Board of
Education a

VIII. It is the duty of the county superintendent to issue orders for the pay of members of the board of education. if satisfied the service has been rendered, but this should not be done before the first day of June of each year.

IX. Members of boards of education of independent districts, where not otherwise specially provided, are entitled to pay as provided in the general school law.

X. If officers of town corporations also act as the school board for the independent district they are entitled to the same pay as district school officers of the same grade; Provided, they receive no compensation from the town corporation for their services.

XI. Only one payment of $1.50 per day, for not exceeding six days can be made for services of any member of a board of education, and the successor gets nothing if the predecessor received pay for the six days allowed.Alfred Caldwell, Attorney-General.

XII. The board have the power to fix the salary to be paid teachers as a class based upon the grade of the certificate they hold, but in my opinion they can not require the trustees to employ a teacher of a certain grade. The trustees have the unquestioned right to employ a teacher of any grade certificate which entitled him or her to teach, and pay the salary fixed by the board for that grade.-T. S. Riley, Attorney-General.

7. The board of education of each district and indeCorporation. pendent school district shall be a corporation by the name of "The board of education of the district or independent school district of in the county of ", and as such may sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded; and as such corporation, shall succeed and be substituted to all the rights of the former township and district boards of education; and may prosecute and maintain any and all suits and proceedings now pending, or which might have been brought and prosecuted in the name of any such former board of education for the recovery of any money or property, or damage to any property due to or vested in such former board.

The said board shall also be liable in its corporate capacity for all claims legally existing against the board of education of which it is successor. Said board shall receive, hold and dispose of according to the rules of law and the intent of the instrument conferring title, any gift, grant, devise or bequest, made for the use of any free school or schools under their jurisdiction; and without any transfer or conveyance, shall be deemed the owner of the real and personal property of their district, and the property of the former township or district for which their district was substituted.

Process and notice may be served on said corporations by delivering a copy thereof to the secretary, or any two members of the board. And all suits or proceedings now pending in any of the courts of the State, in the name of the board of education of any district for any demand or claim in favor of the board of education of any township or district, are hereby made valid.

Education.

8. The board of education, at their first meeting after secretary of their election, shall appoint a secretary, who shall not be the Board of a member of the board, and who shall attend all meetings of the board, and record their official proceedings in a book kept for that purpose, which record shall be attested by his signature and the signature of the president of the board, and which shall, at all reasonable times, be open to the inspection of any person interested therein; he shall have the care and custody of all papers belonging to the board containing evidence of title, contracts or obligations, or being otherwise valuable, and preserve the same in his office, properly arranged for reference, and shall record and keep on file in his office such papers and documents as the board or the law may direct.

He shall keep such accounts and prepare and certify secretary: such reports and writings pertaining to the business of reports of. the board, as the board or law may dirct. He shall publish within three days after any meeting of the board of education an abstract of the proceedings thereof, by posting the same at the front door of the place of meeting. He shall within ten days after the annual levy is laid certify to the county superintendent of free schools, the total value of all property, real and personal, in his district, with rate of levy, and amount thereof, keeping separate the rates and amounts of teachers' and building funds; and said superintendent shall within twenty days certify the same to the State Superintendent of Free Schools, using blanks therefor, furnished by said State Superintendent. He shall also have authority to administer oaths to school officers in all cases where they are required to take an oath as such.

tion of.

For his services as secretary he shall receive such secretary; compensation as the board may determine from year to compensa year, not to exceed fifteen dollars, to be paid out of the building fund by an order drawn by the county superintendent, when after an examination by said superintendent of said secretary's books, they are found to be correct. But such order shall not be drawn until the secretary shall have made his annual report to the county superintendent as hereinafter provided, and be approved by the said county superintendent. (See also Sec. 21.)

XIII. Tea.hers are school officers.

XIV. The office of secretary of the board of education is held at the will of the board. The secretary may be relieved at any time by the board.

XV Secretaries of boards of education make but one report per year to the County superintendent. The two blanks are sent to each secretary that be may retain a copy of his report in his office. Special information must be furnished by the secretary to the county superintendent at any time required.

Board of Education; powers and duties of.

Change in sub-district.

Appeal to
County Su-

XVI. The secretary's annual report cannot be completed before the sheriff's settlement with the board of education. County superintendents are forbidden by law to issue orders for the pay of secretaries until they present correct and complete reports.

XVII. The law does not specify who shall call the meetings of the board. The board should adopt a rule upon this subject at its first meeting in the Echool year, when all its members are present.

9. The boards of education shall have general control and supervision of the schools and school interests of their districts; they may determine the number and location of the schools to be taught; change the boundaries of their sub-districts, and increase and diminish the number thereof, having due regard for the school houses already built, or sites procured, assigning, if practicable, to each sub-district not less than forty youths between the ages of six and twenty-one years; Provided, That every village consisting of fifty inhabitants or more, shall be included in one sub-district. And provided, further, That no change in any sub-district shall take effect, except immediately after the annual apportionment of the general school fund. When such village as is mentioned in this section is divided by district or county lines, the said village shall be included in the sub-district, to be under the supervision of the board of education of the district to which the largest division of its territory is attached, and said board shall define and enter of record in the office of their secretary the several district and sub-district lines.

Any person aggrieved by any decision of the board of perintendent. education, changing the boundaries of a sub-district, or increasing or diminishing the number of the sub-districts, in their district, under this section, may appeal therefrom to the county superintendent of schools, and have the same corrected, if erroneous. Every such person shall present to the county superintendent his petition, signed by himself and at least five other residents of the sub-district, stating the action of the board complained of, and the grounds of appeal; and the county superintendent shall thereupon fix a time and place for the hearing of the appeal, and cause a notice thereof to be served upon the president or the secretary of the board of education, at least five days before the hearing. If, upon hearing the proofs and allegations of the parties, the superintendent be of the opinion that the action of the board complained of was illegal or improper, he shall reverse or correct the same; otherwise the said action shall be affirmed.

XVIII Where the county court of a county changes the boundary lines of a district or increases or diminishes the number of districts after the annual levy has been laid for school purposes, and the salaries of teachers fixed in the respective districts, and provides that such change or changes shall take effect before the end of the school year (June 80), the schools and

school officers should continue as if no change had been made, making settlements, &c., until the close of the year, when the changes ordered should be recognized.

XIX. The building of school houses is discretionary with the boards of education. There is no power in any other court, body or person to compel them to build a school house.-Alfred Caldwell, Attorney-General.

XX. The appeal to the county superintendent under this section is limited to cases involving the changing of boundaries of a sub-district, or increasing or diminishing the number of sub-districts.

10. The board of education shall cause to be kept in schools must every sub-district of their district, by a teacher or be provided. teachers of competent ability, temperate habits and good morals, a sufficient number of primary schools for the instruction of the persons entitled to attend the same, and should the trustees of any sub-district neglect or fail to employ a teacher for their sub-district, upon complaint thereof, it shall be the duty of the board of education to do so.

attend school.

The following persons when residing in a sub-district, who may with intent to make such sub-district their home, shall have a right to attend and receive instruction at the primary schools thereof, that is to say: Every youth between the ages of six and twenty-one years, shall have such right; and any other person wishing to receive instruction at any free school in this State, shall have a right, with the assent of the trustees, to attend such school, and the teacher or teachers there employed shall' give instruction to such person the same as is required by law for other persons, upon the payment of tuition who to pay fees, not to exceed one dollar and fifty cents per month tuition. for each pupil, and upon such other terms as the trustees of the sub-district may prescribe. Said tuition fees shall be paid in advance to the sheriff, who shall give his receipt therefor, and place the amount to the credit of the teachers' fund of said district.

Attendance.

10a. Every person having under his control a child Compulsory or children between the ages of eight and fourteen years, shall cause such child or children to attend some public school in the city, independent district, or district in which he resides, and such attendance shall continue for at least sixteen weeks of the school year, provided the school be in session as many as sixteen weeks, and for every neglect of such duty the person offending shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall upon conviction thereof before any justice be fined two dollars for the first offense, and five dollars for each subsequent offense. An offense, as understood in this act, shall consist in failure to send to school any child or children for five consecutive days, except in case of the sickness of such child or children or other reasonable excuse.

Trustee and teacher to inform.

Branches to be taught.

And it shall be the duty of every trustee and teacher to inform against any one so offending and upon a failure so to do they shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and be fined not exceeding five dollars; Provided, That if such child or children have attended for a like period of time a private day school, or if such child or children have been otherwise instructed for a like period of time in the branches of learning required by law to be taught in the public schools, or have already acquired such branches, or if his physical or mental condition is such as to render such attendance inexpedient, or impracticable, such penalty shall not be incurred; Provided, further, That in case there be no public school in session within two miles by the nearest traveled road, of any person in the school district, he shall not be liable to the provisions of this act.

Any fines so collected shall be placed to the credit of the building fund of the district.

If sixty per cent. of the legal voters of any city, independent district, or sub-district shall petition the board of education against the enforcement of this act, the said act, so far as that sub-district is concerned, shall be null and void until the beginning of the next school year.

Justices of the peace shall have jurisdiction in all violations of this act in their respective counties.

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XXI. A teacher has no authority to admit or exclude pupils from school, whether from the same or another sub-district, without the consent and direction of the trustees of the school. This does not refer to his right to suspend a pupil for disorderly conduct.

XXII. The teacher has no right to receive the tuition of pay pupils and have it deducted from his month's salary when his order is drawn.

11. In the primary schools there shall be taught orthography, reading, penmanship, arithmetic, English grammer, physiology, general, United States and State history, general and State geography, single entry bookkeeping, civil government, and in addition thereto the theory and art of teaching. It shall be the duty of the State Superintendent to prescribe a manual and graded course of primary instruction to be followed in the country and village schools throughout the State, arranging the order in which the several branches shall be taken up and studied, and the time to be devoted to them, respectively, with provisions for advancement from class to class, also for the examination and graduation of all pupils who satisfactorily complete the prescribed course.

XXIII. A board of education has no authority to prescribe additional branches to those provided by law, or to require them to be taught.