county thereof. The secretary of state shall draw his war- rant therefor, and the money shall be paid from the school fund income for the use of such town, village, city or school- district, as if originally apportioned. Section 557. Each county treasurer shall apply for and receive the school money due his county as soon as appor- tioned, and shall immediately give notice in writing of the amount apportioned to each town, village, and city in his county to the treasurer and clerk thereof, respectively, and shall pay the same to each such treasurer on demand, who shall pay the same to the proper school treasurer, as pro- vided by law. If any such town, village or city treasurer shall not demand such money before the next receipt of school money apportioned to such county, the county treas- urer shall add such sum remaining in his hands to the money so next received, and distribute the same therewith and in the same proportion among the several towns, vil- lages, and cities entitled thereto in such county. As amended by Chapter 275, Laws of 1887. Section 558. The town clerk shall apportion all school money received from the state, and also all raised by the town, among the several districts and parts of districts within the town, in proportion to the number of children between the ages of four and twenty years, residing in each, taking such number from the last annual reports of their respective clerks. But if, after the date of such reports, any district shall have been altered or a new one formed, so as to render an apportionment founded on such annual re- ports unjust between any districts, the town clerk shall ascer- tain the number of such children residing in each district thus altered and formed, by the best evidence within his 186 reach, and apportion the school money to such districts in proportion to the number of such children residing therein at the time the apportionment is ma,de; provided, however, that the town clerk shall not include any children in his ap- portionment to such districts who would not have been en- titled to share in the apportionment if they had remained in the districts divided. No money shall be apportioned to any district, or part of a district, except as herein provided and as provided in section 554, of this chapter, by the discretion of the state superintendent, unless the last annual report thereof, verified by the affidavit of the district clerk, shall 'show that all school money received from the state during the year ending with the date of suph report, has been ap- plied to the payment of the wages of a legally qualified Jeacher, and that a school has been taught in such district by such a teacher, for at least six months during the year ending with the date of such report; but any time which such report shall show was spent by such teacher in attend- ance on an institute in the county, and given by the dis- trict board without deduction from such teacher's wages therefor, shall be included as part of such six months. This section is amended to provide for the apportionment of public funds by town clerks to districts which are formed or altered after the annual reports are made to him by dis- trict clerks, and before an apportionment is made. The law now requires apportionment to be made to sucli districts in proportion to the number of persons of school age residing in each at the time the apportionment is made, taking into the account only such children as would have been entitled to be included, if they had not been transferred from one district to another. If children are transferred from a dis- trict which did not maintain the required months of school, by a legally qualified teacher, or from territory not included in any school-district, they are not to be counted. Section 559, All money apportioned by the town clerk to any district or part of a district, which shall have remained in the hands of the town treasurer for one year after such apportionment, by reason of such district or part of district neglecting or refusing to receive the same, shall be added to the money next thereafter to be apportioned by such town clerk to the several districts and parts of district in such town, and apportioned therewith. Section 560. In reckoning school months, twenty days, as specified in section four hundred and fifty-nine, shall consti- tute a month, and one hundred days five months. 187 It is to be carefully noted that all moneys apportioned by the town clerk, must be apportioned according to the num- ber of persons over four and under twenty years of age re- siding in the several districts and parts of districts of his town, in which school has been maintained the required number of months during the past year. Money must not be apportioned to any district that does not furnish the evi- dence required by section 558: 1. That a school has been taught therein. 2. That the teacher thereof was duly qualified. 3. That the school was maintained the required number of months during the year, and, 4. That an amount equal to that received from the income of the school fund, has been applied to the payment of teachers' wages. No new district is entitled to any public money until it shall have had six months' school; but, if an alteration of a district be made, and a new district be formed as the result of such alteration, between the time of making the annual report and the time for making the next apportionment, the money drawn on account of the pupils thus set off from a district, after being reported as pupils of that district, must be paid to the district in which such pupils are found. Public money of any kind remaining in the hands of the town treasurer for one year after having been apportioned by the town clerk, must be added to the amount to be ap- portioned for the next year. XVII. OF THE UNIVERSITY. Chapter 25, Revised Statutes. Section 377. There is established in this state at the city of Madison, an institution of learning by the name and style of *'The University of Wisconsin." As amended by Chapter 289, Laivs of 1889. Section 378. The government of the university shall vest in a board of regents, to consist of one member from each congressional district of the state, and two members from the state at large, to be appointed by the governor, and of the ex-officio members hereinafter mentioned. The term of 188 office of the appointed regents shall be three years from the first Monday in February in the year in which they are appointed, unless sooner removed by the governor; but ap- pointments to fill vacancies before the expiration of the term shall be for the residue of the term only. The state superintendent of public instruction shall be ex-officio a member of said board of regents. The president of the university shall also be ex-officio a member of the board of regents and a member of all its standing committees, but he shall have the right to vote only in case of a tie. Section 379. The board of regents and their successors in office, shall constitute a body corporate, by the name of " the regents of the university of Wisconsin,'' and shall pos- sess all the powers necessary or convenient to accomplish the objects and perform the duties prescribed by law, and shall have the custody of the books, records, buildings, and all other property of said university. The board shall elect a president and a secretary, who shall perform such duties as may be prescribed by the by-laws of the board. The secretary shall keep a faithful record of all the transactions of the board, and of the executive committee thereof. The state treasurer shall be the treasurer of the board, and per- form all the duties of such office, subject to such regula- tions as the board may adopt, not inconsistent with his official duties, and he and his sureties shall be liable, on his official bond as state treasurer for the faithful discharge of such duties. Section 380. The time for the election of the president and secretary of said board, and the duration of their re- spective terms of office, and the times for holding the regu- lar annual meeting, and such other meetings as may be re- quired, and the manner of notifying the same, shall be determined by the by-laws of the board. A majority of the board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of busi- ness, but a less number may adjourn from time to time. Section 381. The board of regents shall enact laws for the government of the university in all its branches; elect a president and the requisite number of professors, instruct- ors, officers and employes, and fix the salaries and the term of office of each, and determine the moral and educational qualifications of applicants for admission to the various- courses of instruction; but no instruction, either sectarian in religion or partisan in politics, shall ever be allowed in any department of the university; and no sectarian or partisan test shall ever be allowed or exercised in the appointment of regents, or in the election of professors, teachers, or other officers of the university, or in the admission of students thereto, or for any purpose whatever. The board of regents shall have power to remove the president or any professor, instructor, or officer of the university, when, in their judg- ment, the interests of the university require it. The board 189 may prescribe rules and regulations for the management of the libraries, cabinet, museum, laboratories, and all other property of the university, and of its several departments, and for the care and preservation thereof, with penalties and forfeitures, by way of damages, for their violation; which may be sued for and collected in the name of the board, before any court having jurisdiction of such action. Section 382. The board of regents are authorized to ex- pend such portion of the income of the university fund as they may deem expedient for the erection of suitable build- ings, and the purchase of apparatus, a library, cabinets and additions thereto, and, if they deem it expedient, may receive, in connection with the university, any college in this state, upon application of its board of trustees; and such college, so received, shall become a branch of the uni- versity, and be subject to the visitation of the regents. Section 383. At the close of each fiscal year, the regents, through their president, shall make a report in detail to the governor, exhibiting the progress, condition, and wants of each of the colleges embraced in the university, the course of study in each, the number of professors and students, the amount of receipts and disbursements, together with the nature, costs, and results of all important investigations and experiments, and such other information as they may deem important, one copy of which shall be transmitted free, by the secretary of state, to all colleges endowed under the provisions of the act of congress, entitled, "An act donat- ing land to the several states and territories which provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts,"' approved July 2, 1862; and also, one copy to the sec- retary of interior, as provided in said act. Section 384. The president of the university shall be president of the several faculties, and the executive head of the instructional force in all its departments; as such he shall have authority, subject to the board of regents, to give general direction to the instruction and scientific investiga- tions of the several colleges, and so long as the interests of the institution require it, he shall be charged with the duties of one of the professorships. The immediate government of the several colleges shall be intrusted to their respective faculties, but the regents shall have the power to regulate the courses of instruction, and prescribe the books or works to be used in the several courses, and also to confer such degrees and grant such diplomas as are usual in universities, or as they shall deem appropriate, and to confer upon the faculty, by by-laws, the power to suspend or expel students for misconduct or other cause prescribed in such by-laws. 190 Sections 385 and 386, Revised Statutes, as amended by Chapter 373, Laivs of 1889. Section 385. The object of the university of Wisconsin shall be to provide the means of acquiring a thorough knowledge of the various branches of learning connected with literary, scientific, industrial and professional pursuits, and to this end it shall consist of the following colleges or departments, to-wit: 1. The college of letters and science. 2. The college of mechanics and engineering. 3. The college of agriculture. 4. The college of law. 5. Such other colleges, schools or departments as now are or may from time to time be added thereto or connected therewith. Section 386. The college of letters and science shall em- brace liberal courses of instruction in language, literature, philosophy and science, and may embrace such other branches as the regents of the university shall prescribe. The college of mechanics and engineering shall embrace practical and theoretical instruction in the various branches of mechanical and engineering science and art, and may embrace such additional branches as the regents may de- termine. The college of agriculture shall embrace instruc- tion and experimentation in the science of agriculture and in those sciences which are tributary thereto, and may em- brace such additional branches as the board of regents shall determine. The college of law shall consist of courses of instruction in the principles and practice of law, and may include such other branches as the regents may determine. Section 387. The university shall be open to female as well as to male students, under such regulations and re- strictions as the board of regents may deem proper; and all able bodied male students of the university, in whatever college, may receive instruction and discipline in military tactics, the requisite arms for which shall be furnished by the state. After any person has graduated at the state uni- versity, and, after such graduation, has successfully taught a public school in this state for sixteen school months, the superintendent of public instruction shall have authority to countersign the diploma of such teacher after such examin- ation as to moral character, learning, and ability to teach as to the said superintendent may seem proper and reasonable. Any person holding a diploma granted by the board of re- gents of the state university, certifying that the person holding the same is a graduate of the state university shall, after his diploma has been countersigned by the state super- intendent of public instruction as aforesaid, be deemed qualified to teach any of the public schools of this state, and such diploma shall be a certificate of such qualification un- 191 til annulled by the state superintendent of public instruc- tion. Section 388. No student who shall have been a resident of the state for one year next preceding his admission, shall be required to pay any fees for tuition in the university, except in the law department and for extra studies. The regents may prescribe rates of tuition for any pupil in the law department, or who shall not have been a resident as aforesaid, and for teaching extra studies. Section 389. For the support and endowment of the uni- versity, there is annually and perpetually appropriated: 1. The university fund income and all other sums of money appropriated by any law to the university fund in- come. 2. The agricultural college fund income. 3. All such contributions as may be derived from public or private bounty. The entire income of all said funds shall be placed at the disposal of the board of regents by transfer to the treasurer of said board, thenceforth to be distinct and independent of the accounts of the state, and for the support of the afore- said colleges or departments of arts, of letters, and such other colleges and departments as shall be established in the university or connected therewith; but all means derived from other public or private bounty shall be exclusively de- voted to the specific objects for which they shall have been designated by the grantor. As amended by Chapter 300, Laws of 1883. Section 390. There shall be levied and collected annu- ally a state tax of one-eighth (^) of one (1) mill for each dollar of the assessed valuation of the taxable property of the state, which amount when so levied and collected, is appropriated to the University fund income to be used an- nually as a part thereof; such increase from one-tenth (1-10) to one-eighth (^) of a mill on the dollar of the assessed valuation of the taxable property of the state, shall be used for the purpose of establishing, under the direction of the board of regents of the University, a chair of pharmacy and materia medica, and the establishment of an agricul- tural experiment station; and in case a surplus accrue from the increase for the purpose aforementioned, the board of regents shall have power to dispose of the same, in the m.anner as of other incomes from this source, and the whole appropriation shall be deemed a full compensation for all deficiencies in said income, arising from the disposition of the lands donated to the state by congress, in trust, for the benefit of said income. Section 391. The sum of three thousand dollars shall be set apart annually, forever, from the receipts of the tax mentioned in the preceding section, so soon as a complete 192 and well-equipped astronomical observatory shall be given to the university on its own grounds, without cost to the state, to be expended by the regents in astronomical work and instruction; provided, such observatory be completed by the fourth of July, A. D. 1879. Section 392. The regents shall each receive the actual amount of his expenses in traveling to and from, and in attendance upon all meetings of the board, or incurred in the performance of any duty in pursuance of any direction of the board; accounts for such expenses, duly authentica- ted, shall be audited by the board, and be paid on their order by the treasurer, out of the university fund income. No regent shall receive any pay, mileage or per diem, ex- cept as above prescribed. Chapter 282, Laws of 1889. Section 1. To provide for needed additional facilities for instruction in the department of mechanic arts, of the state university, and for the establishment of courses of in- struction in railway and electrical engineering therein, there is hereby annually appropriated to the university fund income one per cent, of the funds derived by the state from the license tax upon railway companies, railway car com- panies, or other transportation companies, and upon tele- graph companies, telephone companies, and other electrical companies. i section l. in addition to the amount author- ized to be levied and collected annually, by chapter three hundred, of the laws of 1888, there shall also be levied and collected annually for six years, a state tax of one-tenth of one mill for each dollar of the assessed valuation of the tax- able property of the state, which amount so lev- XVIII. OF led and collected is appropriated to the unlver- iACADE- sity fund income, and shall be used by the board of regents of the tmiversity for the construction, aquipment and maintenance of an armory and drill room for the military department of the university, a building for the college of law, a C building for practical instruction in dairying, and such modifications or extensions of existing QTrnrrrnxr cjoq buildings as the growth of the university may c^-It^^Iq p,a OiliL/llUJM O JO. require. The residue which ''shall remain from »*-^J-i-UUi& es- tablished, and ^l^e income hereby provided for shall be used to ted, and f OF . , /. ' meet the permanent necessities arising from the ,1 the perrormar growthoftheunlverslty, and may be applied in sm, tlierO IS /-»/->Tic!+i+iT<-c.rl o the same manner as other university Incomes. Vio l-^noT-rl rtf COnbllUUieu ci section 2. This act shall take effect and be in '"^ "'^'*^^ "j regents of nOI force from and after Uspassage and publication, vemor and state superintendent, as ex-officio regents, and of nine ap- pointed regents. The term of office of regents appointed, commencing with the first Monday of February in the year in which appointed, shall be three years and until the ap- pointment and qualification of their respective successors; and they are now and shall continue divided into three classes, so that the term of office of three regents shall ex- pire each year; and not more than two such members of the board shall reside in any one congressional district. The governor shall fill all vacancies by appointment, by and 193 with the approval of the senate, if the legislature be in ses- sion, and if not, then subject to the approval of the senate at the next succeeding session; but in case of a vacancy Ibefore the expiration of a term, the appointment shall be for the residue of the term only. Section 394. The board of regents and their successors in office are constituted a body corporate, by the name afore- said: and may purchase, have, hold, control, possess and en- joy, in trust for the state, for educational purposes solely, any lands, tenements, hereditaments, goods and chattels of any nature, which may be necessary and required for the purposes, objects, and uses of the state normal schools, au- thorized by law, and none other, with full power to sell or dispose of such personal property, or any part thereof, when, in their judgment, it shall be for the interest of the state; and shall possess all other powers necessary or convenient to accomplish the objects and perform the duties prescribed by law. The board of regents shall not sell, mortgage or dispose of, in any way, any real estate, nor borrow money, without the express authority of the legislature; nor shall they contract indebtedness, nor incur liabilities, to exceed, at any time, in the aggregate, the amount of money which, under the provisions of law, shall then be at their disposal, in the hands of the state treasurer; nor shall said board ever reduce the amount so at their disposal below the aggregate amount of their indebtedness or liability, except in payment of such indebtedness or liability. The proceeds of the sale of any real or personal estate shall be paid by them into the treasury, and shall become a part of the income of the normal school fund. The entire income of the normal school fund shall be placed at the disposal of the board of regents of the normal schools by transfer to the treasurer of said board, and shall be distinct and independent from the accounts of the state, and be applied for the support of normal schools, as provided by law. Section 395. The officers of the board shall be a presi- dent, vice-president, and secretary; they shall severally hold their offices for the term of one year, and until their success- ors are elected, and shall perform the duties incident to their several offices, and such as are prescribed by the board. The state treasurer shall be ex officio the treasurer of the board, but the board may appoint suitable persons to receive and pay to the treasurer any tuition fees, or other moneys that may be due from any student or other person. Section 396. The said board shall hold an annual meet- ing at the capitol, on the second Wednesday in July in each year, or at such time as they may designate. Special meet- ings may be called by the governor, or by the president of the board, on a petition signed for that purpose by any three regents. A majority of the regents shall constitute a quo- rum for the transaction of business; but a less number may adjourn from time to time. 194 Sk(!T10N ;5t»7. Any rej2:ciit nuiy l)c roiuovedfrom ofiic.ofor cause, upon reasonable notice, by a vote ot" two-thirds of all tlie rodents. No rej^ent or officer, trustee or person, ap- ])()inted or employed in any position or capacity, connected witli normal schools or normal institutes, shall at any time act a.s a^'ont of any autlior or publisher of, or dealer in scliool books, maps, oi- cliarts, or school library books, or school furniture or apparatus, or become interested, directly or indirectly in th(^ publication, manufacture, or sale of any such, as ajj^ent or otherwise; and for a violation thereof, any regent shall be expelled from the board by a majority vote of the rej^ents. SiooTiON ;}i)8. No member of the board of normal regents shall receive any pay for traveling to or attendance at any meeting of tlie board ; but for any specific service rendered under the direction of the board, other than attending the meetings thereof, such compensation may be allowed any member, as the board shall deem just and reasonable; and such compensation and all moneys actually and necessarily expended by any member in traveling, attending meetings, or pen-forming any other duty or service, directed to be per- formed, shall be paid out of the normal school fund income in the state treasury, on accounts presented to and adjusted l)y the board, and certificate signed by the secretary and prosichnit thereof. Sfx^'iton 'M)\). In juldition to those heretofore established, the said board of regents may establisli other state normal schools, at such places as they may designate, upon sites selected by them; and wlien, in their opinion, the educational interests of the state reemire it, they may proceed to erect suitable buildings upon tne sites so selected, and they may enlarge, alter, or repair any normal school buildings. When- ever any such site sliall bo donated, then as soon as the title thereto shall be vested in them in fee in trust as aforesaid, and wlien money is donated, then as soon as such money is paid into the state treasury, subject to be paid out only on the warrant of the secretary of state, as provided in the next, section, or secured to be paid by the deposit with the state treasurer, of United States or Wisconsin state bonds, in amount equal in value to the sums of money so donated, said board may procure suitable plans and specifications for such buildings, alterations, or repairs thereof, and employ persons to superintend the construction of the same; and they may advertise for proposals to erect, repair, or enlarge any nornuil s(^hool building, reserving the riglit to reject any and all proposals made in pursuance of such advertisements; and the expense of such advertising and procuring plans and specifications shall bo paid from the normal school fund income. • Section 100. The said board shall demand and receive the sums of money donated and subscribed by any persons, 195 or any town, incorporated village, city, or county, to aid in the erection of the necessary buildings for normal schools, in such manner as said board may prescribe, and apply the same in the erection and completion of said buildings, the purchase of the necessary books, apparatus, furniture, and fixtures, and for various other incidental expenses, to be in- curred by said board, in pursuance of the provisions of these statutes; and if any surplus shall remain, apply the same to the expenses of conducting said normal schools; and any deficit which may arise in the erection and completion of said building, and purchases aforesaid, shall be paid out of the normal school fund income. The next section was amended by chapter 98, of the laws of 1870, to read as follows: Section 401. All payments for the erection, repairs, or enlargement of any normal school building, or for fixtures and furniture therefor, and all disbursements from the nor- mal school fund income, including the expenses of the boards of visitors of normal schools, appointed by the su- perintendent of public instruction, and the expenses of in- stitutes hereinafter in this chapter authorized and provided for, shall be made by the treasurer of said board of regents, on the warrant of the secretary of said board, countersigned by the president thereof, drawn in accordance with the directions of the said board of regents, in payment of ac- counts duly audited and adjusted in accordance with the rules and regulations of ^aid board of regents; and in case of a donation, no such warrant shall be issued, until the sums donated and subscribed shall have been paid in full into the state treasury, nor, in any case, until the work shall be done, or services rendered, or buildings erected, or fix- tures or furniture purchased, under the direction of the said board, entitling the applicant to such warrant, according to a contract or agreement with said board for that purpose. So much of sections 406 and 409, and of all other acts or parts of acts as were inconsistent with the provisions of this section, was repealed by the act of 1879 aforesaid. Section 402. The exclusive purpose and objects of each normal school shall be the instruction and training of per- sons, both male and female, in the theory and art of teach- ing, and in all the various branches that pertain to a good common school education, and in all subjects needful to qualify for teaching in the public schools; also to give in- struction in the fundamental laws of the United States and of this state, in what regards the rights and duties of citizens. Section 403. Said board shall also establish a model school or schools for practice in connection with each state 196 normal school, and shall make all the regulations necessary to govern and support the same; and they may in their dis- cretion admit pupils to such model schools free of charge of tuition. Section 404. The said board shall have the government and control of all the normal schools, and shall have power therefor: 1. To make rules, regulations, a.nd byjaws for the good government and management of the same, and each de- partment thereof. 2. To appoint a principal and assistants, and such other teachers and officers, and to employ such persons, as may be required for each of said sch*ools; to fix the salary of each person so appointed or employed, and to prescribe their several duties. 3. To remove at pleasure any principal, assistant, or other officer or person, from any office or em.ployment in connection with any such school. 4. To purchase any needful and proper apparatus, books, or articles, to assist in instruction, and to provide for all > necessary fuel and supplies for the conduct of such schools. 5. To prescribe the courses of study, and the various books to be used in such schools. 6. To cause notice to be given of the opening of such schools, and the several terms thereof. 7. To prescribe rules and regulations for the admission of students, but every applicant for admission shall under- go an examination to be prescribed by the board, and shall be rejected if it shall appear that he is not of good moral character, or if applying as a free pupil, will not make an apt or good teacher. 8. To require any applicant for admission, other than such as shall, prior to admission, sign and file with said board a declaration of intention to follow the business of teaching common schools in this state, to pay, or to secure to be paid, such fees for tuition as the board may deem proper and reasonable. 9. To cause lectures on any art, science or branch of literature to be delivered in any such schools, on such terms and conditions as they may prescribe. 10. To confer by by-laws upon the principals of the sev- eral normal schools the power to suspend or expel pupils for misconduct, or other cause prescribed in such by-law. DIPLOMAS AND STATE CERTIFICATES. Section 405. Said board may grant diplomas in testi- mony of scholarship and ability to teach, but no such diplo- ma shall be granted until such graduate shall have passed a thorough and satisfactory examination in the course of study prescribed by the board. When any such graduate 197 has, after receiving such diploma, taught a public school in this state one year, the state superintendent may, after such examination as to moral character, learning, and ability to teach, as to him may seem proper, countersign the diploma of such teacher, and thereafter such countersigned diploifia shall be evidence of his qualiftcations to teach in any com- mon school, and shall have the force and effect of an unlim- ited state certificate. The said board may also, on such conditions as they may determine, grant a certificate of attendance, certifying that the holder has completed the elementary course in a normal school, and is qualified to teach a common school; and the said superintendent may upon conditions above prescribed respecting diplomas, countersign such certificate, and thereafter, such counter- signed certificate shall be evidence of his qualification to teach in any common school of the state, and shall have the; full force and effect of a limited state certificate. VISITOKS. Section 406. After any state normal school shall have commenced its first term, and at least once in each year thereafter, it shall be visited by three suitable persons, not members of the board, but to be appointed by the state superintendent, who shall examine thoroughly into the con- dition, organization and management of the school, and shall report to the said superintendent their views in re- gard to its success and usefulness, and any other matters they may judge expedient. Such visitors shall be appointed annually, and their report shall bear date of the thirty-first day of August, and cover the year preceding such date. See section 401, and the comment on the same. teachers' intsitutes. Section 407. Institutes for the instruction of teachers shall be held in each year, in such counties as may be desig- nated by the state superintendent, with the advice and con- currence of said board, preference being given to such counties as receive the least direct benefits from the normal schools. The state superintendent, by and with the advice and consent of said board, may make such rules and regu- lations as they shall deem proper for organizing and con- ducting such institutes, and may, by and with the like advice and consent, employ an agent or agents to perform, such work in connection therewith, as by such rules and regulations may be prescribed. Each of said institutes shall be held under the direction of such agent or agents, assisted by the county superintendent. The course of study pursued in such institutes shall, as far as practicable, be uniform, and be prescribed by the state superintendent, with the as- sistance of such agents, but subject to revision by said board. 11— S. C. 198 As amended by Chapter 7, Laws of 1885. Section 408. For the purpose mentioned in the preced- ing section, the said board may use such sum, not exceed- ing seven thousand dollars in any year, as it may deem necessary, of which not exceeding five thousand dollars shall be paid from the normal school fund income and not exceed- ing two thousand dollars from the general fund, and the state superintendent may use such additional sum not exceeding one thousand dollars to be also paid from the general fund, as he shall deem proper, for the purpose of providing public lectures in connection with such institutes, by the profes- sor of the theory and art of teaching of the university, and such amounts as shall be so expended are hereby annually appropriated from the said funds respectively. Section 409. The normal school fund income shall, un- der the direction and management of the said board, be ap- plied, and is hereby appropriated, to the establishment and support of the state normal schools and the purposes di- ■roA^forl in fViid r«>ifir»fpr Sectiou 1. Section 408 of the revised statute^ reCtea m tniS OnapLei.-^j-^gjgj^^g amended by chapter 214, of the lawa Q ^4-'^ /voai/lATi+- +r> rAnort in superintendent may use such additional sum, „„ preSiaeni 10 report TiO not exceeding one thousand dollars, to be also w db 111 1 J. o. uaid from the ereneral fund, as ho shall deeni j. amended by chapter 3; Proper, tor the purpose of providing public >orts , -, 1 -I • • m lecturea in connection with such institutes, by to be made biennially, theprolessorofthe theory and art of teaching of the university, or such other competent person us the state superintendent may designate, and such amounts as shall be so expended, are hereby annually appropriated Irom the said Section 411. It shs *'"s;H^io,!^^''™^ract shaiitake efrect and ba." the board of trustees of i l" force from and after its passage and pubU-|^g^j.y^ and literary or collegiai^"' institution, neretotore incorpo- rated, or that shall be hereafter incorporated, to cause t:> be made out by the principal instructor or other proper officer, and forwarded to the state superintendent, on or before the tenth day of October, in each year, a report for the year, terminating with the next preceding thirty-first day of August, setting forth the amount and estimated value of real estate owned by the corporation, the amount of other funds and endowments, and the yearly income from all 199 sources; the number of instructors and their respective sal- aries; the number of students in the different classes, and the yearly rates of tuition; the studies pursued and the books used; the course of instruction and such matters as shall be specially requested by said superintendent, or as shall be deemed proper by the president or principal of such academies or institutions to enable the state superintendent to lay before the legislature, in his annual report, a fair and full statement of the affairs and condition of such institu- tions. XIX. THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT. Chapter 11, Revised Statutes. Section 164. The term of office of the state superintend- ent shall be two years. He shall, within twenty days after he receives notice of his election, and before entering upon the duties of his office, take and subscribe the constitutional oath of office, which oath shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state. Section 165. The state superintendent may appoint under his hand an assistant, who shall take the constitu- tional oath of office, which, with his appointment, shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state. Such assistant shall perform such duties as the superintendent shall pre- scribe, not inconsistent with law, and the superintendent shall be responsible for all acts of such assistant. Section 166. The state superintendent shall have a gen- eral supervision over the common schools in this state, and it shall be his duty: 1. To visit so far as practicable, every county in the state, for the purpose of inspecting the schools, awakening an in- terest favorable to the cause of education, and diffusing as widely as possible, by public addresses and personal com- munication with school officers, teachers, and parents, a knowledge of existing defects, and of desirable improve- ments in the government and the instruction of the schools. 2. To recommend the introduction of the most approved text-books, and as far as practicable to secure a uniformity in the use of text-books, discourage the use of sectarian books and sectarian instruction in. the schools; to advise in the selection of books for school-district libraries, and to open such correspondence abroad as may enable him to ob- tain, so far as practicable, information relative to the sys- tem of common schools and its improvements in other states and countries, which he shall embody in his annual report to the legislature. 200 -.4s amended by Chapter 384, Laws of 1889. :5. To prescribe rules and regulations for the manage- ment of school-district libraries, and the penalty which shall be imposed by the district board for any violation of such rules and regulations; he shall prepare for tlie use of common school officers suitable forms for making reports, and conducting all necessary proceedings; he shall cause the laws relating to common schools, with the rules and regulations and forms aforesaid, and such instructions as- he shall deem necessary, to be printed in pamphlet form, with a suitable index ; and he shall cause such pamphlets to be distributed among the several district and other officers having the care of common schools throughout the state;, he shall from time to time, by printed circulars and bul- letins of information, connnunicate with teachers and school officers relating to matters connected with the man- agement of public schools and the administration of his- office; he shall prepare and publish from time to time, as occasion may require, courses of study for ungraded and for high schools, witli such comments and instructions ap- pended as may be deemed necessary, for distribution to school officers, teachers and others interested. The print- ing herein authorized shall be done at the expense of the- state, by the person authorized to do the state printing. 4. To examine and determine all appeals, which b}^ law may be made to him, according to the laws regulating the same, and his decisions thereon shall be final; and to pre- scribe rules of practice in respect thereto, not inconsistent with law. 5. To collect in his office such school books, apparatus, maps, and charts as can be obtained without expense to the state; ard also to purchase at an expense not exceeding one hundred and fifty dollars a year, to be paid out of the state treasury, rare and valuable works on education, for the benefit of teachers, authors, and others who may wish to consult them. 0. To apportion and distribute the school fund income as. provided by law. 7. To make copies when required by any person so to do, of any paper deposited or filed in his office, and of any act or decision made by him, and certify the same; and he may demand therefor twelve cents per folio. 8. To prepare in each year a report to be delivered by him to the governor, on or before the tenth day of Decem- ber, containing: First. An abstract of all the common school reports re- ceived by him from the several clerks of the count}' boards of supervisors. Second. A statement of the common schools in this state. Third. Estimates and accounts of expenditures of the school money. 201 Fourth. Plans for the improvement and management of the common school fund, and for the better organization of common schools. Fifth. A statement of his official visits, and of his travels in making the same during the past year. Sixth. All such matters relating to his office, and the common schools of the state, as he may deem expedient to communicate. 9. To perform all other duties imposed upon him by law. Section 167. The state superintendent shall have an office in the capitol, where shall be deposited all papers and documents appertaining to the business of his office; and to which place communications on the subject of common schools may be addressed to him. By the general law requiring all state officers to make reports biennially, the state superintendent makes report but once in two years, but includes therein abstracts of all reports received in each year covered by the report. Chapter 65, Laws of 1885. Section 1. It shall be the duty of the state superintend- ent of schools annually to hold at least four conventions, in as many different and most convenient and accessible points in the state, for the purpose of consultation, advice and in- struction, with county superintendents of schools, in regard to supervision and management of the public schools. Section 2. It shall be the duty of every county superin- tendent of schools in this state to attend annually at least •one convention of county superintendents, called and held by the state superintendent for the purpose of consultation, advice and instruction with county superintendents of schools upon matters pertaining to supervision and manage- ment of public schools. Section 3. All actual and necessary expenditures for ti'aveling from his residence to the place of holding the nearest and most accessible convention, and returning thereto, and for board and lodging during the time of actual attendance on such convention, shall be paid by the county in which the superintendent resides, and bills for such ex- penses shall be audited and allowed by the several county boards of supervisors, upon the presentation of the same with the certificate of the state superintendent attached thereto, showing that the claimant attended such conven- tion for the number of days specified in the bill; provided, not more than one such aoconnt shall be paid in each year. ^ Section 1. Tiie county toard of supervisors ol leach county In this state may allow! the county superintendent of schools such sum over and above his salary as superintendent, as he shall certify that he has actually expended in defray- ing his traveling expenses when engaged in his offic al duties; provided such reimbursement • ! shall not exceed two hundred dollars in any one year; such expenses to be computed from and after April 1, 1891, and shall be audited and allowed by the county board of supervisors at Its^annual meeting in November of each year. 202 XX. CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS. [Article 10.] EDUCATION. Section 1, The supervision of public instruction shall be vested in a state superintendent, and such other officers as the legislature shall direct. The state superintendent shall be chosen by the qualified electors of the state, in such man- ner as the legislature shall provide; his powers, duties, and compensation shall be prescribed by law; pf^ovided, that his compensation shall not exceed the sum of twelve hundred dollars annually. Section 2. The proceeds of all lands that have been or hereafter may be granted by the United States to this state for educational purposes (except the lands heretofore granted for the purposes of a university), and all moneys, and the clear proceeds of all property that may accrue to the state by forfeiture or escheat, and all moneys which may be paid as an equivalent for exemption from military duty, and the clear proceeds of all fines collected in the several counties for any breach of the penal laws, and all moneys arising from any grant to the state where the purposes of such grant are not specified, and the five hundred thousand acres of land to which the state is entitled by the provisions of an act of congress, entitled, ' ' An act to appropriate the proceeds of the sales of the public lands, and to grant pre- emption rights," approved the fourth day of Septeiaber,*one thousand eight hundred and forty-one, and also the five per centum of the net proceeds of the public lands to which the state shall become entitled on her admission into the Union (if congress shall consent to such appropriation of the two grants last mentioned) shall be set apart as a separate fund, to be called the school fund, the interest of which, and all other revenues derived from the school lands, shall be ex- clusively applied to the following objects, to wit: 1. To the support and maintenance of common schools, in each school-district, and the purchase of suitable libraries and apparatus therefor. 2. The residue shall be appropriated to the support and maintenance of academies and normal schools, and suitable libraries and apparatus therefor. Section 3. The legislature shall provide by law for the establishment of district-schools which shall be as nearly uniform as practicable, and such schools shall be free and without charge for tuition to all children between the ages of four and twenty years; and no sectarian instruction shall be allowed therein. Section 4. Each town and city shall be required to raise by tax, annually, for the support of common schools therein, 203 a sum not less than one-half the amount received by such town or city, respectively, for school purposes, from the in- come of the school fund. Section 5. Provision shall be made by law for the dis- tribution of the income of the school fund among the sev- eral towns and cities of the state, for the support of common schools therein, in some just proportion to the number of children and youth resident therein, between the ages of four and twenty years, and no appropriation shall be made from the school fund to any city or town, for the year in which said city or town shall fail to raise such tax, nor to any school-district for the year in which a school shall not be maintained at least three months. FORMS FOR THE USE OF SCHOOL OFFICERS. No. 1. Form of oi'der organizing a new school-district, to be filed with the town clerk. It is hereby ordered and determined that [hei^e describe the territory to be comprised in the district, by sections and parts of sections] shall hereafter constitute a school-district, to be known as school-district No. — , of the town of . Given under our hands, this day of , 18 — . (Signed.) A. B. ) Supervisors C. D. > of the town E. F. io/ . Note. — For form of order organizing joint district, see No. 6. No. 2. Form of notice for the first meeting of a school-district, to be delivered by the town supervisors to a taxable inhabitant of the district. Having, on the day of , 18 — , formed a new school- district, to be known as school-district No. — , of the town of , {or joint school-district No. — , of towns of and , in case it be a joint district] comprising the following territory : [Here insert the description of the district, as in form No. 1] , you are hereby directed to notify every quali- fied voter of said district to attend the first meeting thereof, which is hereby 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 each such voter, or in case of absence from his place of resi- dence, 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, and thereof to make due return. Dated at , this day of , 18 — . (Signed.) A. B. ) Supervisors C. D. [ of the town • EJ. F. )o/ . Note. — If it is a joint district, the notice must be signed by the super- visors of each town in which any part of the district lies. 205 No. 3. Form of notice for first meeting, to be left at the residence of a voter when absent. To A. A.: By direction of the supervisors of the town of , you are hereby 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. 4:. 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 [here give the names in full], personally, and the following named persons [here insert names] by copy, according to the directions of the within notice. Dated this day of , 18 — . (Signed) G. H., Person appointed to give notice. No. 5. Form of notice for a meeting of a school-district, to be dehvered by the town supervisors, to a taxable inhabitant, in case there is no officer 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 hereby 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 resi- dence, 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 : [h ere describe the district as in form No. 1. ] (Signed) A. B. ^ Supervisors C. D. \ of the to'wn E. F.Jo/ . Note — If it is a joint district, the notice must be signed by the super- visors of each town in which any part of the district lies. 206 No. 6. Form of order organizing a joint school-district. It is hereby ordered and determined that [here describe the territory by sections and parts of sections] shall hereafter constitute a school-district, to be known as joint school-dis- trict No. , of the towns of [here insert the names of all the toivns in which any portion of the district is situated]. Given under our hands, this day of , 18 — . (Signed) A. B. ) Supervisors C. D. >- of the town E. F. ) of . G. H. ) Supervisors I. J. >■ of the town K. L. ) of . Note. — The above order must be signed by at least two supervisors from each town affected by it, and a copy must be tiled with the town clerk of each town. No. 7. Form of acceptance of office by district officei's elected at the first meet- ing after the formation of a district, to be filed with the clerk of the meeting. 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. D. , Clerk of school-district No. — , of toivn of You will take notice that we shall be present at [here men- tion 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. ) Supervisors C. D. [ of the town E. F.)of . 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 districts to be affected by the proposed alteration. 207 No. 9. Form of order for altering the boundaries of a school-district. It is hereby ordered and determined that the [here de- scribe the territory by sections and parts of sections], now part of school-district No. — , of the town of , be and hereby is taken from said school-district, and attached to and made a part of school-district No. — , of said town for all purposes whatsoever. This order will take effect on the day of , 18 — . Given under our hands the day of , 18—. (Signed) A. B. ) Supervisors C. D. >• of the town E. F. ) of . Note 1. — The above order must be filed with 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 affected by the alteration may en- dorse their consent on the order as follows: We hereby consent to the alteration made in school- dis- trict No. — , of the town of , agreeably to the within or- der of the town supervisors of said town. (Signed) G. H,, Director, ) Of said school-district E. F., Treasurer, [ No. — , of the town C. D., Clerk, ) of . Note. — When such consent is not endorsed upon the order, it will not take effect until three months after its date, and no order can be made to take effect between December 1, and April 1 immediately following. No. 10. Form of order of town supervisors awarding proportion of value of prop- erty 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 dis- trict, we have ascertained and determined the proportion of value of the school-house and other property, justly due to such new school-district from your district, retain- ing such school-house and other property, to be dollars. You are therefore to raise and collect by tax, upon the taxa- ble property of your district, the said sum of dollars, and when collected pay the same to the treasurer of said new district. Given under our hands this day of , 18 — . (Signed) E. F. ( Supervisors C. D. ■< of the town A. B. (of . Note. — In case of a joint district, the above notice must be signerd by a majority of the supervisors of each town embraced, in part, in the district. 208 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 meet- ing of said district for the election of ofiicers and the transaction of other business, will be held at , on the first Monday, being the — day of July, at 7 o'clock iji tlie afternoon [unless some other hour was determined upon by the district at the previous annual meeting] . Dated this — day of -, 18—. C. D., (Signed) District Clerk. Note. — The above notice must be affixed to the 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 meetinor. No. 12. Form of notice for an adjourned district meeting, when such meeting has been adjourned 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 noon, pursuant to adjournment. Dated this — day of , 18—. C. D., (Signed) District Clerk. Note. — The foregoing must be posted the same as for the annual meet- ing. No. 13. Form of request for clerk to call a special district meeting. To A. B., clerk of school-district No. — , of the town 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 [/lere state the business to he transacted]. (Signed) A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. Note. — The above notice must be signed by at least five legal voters. 209 No. U. , Form of notice for special district 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 in the noon, for the following objects: [Hei^e particularly specify each item of business to be acted upon.] (Signed) C. D, District Clerk. Note. — The above must be posted as for an annual meeting, and in case it is intended to raise a tax, or vote a loan, three-fourths of the legal voters must be personally notified of the meeting, or a copy of the above notice must be left at tneir places of residence, at least six days before the time appointed for the meeting. Form of notice for special school meeting for the purpose of authoriz- ing the district board to borrow money from the trust funds of the state, and to vote the taxes required by law to be voted, in order to obtain such loan. Notice is hereby given to the qualified voters o f school- district No. — , town of , that a special school meeting of said district will be held at , in said district on the day of , 18 — , at — o'clock P. M., for the purpose of vot- ing on the following propositions, viz. : 1st. To authorize the school board to make application for a loan of dollars from the state trust funds, pay- able in years, with interest at the rate of per cent, per annum, payable annually in advance, for the pur- pose of building a school-house. 2d. To raise by tax a sum sufficient to pay the principal and interest of such loan as it becomes due. 3d. To raise by tax the sum of dollars, to be collected in the tax for the year to aid in building a school-house. (Signed) , Dated . District Clerk. No. 15. Form of notice to be given by the clerk of a school-district meeting to the oflScers elect who were not present at the meeting. To .• You are hereby notified that at a meeting of school-dis- trict 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., Clerk of said meeting. Note. — This notice is required to be given within five days after the meeting, and only to those persons elected to office who were not present at the time. !10 No. 16. Form of refusal to accept district office, to be filed with the clerk of the district. To the clerk of school-district No. , in the town of- You are hereby notified of my refusal to accept the office of , to which I was elected at the meeting of said dis- trict, held on the day of , 18 — . (Signed) G. H. Note. — This notice of refusal must be filed within ten days after the election, or the person will be deemed to have accepted the office, and be liable for non performance of duty. No. 17. Form of an appointment to fill a vacancy in the district board. To A. B. : The office of [^clei^k, director, or treasurer'] of school-dis- trict No. , of the town of , having become vacant, you are hereby 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. [Or other members of the board, as the case may be.) 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. 18. Form, when the town clerk appoints. To A. B.: The office of [clerk, director, or treasurer] of school-dis- trict No. , of the town of , having become vacant, and the district board of said district having failed to fill the same within ten days you are hereby appointed to fill such vacancy until the next annual meeting of said district. (Signed) C. D., Town Clerk. Note. — In case a vacancy in a joint district is to be filled by the town clerk, the appointment is to be made by the clerk of the town containing the school-house. (See sec. 433.) 211 No. 19. Form of refusal to accept a district office by appointment. To the district hoard of school-district No. [or the town clerk as the case may be], 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 , 18 — , Dated this day of , IS — . (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 hable to a fine for non-performance of duty. No. 20 (Deed or Lease). Form of deed of a school-house site. Know all men by these presents, that I, A. B. [and C. B., his wife, if married] , of the town of . in the county of , in state of Wisconsin, party of the first part, for and in consideration of the sum of dollars to them in hand paid by the district board of "school-district No. , of the town of ,"' county of , and state aforesaid, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, do hereby grant, bargain, sell and convey to the said school-district, party of the second part and their assigns, the following des- cribed piece of land, namely: [Here insert description of land,] together with all the privileges and appurtenances thereunto belonging: 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, exec- utors, and administrators, covenant, 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 conveyed, as of good, sure, perfect, absolute, and indefeasable estate of in- heritance 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 peaceable possession of the said party of the second part and their assigns, against all and every person or persons lawfully claiming, or to claim, the whole or any part there- of, the said party of the first part will forever warrant and defend. In witness whereof, the said A. B. and C. B. , his wife, 212 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. J Note. — Such deed should be duly acknowledged before a notary public, justice of the laeace, or other officer authorized by law to take such ac- knowledgment, and recorded in the office of the register of deeds for the county. 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 !N"o. — , of the town of ,"" county of , in the state aforesaid, party of the second part, and their assigns, the following described par- cel of land: [Here insert description of land]. Together with all the privileges and appurtenances thereunto 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 as- signs, 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 — . Lessor, [seal,] District board of school- district No. , of the toivn of . No. 21. 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 county of , [or superintendent district No. — , of the county of , as the case may he], that the said L. M., is to teach the common school of said district for the term of [here insert the time,] for the sum of per month, commencing on the day of , 18 — , it being understood and mutually agreed that days shall constitute a month; 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 day of , 18 — . Dated this day of , 18 — . .■ ! (Signed). A. B., Director. [ C. D., Treasurer. E. F., Clerk. L. M. , Teacher. A. — u B. C. D. E. F. G.H. 213 If the teacher holds a limited certificate, for a single town or district, the contract may read: "a qualified teacher of said town," or "said dis- trict." In case the teacher is employed in a graded school, the particular depart- ment for which he is engaged may be specified, and the contract may read: " dollars per week," if hired by the week. By section 459, printed on page 99 of this code, it will be seen that 20 days constitute a teacher's month, unless otherwise specified in the con- tract. When the teacher is hired at so much a month it is best always to specify in the contract how many days of teaching shall be considered a month. All legal holidays count as school days for both teacher and district, if they come on a day when school would otherwise be taught, but as the law now provides, Saturdays are not to be counted. If a legal holiday oc- curs on Sunday, the succeeding Monday is a legal holiday. If the teacher is expected to build the fire, or cleanse or otherwise care for the school-house, it should be so stated in the contract. If not specially provided for, the district board must provide for janitor service. If the teacher expects the wages to be paid in monthly installments, or in partial payments of any kind, that should be clearly stated in the con- tract. The contract must be signed by at least two members of the board, and cannot lawfully be made, until a meeting of the board has been held. A copy of the certificate held by the teacher must be attached to the con- tract. See section 438, pages 64, 65, 66, 67 and 68. No. 22. 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 surety, are held and firmly bound unto said school-district in the sum of [here insert a sum of double the amount to come into the treasurer's hands, as near as can he ascer- tained] to be paid to the said school-district, for the pay- ment of which, well and truly to be made, we bind our- selves, our heirs, executors, and administrators, jointly and severally, firmly by these presents. Sealed with our hands and dated this day of , A. I). 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 thereto, 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 suc- 15— S. C. 2U cessor all books and papers appertaining to his said office, then this obligation shall be void, otherwise of full force and virtue. Signed, sealed, and delivered in [seal.] "seal.] presence of R. S. >• E. F. G. H. L. M. Form of approval to be indorsed on the bond of treasurer. We approve of the within bond and surety. (Signed) G. H., Director. C. D., Clerk. No. 23. Form of notice to treasurer to furnish additional security. To A, B., treasurer of school-district No. SiK: — Deeming the security upon your bond insufficient to protect the district against loss, we hereby require you to furnish a new bond in the sum of $ , with sureties to be approved by us, within ten days of the date hereof. Dated this — day of , 18 — . (Signed) C. D., Director. E. F., Clerk. No. 24. Form of order on treasurer for moneys to be disbursed by school-district. To A. B.. treasurer of school-district No. — , in the toivn of •• Please pay to the sum of dollars for [/?ere specify the object for ivhich the money is to be paid] , out of any money in your hands, not appropriated, belonging to the [here name the fund on tvhich the order is draivn], of said district. Dated this — day of , 18 — . (Signed ) CD., District Clerk. G. H., Director. 215 No. 25. Form of school register to be kept by the teacher of each school. The register furnished by the district should be one ar- ranged in four parts. The first part should consist of blank pages for entering a daily programme of recitation and study. The following is a model page of this part: DAILY PROGRAMME OF RECITATION AND STUDY. For term from to .189—. ., Teacher. Recitations. Text-Books. Study and Work. Beginning. CO Q 1 Branch. 1 Book. Primary Form. Middle Form. Hr. Min. Upper Form. ■ The second part of the register should consist of blank pages for entering the school number, name, age, sex, daily attendance and tardiness of every pupil who attends the school, with a blank column at the right of the page, if de- sired, for a monthly summary, and one for "remarks.'* Following is a model for this section. Usually there is space for four months of record upon two contiguous pages. 216 reachei •s' Daily Register tc rt he T( 5rn 1 commencing — — , and ending , 189 . , Teacher. School Months, from to . Sex. Monthly ►C >, rn r-^ >^ ^ Summaries. ;-< 4J a; CO -1^ g 03 3 Remarks. ^ A 0^ *"^ S i 6 6 1 g O m 3 o 73 0) 3 o H Q CO Q 4> The third part of the register should consist of blank pages for showing the classification of the school, and re- cording the progress and standing of each pupil in the sev- eral branches of study pursued. Following is a model page of this section, which can be repeated for each class in the school: 217 FIRST (OR SECOND, OR THIRD) CLASS IN GEOGRAPHY. Winter (or spring or fall) Term, beginning , ending Class commenced Geography, and'advanced to page. . 6 Name. a5 <5 Entered. Left. Passed over pages. bb a Pre- pared to go on from. Remarks. 1. 2. 3. John Jones Jane Smith H. Peters. . 15 13 14 Nov. 1 Nov. 8 Nov. 10 March 5 March 8 March 5 19-78 25-68 19-66 100 68 100 Page 78. Page 68. Page 66. Studious. Inclined to be frivo- lous. Mother sick. Made up all gone over to Nov. 10. Will prob- ably make up during vacation to page 78, so as to go on with class. The fourth part of the register should consist of a pupil's record for the school year, or ledger, which will be statistics posted from the daily register, and upon which the clerk may depend for making up his annual report for the town clerk. In this record, no pupil's name should be entered but once in any one school year. In all the series of records each pupil should be given a school number, which he should carry through the school year, whether attending school much or little, and this number should be assigned to no other pupil during that year. Following is the form of this section that may be used: 218 Pupils' Record for the School Year commencing ending , 189--. -, 189—, and No. Name. Sex. 1st Month. fe Ph to >> Q 02 Q 2d Month. Plh CO Q CO 03 Q 03 ! Remarks. Notes. — In filling up the daily register, the teacher will, of course, use her own preference in signs. The following are suggested: To indicate presence in the morning this mark — /; to indicate presence in the after- noon this mark — \ ; so that if the pupil is present morning and after- noon this sign will appear against the name for that day — X« If tardy in the morning the number of minutes may be placed in the" upi,»er angle, If) \y thus — X; if tardy in the afternoon, indicate in the same way thus — 15^ The teacher should take the age of the child, when taking the name, and indicate the sex, as initial letters fail to give the necessary information. The teacher should carefully add the columns in the daily register at the end of each month, which need to be transferred to the ledger, and en- ter the summary therein accurately and legibly. It is very desirable that each district in the state be fully and accurately reported. If one district in a town fails to report fully, the whole town suffers from this failure, in comparison with other towns that may be fully reported. That the register be neatly kept, it will be 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 filled and footed. Forms of school registers are now published, which are so arranged that all the foregoing items are condensed and kept in a single book. In pro- curing registers school ofiicers should consult teachers or superintendent, and purchase only such as are best adapted to simple yet complete records. No. 26. Form of notice to town treasurer of apportionment of school moneys by the town clerk. Ti^easurer of the toum of .• You are hereby notified that I have apportioned the school moneys now in your hands, to the different districts of the town, as follows: 219 TodistrictNo. 1 $ To district No. 6 do 2 do 7 do 3 To joint dist . .1 do 4 do 2 do 5 do 3 18—. Dated this day of - (Signed) Town Clerk. Note. — Immediately upon the receipt of the certificate of the town treas- urer, of the amount in his liands (See form No. 27), tlie clerk shall proceed to apportion it among the several districts of the town from which repoi'ts have been received according to law, and thereupon he must notify the treasurer as above, that he may pay the moneys to the treasurers of the districts entitled to the same. No. 27. Form of certificate of town treasurer of moneys in his hands subject to apportionment. 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 entitled thereto. Dated this day of , 18 — . (Signed) A. B., Toivn Treasurer. No. 28. Form of report of town clerk to the county superintendent, of the names and post-office addresses of the district clerks in his town. To the county superintendent of schools of the county of ; Sir: — I hereby report to you the names of the school-dis- trict clerks in the town of , and their addresses, as follows : District. Name of Clerk. Post-office. No. 1 A. B No, 2 C. D No. 8 E. F No. 4 G. H No. 5 I. K No. 6 L. M Joint No. 1 2 N. P. R 3 S. T (Signed) A. W., Toivn Clerk. Note. — The town clerk must report his own name and post-office to the county superintendent within ten days after 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. 220 No. 29. Form of determination of relative proportion of taxes to be assessed upon the different parts of a joint district, situated in two or more towns. Upon the application of A. B., C D., and E. F., tax-payers- in joint school- district No. — , of the towns of and , we have made the necessary inquiry and examination, and do hereby determine that for every dollar of district tax ta be hereafter levied upon that portion of the district, the sum of cents shall be assessed upon that portion of the district lying in the town of , and cents upon that part lying in the town of . Dated this day of , 18—. (Signed) G. H., ) Assessor's J. K., of L. M., ) N. O., ) Assessors^ P. R, [ of S. T.,) . Note. — If assessors cannot agree, and the supervisors, or supervisors and a chairman of an adjoining town are called to act, they will also sign the above. See section 471. No. 30. Form of statement of the amount of taxes voted to be raised in a school- district, to be delivered by the district clerk to the town clerk. To R. 8., toivn clerk of the toum of The amount of taxes voted to be raised in school-district No. — , of the town of , at the last annual meeting of said district, held on the day of July, 18 — , is [ivrite the amount in ivords'] dollars; which amount you are re- quested to assess upon the taxable property therein. Dated this day of , 18 — . (Signed) C. D., Clerk of School-district No. — , of the toivn of . State of Wisconsin, County of , ss. C. D. , being duly sworn, on oath says that he is clerk of school-district No. — , of the town of , and the above statement by him made of the amount of taxes voted to be- raised by said school-district therein is true. (Signed) C. D. Subscribed and sworn to before me this day of , 18—. (Signed) J. P., Justice of the Peace. Note. — If a district has been lately organized and a tax was voted at the first meeting, as well as at 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 third Monday of November following. 221 No. 31. Form of statement of the amount of taxes roted to be raised in a joint disti'ict, to be deiiv-ered to the clerk of each town in which any part of the district is situated. To R. S., town clerk of the toivn of ; The amount of taxes voted to be raised in joint school- district No. — , of the towns of and , at the last an- nual meeting of said district, held on the day of July, 18—, is {ivriie the amount in ivotxls] dollars; and the propor- tion of that amount to be raised in that part of said district which lies in the town of , is [ivrite the amount in wo?^ds] dollars, which you are requested to assess upon the taxable property therein. (Signed) C. D., Clerk of Joint School-district No. — , Of the toums of and . Note. — Attach affidavit of the district clerk similar to the one given in form No. 30. No. 32. Form of application to board of supervisors to establish a school-house site. To the hoard of supervisors of the totvn of At a regular meeting of school-district ISTo. — , it was de^ cided by a vote of a majority of the electors present, to ap- ply to your honorable board to establish a school-house site for said district. The district has selected [here describe the location of the site selected], but is unable to obtain the same, for the reason that the owner of the land selected will neither lease nor sell the same to the said district [or that the owner is a non-resident]. (Signed.) A. B., District Clerk. No. 33. Form of certificate of district clerk that the notice for the meeting of the supervisors to establish a school-house site has been given. To the board of supervisors of the town of ; I hereby certify that on the day of , I served the following notice upon the owner and occupant of the land therein described: [Here insert the notice in form 34.] Dated this day of , 18 — . (Signed) A. B., District Clerk, Note. — In case there is no account of the lands selected for a site, and the owner is unknown or resides out of the state, the notice must be pub- lished in the nearest newspaper, for six weeks previous to the meeting of the board of supervisors, and the above certificate must state the facts of such publication, instead of personal service. 222 No. 34. Form of notice for meeting of supervisors to decide upon an application to locate and establish a school-house site. The undersigned will be present at , on the day of , at o'clock in the noon, to decide upon the application of school-district No. — , for the location and es- tablishment of a school-house site for said district upon [here describe the lands upon ivhich it is proposed to estab- lish the site.] Given under our hands, this day of , 18 — . (Signed) A. B., ) Supervisors C. D., [■ of the town E. F.,)o/ . Note. — In case the application is made by a joint district, the supervis- ors of all the tovfns in which any part of the district is situated must sign the above notice and be present at the meeting to establish the site. No. 35. Form of certificate of action of town board of supervisors in locating and establishing school-house site. We hereby certify that on the day of , A. D. 18 — , we located and established a school-house site for school- district No. — , comprising the following described territory [here describe the layids taken for a site according to the su7^vey of the same] , and award the sum of dollars in full as compensation to the owner [if there are two or more oivners of the lands taken, specify the amount awarded to each] , of the lands thus taken for said school-house site. Dated this day of , 18 — . (Signed) A. B,, ^ Supervisors Q. D.,y of the toivn E. F.,io/ . Note. — The certificate of the action of town boards of supervisors in locating and establishing an addition to a school-house site, will be the same as above, except that in the second line, after the word " established," the word " a " will be omitted, and the words " an addition to the " will be inserted; and the last two lines will be made to read " taken for said addition to said school-house site." It^" Duplicates of the above certificates must be made out, and one of them must be delivered to the owner or occupant of the land taken, and the other to the district clerk of the district, who must have the same recorded in the ofiice of the register of deeds of the county in which the site is situated. 223 No. 36. Form of certificate of the sheriff of a vacancy in the office of county superintendent of schools. To , State Superintendent: Sir: — I hereby certify that a vacancy in the office of county superintendent of schools for county, Wiscon- sin, occurred on the day of , 18 — , by \liere state the cause of the vacancy, whether by death, resignation, re- moval from the county, or the removal from office of the incumbent] . Given under my hand and seal of office, this day of , 18—. (Signed) A. B., Sheriff of County, Wisconsin. No. 37. Form of certificate of a county clerk, of the division of a county into two superintendent disti'icts, and of a consequent vacancy in the office of county superintendent of schools. To , State Superintendent: Sir: — I hereby certify that on the day of , 18 — , the board of supervisors of the county of , divided said county into two superintendent districts; that they have determined that the present county superintendent shall have jurisdiction of district ISTo. — , and that district No. — , therefore remains vacant. Given under my hand and seal of office, this day of , 18—. (Signed) A. B., County Clerk of County, Wisconsin, No. 38. Form of statement of number of children of school age in a county, made by county superintendent for county treasurer, and county clerk. To A. B., treasurer [or, clerk] of the county of ; Sir: — The following is the number of children over the age of four and under the age of twenty years, in those districts of the several towns in this county [or superintendent dis- trict as the case may be] which have maintained school for 224 six or more months the past school year, as returned to me by the town clerks : Town. Number of Children. Town. Number of Children. A D B E C F Dated this fifteenth day of August, 18 — . (Signed) County Superintendent of Schools for- G. H., — County. Note. — The above statement must be filed with the county treasurer and county clerk on or before the fifteenth day of August in each year. No. 39. Form of notices to teacher and district clerk of the intention of the county superintendent to annul said teacher's certificate. To A. B., teacher in school-district No. — , town of .• Sir: — You are hereby notified that it is my intention to annul the certificate of qualification now held by you as a teacher. (Signed) B. B., County Superintendent' of Schools for County. To E. F., clerk of school-district No. — , of the town of ; Sir: — You are hereby notified that it is my intention to annul the certificate of qualification held by , now employed in teaching in your district. Dated this day of , 18 — . B. B., — County. (Signed) County Superintendent of Schools for - Note. — The above notices must be served upon the teacher and district clerk at least ten days before the certificate is annulled. No. 40. Form of annulment of teacher's certificate and notice to town clerk. To A. B.: Sir: — The certificate of qualification held by you as a common school-teacher in the county [or superintendent 225 district or town] of , issued on or about the day of ', 18 — , is hereby annulled. Dated this day of , 18 — . (Signed) C. D., County Superintendent of Schools for County. Note. — The above annulment will not take effect until the following notice has been filed with the town clerk of the town in which the teacher 'whose certificate is annulled is engaged in teaching. To the toiun clerk of the town of ; Sir: — You are hereby notified that on the day of- A. D. 18 — , I annulled the certificate of qualification held by A. B., a teacher of your town, for the reason that, in my opinion, the said A. B. does not possess the requisite qualifi- cations as a teacher in respect to [moral character, learning, or ability to teach, as the case may be]. Dated this day of , 18 — . (Signed) CD., County Superintendent of Schools for the County of . APPLICiTIOX FOR DICnONARIES. No. 41. Foi'in of application for first supply of a school district. State of Wisconsin, County of , ss: , being duly sworn, deposes and says that district No. — , in the town of , county of , has never been supplied with Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, by the state, as provided by law. , District Clei^k. Post office . Subscribed and sworn to before me 1 this day of , 18 — . ! Send by express to , care of . No. 42. Form of application for supply of additional departments. State of Wisconsin, County, ss. , being duly sworn, deposes and says that the fol- lowing department — in district ISTo. — , in the of , in the county of , ha — never been furnished with Web- ster's Unabridged Dictionary by the state, as provided for by law; department — unsupplied, ; department — heretofore supplied, . , District Clerk, Post office . Subscribed and sworn to before me, 1 this day of , 18—, I Send by express to , care of . No. 43. Form of application for supply of additional departments in cities. State of Wisconsin, , County, ss. being duly sworn, deposes and says that the public schools in the city of , county of , embrace 227 distinct departments, in as many different rooms (not including recitation ro®ms), under different teachers, and that the following departments in said schools have never been supplied with Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, as provided by law: Departments unsupplied. Departments heretofore supplied. City Superintendent. Subscribed and sworn to before me, 1 this day of , 18 — . , i • J Send by express to , care of . No. 44. ■ Form of application for dictionaries by the secretary of a town board. State of Wisconsin, County of , ss. -, being duly sworn, deposes and says that the following subdistrict — , in the town of , county of , ha — never been supplied with Webster's Unabridged Dic- tionary, as provided by law, subdistricts unsupplied, ; subdistricts heretofore supplied, . — ^ Secretary of Toiun Board of Directors. Post-office, . Subscribed and sworn to before ] me, this day of , 18 — . i Send by express to , care of . No. 45. Form of application for re-supply, when dictionary previously furnished is lost. State of Wisconsin, — — County, ss. — , being duly sworn, deposes and says that district No. — , in the town of , county of , has lost by , 228 the copy of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary heretofore furnished to said district by the state. District Clerk. Post office, . Subscribed and sworn to before me, this day of 18—. Send by express to , care of . Note. — The price of the dictionary must accompany the apphcation. No. 46. Form of application for re-supply, when dictionary previously furnished is worn out. State of Wisconsin, County, ss. , being duly sworn, deposes and says that the dictionary heretofore furnished to district ISlo. — , in town of , county of , is so worn out as to be unfit for use. Distinct Clerk. Subscribed and sworn to before me, this day of , 18—. Send by express to , care of — _^ "The last two forms above can be altered to meet circumstances, in case^the application for a re-supply is for a graded school in a city or vil- lage. m^" Dictionaries are not furnished free for a re-supply, but at the cost to the state, $7. The money, or a money order, or a draft must in all cases ac- company the application. It is better to send a money order or draft, as the state is not responsible if the money is lost. J^^ Applications for dictionaries must be made by the district clerk, the secretary of the town board, or the superintendent of the schools in a city or incorporated village, and the post-office of the applicant should be given as well as the nearest express station. Dictionaries cannot be sent by mail. FREE HIGH SCHOOLS. No. 4:8. Form of resolution proposing establishment of a high school. In order that the question of establishing and maintain- ing a high school in the town of may be submitted to the electors thereof for determination, the following resolu- tion is hereby proposed for adoption: Resolved, by the town board of the toivn of , That a high school be established and maintained in said town. The town clerk is directed to give notice that said resolution will be submitted to a vote at the annual town meeting {or, general election) to be held in said town on the day of , 18 — , {or, at a special town meeting or election to be held on the day of , 18 — , which the town clerk is hereby required to call upon due notice). Dated this day of , 18 — . {Signatures of Board.) No. 49. Form of notice that foregoing resolution will be submitted to vote. Notice is hereby given to the electors of the town of , in the county of , that at a special election which is hereby called {or at the annual toivn meeting or general election) to be held in said town on the day of , 18 — , the following resolution will be submitted to the vote of said electors: Resolved, etc. [as in the foregoing] ; and that at said elec- tion members of the high school board will be chosen, to take their offices if said resolution be adopted, the clerk for one year, the treasurer for two years, and the director for three years; their respective terms of office beginning with the annual town meeting. Dated this day of , 18 — . (Signed) — , Toivn Clerk. Note. — The above forms may be used with the proper changes, in the case of incorporated villages, or graded school-districts, the call and notice to be signed by the village or district clerk. In case the call is for special school -district meeting, it must be signed by at least five legal voters of the district, and the notice given at least six days before the time appointed. 16— S. C. 230 No. 50. Form of certificate to be forwarded to the state superintendent to secure participation in apportionment to free high schools. This may certify that on the day of , 18 — , the legal voters of the town of [or towns of , where two or more towns unite, or of school-district No. — , town of , where vote is by a school-district, or city, or village] adopted a resolution to establish and maintain a free high school in said town (or towns, or school-district), and the persons whose names are hereunto appended have been duly elected to the office appended to their names, respect- ively. We further certify that no (or one or more) graded school exists in said of . The course of study adopted by said high school board for said high school is herewith sub- mitted for the approval of the state superintendent, and the names and examination papers of , pupils prepared to enter said high school, who are residents of said town (or towns, or school district) of , are herewith forwarded for inspection. The examination of these pupils was held on the day of , 18 — , and was conducted by . Dated at , this day of , 18—. ) Director. >• Clerk. ) Treasurer. Note. — With this certificate the examination papers of at least twenty- five pupils, residents of the high school district, should be forwarded. The character and scope of these examinations are commented ui^on in the high school pamphlet. TOWNSHIP SYSTEM OF SCHOOLS. No. 51. Form of petition: To M. S., Toivn Clerk: _ The undersigned electors of the town of , hereby peti- tion that the question of township school government in said town may be submitted to the electors thereof, at the ensuing annual town meeting {o7\ general election). Dated this day of , 18 — . (Signed) , Note — The petition is to be signed by at least ten electors of the town. No. 52. Form of notice to be given by town clerk. Notice is hereby given that at the annual town meeting {or, general election), to be held in said town of , on the day of , 18 — , the question of township school government in said town will be submitted to the electors thereof, a petition therefor having been presented to me signed by ten electors of said town. Dated this day of , 18 — . (Signed) , Town Clerk. INDKX. A. ACADEMIES— Page. incorporated, to report to state superintendent 189,199 ACCEPTANCE — of district office by two officers necessary to organization of district 10 must be in writing, and filed with the district clerk 10 ACCOUNT — of disti-ict board for expenses to be presented to district meeting for allowance 63 to be kept by the district treasurer 81 ACTIONS — to be brought under the compulsory law 74 director to appear in, for district 79 director to commence, on treasurer's bond 79 against town treasurer by district treasurer 83 against county treasurer by town treasurer 120 against district treasurer by district 79 may be brought by any elector in certain cases , 163 against district clerk for neglect to make report 160 against town clerk for neglect to make report 160 against county superintendent for neglect to make report 161 ADJOURNMENT — of school-district meeting 30 , 35 notice for, when for a longer time than one month 23 ADMISSION — of pupils from other districts 31 ,46 of persons over twenty into the public schools 31, 46, 68 AFFIDAVIT — of district clerk to be attached to his annual report 112 to statement of taxes voted 133 must accompany appeals 155, 156, 157 must be made to application for dictionaries 163 AGE OF CHILDREN — entitled to attend school free 302 must be taken and included in the census ... . 114 234: ALTERATION— Page. of proceedings of district meetings 33, 51, 53 ALTERATION OF SCHOOL-DISTRICTS — to be made by town board of supervisors 5, 6, 11 notice of meeting of supervisors to consider 11 notice of, to be filed with town clerk and district clerk 13 not to take effect within three months without consent of district board 13 not to take effect between the first day of December and the first day of April following 13 of joint districts, how made 9, 15 of joint districts, embracing villages or cities 17 of subdistricts, how made 168 ANNUAL DISTRICT MEETING — when to be held 21 not to be deemed illegal for want of notice 38 notice for, how given 33 powers of 30-53 must vote on free text-books ^ 33 ANNUAL REPORT — of district clerk 112-117 of town clerk 117 of county superintendent 118 of city superintendent or clerk 119 of state superintendent 200 ANNULLMENT — of teacher's certificate by county superintendent 93, 101, 107, 160 notice thereof to be filed with town and district clerk 93 of teacher's state certificate, by state superintendent. ....... 94, 97 APPARATUS — money to purchase, may be raised by tax 31, 43, 44 may be purchased by district board 63 APPEALS — from refusal of county superintendent to grant a certificate may be taken by applicant 93, 160 may be taken by other persons in certain cases 154-160 decisions of state superintendent final 300 decisions to be made within thirty days after the hearing thereof is closed 154 regulations concerning 155-160 APPENDAGES — board to provide for the school-house 60 APPOINTMENT — to fiU vacancy in district board. ..r 57 235 APPORTIONMENT OF SCHOOL MONEYS — Page. by town clerk .» 119, 120. 185 by state superintendent ' 182 not to be made to districts failing to comply with the law. . . 183 how affected by alteration of districts 185, 186 to high school-districts 150-153 B. BLACKBOARDS — money may be voted for 31, 43, 44 BOARD — (See county board of supervisors.) (See town board of directors.) (See town board of supervisors.) (See district board.) BOOKS — for records and other purposes, to be purchased by district board 63 for register, to be furnished by district clerk 84 to be furnished to indigent pupils 63 text-books to be determined by district board 71 text-books adopted by city and village boards of education. . 165 text-books may be purchased by district 31, 33, 49, 50 text-books purchased by city and village boards of educa- tion 165 BORROWING MONEY — by school- districts 134-139 by board of school dkectors 179 BRANCHES — to be taught in school 74, 85-87 additional ones may be taught 85 c. CERTIFICATE- of value of school-houses, etc 16 of town treasurer of moneys to be apportioned 130 of town treasurer to district clerks of amounts paid to dis- trict treasurers 130 of qualification granted to teachers 87-99 three grades established 88-91 third grade, what studies applicants for, must be exam- ined in 88 second grade, what studies applicants for, must be exam- ined in 88 first grade, what studies applicants for, must be examined in 88 r > I 236 CERTIFICA.TE — continued. Page. of graduates of free high schools may be countersigned, and have force of first grade certificates for four years . . 92 may be annulled 93, 94, 97, 101 teacher's state, provided for 93, 94, 96-99 teacher's state, conditions of 93, 94 diplomas of graduates of state normal schools, Milwauliee normal school, state university, and other colleges, con- verted into teacher's state 96-99 of judgment against school-district 148 CHALLENGE — of voters 27 CHILDREN — of town or county poor, how educated 164 CITIES — districts lying in, how altered 17 no part of, to be embodied in new joint districts 17 to make report to county superintendent in certain cases. . . . 119 to be governed by the common school code in certain cases. 165 powers of boards of education in cities 165 CLERK — (See district clerk, town clerk,) COLLEGES — incorporated to report to state superintendent 198, 199 COMMON SCHOOLS — to be free to children of certain ages 202 no sectarian instruction to be allowed therein 202 fund for support of 183,302 to be maintained six months in each year, or not share in the fund 183 fund, how distributed 182-186, 203 what shall be taught in 74, 85 government of 68 exercises in, must be conducted in the English language 74, 85 COMPULSORY EDUCATION — law relating to 73-78 CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS — in regard to state superintendent 202 in regard to school fund 202 in regard to common schools 202 CONSTITUTIONS — to be taught in common schools 85 -Cv*- iJci^Y^ 3 c o V- J cJ (jUu^'*^,^,Ju*^iJ^ JJjitzJU^ 237 X CONTRACT— Page. with teacher to be made by district board 64-68 certificate to be attached thereto 64 to be filed in clerk's office 64 COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS — to levy school tax upon the towns 184 COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT — to examine and license teachers 101 to visit schools ' 101 to direct district board to repair school-house 101 to declare school-house iinfit for use 101 to annul teacher's certificate 93 , 101 , 107 to report to county clerk and state superintendent annually. 101, 118 to transmit to state superintendent names and post offices of town clerks 101 to hold teachers' institutes 102 to divide his county into inspection districts 102 to notify district clerks of time and place of meeting for ex- amination of teachers 102 to hold two meetings for examination'of teachers in each in- spection district annually 102 may give applicant private examination 102 to give county treasurer and county clerk statement of num- ber of children in his county over 4 and under 20 years of age 118 may annul teacher's certificate 101, 107 to give notice of intention to annul certificate 93 to file notice of annulment with town and district clerk 93 to give person appealing from his refusal to grant a cei'tifi- cate, his reasons for such refusal 92 not to act as agent for author, publisher or book-seller 161 not to engage in teaching or other occupation 102 to attend annually one convention of county superintend- ents ^..j_. 201 COUNTY TREASURER— ^ ° 1 to apply to state treasurer for school money apportioned by state superintendent 185 to give notice to town and city treasurers 185 how to dispose of moneys uncalled for 185 D. DEBTS — of school-district, tax may be voted for 31, 43 of extinguished district, how paid 18 DECISION — of district meeting, town supervisors, etc. , may be appealed from 154 of state superintendent to be final 200 DEED — district board may execute 59 238 'i i DICTIONARY— Page. 'i Webster's, to be furnished to school-districts 163 "'; DIRECTOR— ] when to be elected 30 ] term of ofl&ce 52 'i to call special district meetings in certain cases 23 -; to countersign orders on treasurer 79 ] to prosecute district treasurer 79 _; A . - /f to demand additional security of treasurer 80 7 DISTRIBUTION— ' ' ' of income of school fund 183 i DISTRICT— I (See school-districts.) ■' •» ] DISTRICT BOARD — \ who shall constitute it 56 \ legal meeting of 56 to fill any vacancy in their own number 57 to purchase or lease site for school-house 59 i to build school-house 59 ; to construct school-house with doors swinging outward 59 : to sell school-hovise or site 59 to have the care of school-house, etc 60 ^ to provide appendages for school -house 60 \ to keep school-house in repair 60 '■ to piu'chase apparatus, record books, blanks, etc 63 ' to purchase an United States flag for each school room. ..... 63, 64 • to present account of expenses incurred to district meeting . .63 may purchase school books for children whose parents are unable to furnish them 63 may execute note for insurance premium 61 • to levy school tax in certain cases 64 \ to hu'e teachers 64, 65 ; may make rules for the government of the district school. . . 68 \ may suspend or expel pupils 68 ^ have power to adopt text-books 71 j, to visit and supervise schools 73 ^ to give notice to delinquents, under compulsory law 73 j to authorize prosecutions under compulsory law 74 ^ to designate officers to arrest truant children 74 ^ DISTRICT CLERK— ' to include moneys due new district in statement of tax j made to town clerk 16 j to give notice of district meeting 23 ; to call special meetings 23 to demand additional security of treasurer 80 to report name and post-office of district officers to town \ clerk 83 ; to keep a record of proceedings of district meetings and of j district boai'd 83 •; to draw orders on district treasurer 83 i to furnish register for use of teacher 84 239 DISTRICT CLERK — continued. Page, to make I'eport to town clerk 113, 113 to include the name and age of each person of school age residing in the district in annual report 114 to certify district taxes to town clerk 123, 133 to subscribe for Journal of Education 163 DISTRICT LIBRARY — (See Public School Libraries. ) tax may be voted for 31, 44 ^; of adJQining districts may be united *" 133 to be in charge of librarian 133 regulations concerning 133-136 DISTRICT MEETING — first one, how notified 6 annual, when held 31 annual, notice for, how given 33 special, how called 33 to be called by town supervisors in certain cases 8 DISTRICT PROPERTY — may be sold 30, 43, m board to have care of 60 how divided on division of district 16 DISTRICT TAXES — assessment and collection 133, 123 Limit of, for all purposes 32 limit of, for building, hiring, or purchasing school-house. . .30, 38-43 limit of, for teachers' wages 30, 43, 43 DISTRICT TREASURER — when selected 30, 35-37, 53 term of office 53, 80 to call special district meetings in certain cases 33 to execute and file bond 80 to give additional security when demanded by director and clerk 80 to receive and pay out moneys 81 to keep a book and make a report 81 to hand over to S'wccessor, moneys, papers, etc 81 to prosecute town treasurer 'S^'t' 0- ^^ DIVISION — (J / /» • . 'Uj'.l^Li of school-districts 11, 15, 17 of property 16 of joint libraries 133 DUTIES — of town clerk and treasurer 119 240 E. EDUCATION— Page. compulsory 73-78 constitutional provisions in relation thereto 202-303 of children maintained at public charge 164 ELECTION — of school officers 30, 35, 36, 87, 52-54 of state superintendent 199 , 202 ELECTORS OF A SCHOOL-DISTRICT — to assemble at first district meeting 8,9 their powers at first or annual meeting 30 , 52-54 EMBEZZLEMENT — what constitutes 82 punishment for 83 EQUALIZATION OF TAXES — by town board of assessors 122 ESTABLISHMENT — of school-house sites 129-131 of free high schools 144-154 EXAMINATION OF TEACHERS — in what branches to be instituted 88 meetings for, how notified, and when held 103 private, granted in certain cases 102 for teachers' state certificates 93 , 94 as principals of f I'ee high schools 148 EXPENDITURES — of district board, how allowed 63 EXPULSION — of scholars from school 68 F. FEE- for tuition of non-resident pupils 31 ,46 may be remitted to residents over twenty 68 FINES, FORFEITURES, Etc.— for refusal to notify first meeting in new district 161 for refusal to act as chairman of district meeting 161 for refusal of district officer to serve 161 241 FINES, FORFEITURES, Etc.— continued. Page, for neglect of duty by district officer 161 for neglect of officer to deliver records, papers, etc., to his successor 161 ,167 imposed on district clerk for neglecting to make report 160 for neglect of town clerk to make report to county superin- tendent 16a for refusal of town supervisors to carry into effect any de- cision of state superintendent 163 for neglect of county superintendent to make annual report 161 for neglect of teacher to keep register 100 for di'awing order for any purpose not authorized by law. . . 161 for countersigning such order 161 any elector authorized to prosecute for, in certain cases 163 for school officers and teachers acting as book agents 161 for school officers ordering change in text-books, within three years of adoption 161 , 163 FORMATION — of school-districts 5-9 of joint districts 9 of free high school-districts 144-148- of township districts 168 FORMS — to be furnished officers 119 of affidavits in appeal cases 156 , 157 of notice of appeal by teacher 159 , 160 of order organizing new district 204 of oi'der organizing joint district 206 of notice for first meeting by town supervisors 204 of notice for first meeting to be left at residence of voter . . . 205 of return of notice for first meeting 205 of notice by supervisors for meeting when there is no offi- cer to call one 205 of acceptance of district office 206 of notice of meeting to alter district boundaries 200 of order altering district boundaries 207 of consent to order of alteration 207 of awarding projDerty to new district 207 of notice for annual meeting 208 of notice for adjourned district meeting 208 of request for special district meeting 208 of notice of special district meeting 209 of notice to officers of election 209 of refusal to accept district office 210 of refusal to accept office on appointment 211 of appointment to vacancy in district board 210 of deed of school-house site 211 of lease of school-house site 213 of contract between district and teacher 213 of bond of district treasurer , 313 of call on treasurer for additional security 214 of order on treasurer 214 of school register to be kept by teacher 215-218 of notice of apportionment by town clerk 218 of certificate of town treasurer to town clerk 219 of report of names and post-office addresses of district clerks 219 of statement by district clerk of tax voted 220 of statement by district clerks of tax voted by joint districts 221 242 FORMS — continued. Page. of determination of relative proportion of taxes in joint dis- trict 220 of application for establishment of school-house site 221 of certificate that notice of meeting to establish site has been given 221 of notice for meeting of supervisors to locate school-house site 222 of certificate of establishment of school -house site 222 of certificate of vacancy in county superintendent's office. . . 223 of notice of division of county, and consequent vacancy 223 of statement of number of school children in the county 223 of notice of intention to annul teacher's certificate 224 otf annulment of teacher's certificate and notice to town clerk 224 , 225 of application for dictionary 226-228 of resolution proposing establishment of high school 229 of notice that the foregoing resolution will be submitted to vote 229 of certificate to state superintendent of establishment of free high school 230 of petition for submitting question of town system of schools 231 of notice that the foregoing question will be submitted 281 FREE HIGH SCHOOLS — how established and supported 144-154 free to all resident pupils 148 examination for admission to 145 principals of, qualific^ions, when to be examined 148 G. GOVERNMENT OF SCHOOLS- rules and regulations for, to be made by district board 68 township system of, provided for 168-182 H. HOLIDAYS — what days are legal 116 I. INCOME OF SCHOOL FUND — to what shaU be applied 202 how to be distributed 182-187 when to be apportioned 182-186 to be applied by districts to payment of teachers's wages 186 ounty treasurer to apply for 185 annual state tax to increase the 183 INSTITUTE — teachers', to be hald by each county superintendent 102,110 / 243 JOINT DISTRICT— Page. how formed, or altered 5 , 9 JOURNAL OF EDUCATION — school officers may subscribe for 163 JUDGMENTS — against school-districts, how collected 143,144 no execution to issue on 143 L. LEASE — disti'ict board may lease house or site. 80, 38, 59 LIABILITIES — tax may be voted to discharge 31, 43 LIBRARIAN — of district library, who may be 132, 137 of joint Ubraries, how appointed 132 his duties 133, 140-143 LIBRARY — (See Public School Library.) of district, amount of tax for 31, 39, 44 title to be vested in district 132 ►^^ of two or moire apjoining districts may be united 132 regulations concerning 133-136 town, law for estabhshing 136 LIMIT — to school-district taxes 30, 31, 32, 42 LOAN — district may make , upon unusual exigency 124 district may make, to build school-house 125 from the trust funds, how made 126-129 244 M. MAP— Page. town clerk to make and keep in his ofiSce 119 to accompany appeals 155 railroad map of Wisconsin for school-district 163, 164 money to purchase, may be raised 31, 48, 44, 62 MISCELLANEOUS LAWS — sundry 160-167 MONEYS — not to be apportioned to counties failing to raise amount re- quired by law 182 due new districts, how raised 16 to be paid to individuals in certain cases 16 of extinguished districts, how disposed of 18 may be voted by school-districts 30, 31, 38, 42, 43, 44 collected of defaulting treasurer, how applied 79 not to be apportioned to districts which have not maintained school six months 188, 186 not called for in one year to be reapportioned 186 collected from town clerk and county superintendent, how apportioned 161 collected on forfeitures, how applied 162 MONTH — number of days in 186 teacher's 99 N. NOTICE — of apportionment to bo given to county clerk and county treasurer by state superintendent 184 for first meeting of school-district 6 in case of neglect of inhabitants to assemble 8 for meeting of supervisors to alter school district 11 of alteration of school- district 12 of alteration of joint school-district 9-15 of annual district meeting 32 for si^ecial district meeting 23 for meeting of supervisors to establish school-house site 129 for teachers' examination 102 NORMAL SCHOOLS — laws respecting 192-198 245 OATH— Page. administered to challenged, voter 27 OFFICERS — of school-districts 52 women eligible to be 164 of free high school-districts 146 ORDERS — director to countersign 79 treasurer to pay money on 81 clerk to draw 83 ORGANIZATION — of a school- district 10 of free high schools 145-153 PARENTS, GUARDIANS, Etc.— Required to send children to school 73 PENALTIES — (See " Fines and Forfeitures.") POWERS — corporate, of a district 11 of a district meeting 30-52 of a special meeting , 23 , 24 of a school board 52-78 PROPERTY - of a district to be in care of board 60 division of, w^hen new district is formed 16,17 personal, taxable for school purposes 132 PROSECUTION — of actions against school ofiS.cers 79 , 83 , 120 PUBLIC SCHOOL LIBRARIES — money may be withheld from school fund income in each town to purchase 136 books to be purchased annually by town clerk 136 books to be distributed among school-districts 136 regulations concerning 138-143 17— S. C. 24:6 PUPILS— Page. may be suspended or expelled 68 Q. QUALIFICATIONS — of voters 35-27 of teachers, how determined 87, 88, 89, 93-99 R. ♦ REAL ESTATE — districts may hold 11 taxes on, how assessed and collected 133 valuation of, how equalized in joint districts 132 RECORDS — of scbool-distiict, to be kept by clerk 83, 84 of formation or boundaries may be renewed when lost or de- stroyed 30, 31 REGISTER — to be furnished teacher by district clerk 84 what to contain, etc 100, 215-317 neglect to keep, forfeits wages 100 REGULATIONS AND RULES — district board to make 68 prescribed by state superintendent for libraries 133-143 relating to appeals 155-160 REMOVAL— of district officer by county judge 163 of county superintendent by circuit judge 103 REPAIRS OF SCHOOL-HOUSES - tax to be voted for 30, 33, 38 district board to attend to 60 county superintendent to direct 101 REPORT — of district treasurer 81 of district clerk 112, 113 of clerk of joint district 113 of town clerk 117, 118 of secretary of town board of directors 172, 173 of county superintendent 118 of city superintendent or clerk 119 of state superintendent 300 247 RESIDENCE— Page. of voter, how determined 26-29 of children 112-115 RULES — may be made by district boari 68 respecting appeals 155-160 SALARY — of district clerk provided for 31, 51 SCHOLARS — age of, to attend school free 203 may be admitted from other districts 31, 46 may be suspended or expelled 68 residence of -47, 48, 115 SCHOOL BOOKS — district board shall determine what shaU be used 71 state superintendent to recommend 199 district board may purchase for indigent pupils 62 districts may authorize boards to purchase 31, 49 city and village boards of education may adopt 165 these boards may^purchase 165 annual meeting must vote on free text-books S2 SCHOOL-DISTRICTS — how formed 5-9 to consist of contiguous territory 5 not to be altered so as to leave indebtedness exceeding five per centum of valuation 5 size of 5 notice for first meeting of 6 organization, how restored 8 when to be considered organized 10 oflicers of, to file written acceptance of office 10 corporate powers of 11 to be bodies corporate 11 contracts with 11 qualification of voters in 25-29 alteration of • • 11-18 alteration of, not to take effect for three months, in certain cases 12 not to be changed between 1st day of December and 1st day of April following 12 joint, how formed 9 officers of 52-54 powers of 30-52 extinguishment of 11, 17 annual meeting of, when held 21 notice for annual meeting of, how given 32 may borrow money 31 , 124-1 39 judgment against, how collected , 143, 144 248 SCHOOL FUND INCOME — (See Income of School Fund.) SCHOOI^HOUSES— Page. site of, how designated and established 30. 37, 129-132 tax to build, how limited 30, 32, 38-42 may be sold. 30, 43, 59 district board to have the care of 60 district board to provide appendages for 60 district board to repair 60 repairs on, may be ordered by county superintendent 101 may be declared unfit for use 101 SECTAEIAN INSTRUCTION — not allowed in district schools , 203 SITE OF SCHOOL-HOUSE — how designated 30 , 37 , 38 how established in certain cases 129-131 what lands may not be taken for 131 SCHOOL FUND — how formed 202 distribution of income of <, 182-186 SPECIAL DISTRICT MEETING — notice for, how given 23 how called .- 23 tax or loan voted at, how coUe cted 122 , 123 STATE CERTIFICATES — provided for , ■. . . 93-95 limited 93,94 diplomas of graduates of state normal schools, state univer- sity, and other colleges, when countersigned become 96-98 STATE SUPERINTENDENT- to apportion income of school fund 183 to certify apportionment of school fund income 184 not to apportion money in certain cases 182 , 183 to decide appeals 154,200 to f uriush school officers with blanks for their annual reports 119 to furnish amendments of school law to districts 119 STUDIES — to be taught in school 85 in which applicants for certificates are to be examined 88 in which principals of free high schools are examined 148 SUIT — district to give direction for prosecution or defense of 31 ,51 against district, director to defend 79 249 SUPERVISORS— Page. (See town board of supervisors, and county board of supervisors.) T. TAXES — to be raised by towns and cities for support of schools 183 ,183 to raise money due new districts, how assessed 16 for school-house and site, limitation of 30,33,33,38,43 for payment of teachers' wages 30,33,43,43 to pay district indebtedness 31 ,43 for the purchase of maps, charts, and apparatus 31 ,43,44 for district library 31 ,44,45 not to be voted at special meeting unless tliree- fourths of the legal voters are notified of the meeting 33 general district, how assessed and collected 133,133 special district, jiow collected 133,133 school-district, on what property to be assessed 133 , 133 to pay judgment against district, how assessed and col- lected 143,144 deficiency in levy to be made up 183 , 183 total amount that may be levied by school-district 33 for free high schools to be levied by board 150 for free high schools may be limited by vote of the town. . . 150 for free high schools in joint districts may be hmited by town boards of supeiwisors 150 TEACHERS — tax for wages of, limited 30, 33, 43, 43 to keep register 100 to report to district board and county superintendent 100 to be examined and licensed 87, 88 to forfeit wages for neglect to keep register 100 TEACHERS' INSTITUTES — to be held by county superintendent 103, 110, 111 expenses of, how provided for 197, 198 TERMS — of school may be fixed by vote of district 31 , 50 TEXT-BOOKS — district may authorize board to purchase 31, 49 disti'ict board to select 71 to make list of, file it with the clerk, and post it in the school room 71 list of, adopted not to be changed for three years 71, 165 penalty for changing the list of, adopted 161, 163 adopted by city and vOlage boards of education 165 purchased by these boards on what conditions 165 laws relating to 31, 33, 49, 50, 71, 161, 163, 165, 199 TOWN BOARD OF DIRECTORS — provided for 168 powers of 168, 170 250 • TOWN BOARD OF SUPERVISORS — Page. to form and alter school-districts 5-9 to issue notice for first meeting of 6 to call meeting in district having no ofl&cers to call same 8 to ascertain and determine the amount of property due new- district 16, 17 to dispose of property of extinguished district 18, 19 to locate and establish school-house site 129-131 ■^ to be fined -for refusal to carry into effect any decision of state superintendent 162 TOWN CLERK — to fill vacancy in district board 57 to make a report to county superintendent 117, 118 to see that district clerks make correct reports 119 to file reports and papers 119 to record description of school-districts * 119 to make a map of town 119 to report name and post-office of himself and of district clerks to county superintendent ! 119 to apportion school moneys 119, 120, 185, 186 to re-apportion moneys not called for in a year 186 to assess district taxes 123 to assess tax to pay judgment against school-district 143 TOWN TREASURER — to receive and pay out school money 120, 121 to certify to town clerk amount of school money in his hands 120 to certify amounts paid by him to districts previous year . . . 120 to prosecute covinty treasurer 120 TOWNSHIP SYSTEM OF SCHOOL GOVERNMENT — provided for 168-179 advantages of 180-183 TRANSFER — of deficiency in county school tax 182, 183 TRUST FUNDS — loans may be made from 126, 129 u. UNIVERSITY — of the state provided for ^ 187 laws in relation to 187, 193 V. VACANCY — in district board, how filled 55, 57 how mav occur 55 251 VALUATION— Page. of property in joint districts, to be equalized by town assess- ors 133 VISITING SCHOOLS — required of_school officers 73, 101, 108-110, 148, 153, 171, 197, 199 VOTERS — ^ who may be 35-37 w. WAGES OF TEACHERS — tax voted to pay 30, 43,43 to be specified in contract 64-67 public money to be applied in payment of 186 when forfeited 183, 183 WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY — how distributed 163 forms of application for 386-338 WOMEN — eligible as school officers 164 may vote at elections on school matters 36 n ^3 '*-