122 OF SPOKANE COUNTY ET AL, Splaine v. School Dist. No. 122 of Spokane County

• Decision Date: 15 October 1898
• Citation: 20 Wash. 74,54 P. 766
• Parties: SPLAINE v. SCHOOL DIST. NO. 122 OF SPOKANE COUNTY ET AL.
• Court: Washington Supreme Court

54 P. 766

20 Wash. 74

SPLAINE v. SCHOOL DIST. NO. 122 OF SPOKANE COUNTY ET AL.

Supreme Court of Washington

October 15, 1898

Appeal from superior court, Spokane county; William E. Richardson Judge.

Action by Anna M. Splaine against school district No. 122 of Spokane county and others. Judgment for plaintiff, and defendants appeal. Affirmed.

Danson and Huneke, for appellants.

S. G Allen, A. G. Starkey, and James Dawson, for respondent.

SCOTT C.J.

The plaintiff brought this action on a contract in writing entered into with the directors of the district engaging her to teach the district school. The appeal is from a judgment rendered on an instructed verdict in her favor. While not considering the questions in detail in the order in which they are presented in the appellants' brief, all the material ones are included in the following The contract was entered into on May 9, 1895, for a term of nine months, to commence on the 16th day of September thereafter. At that time J. G. Weeks and W. H. Greene were members of the board of directors of said district, but were soon succeeded by Brown and Denman. At the directors' meeting held on May 9th, a number of the citizens of the district appeared before the board, and objected to the employment of the plaintiff as a teacher. On the succession of the new members of the board, but before the time the term was to commence, said board attempted to annul the contract and employed another teacher to teach the school. The plaintiff tendered her services as a teacher in pursuance of the contract, but was not permitted to teach, and brought this action for damages, the amount she recovered being the sum stipulated in the contract, less the sum of $123.50 which she had earned elsewhere by teaching during the term covered by the contract. Under the holding of this court in Taylor v. School Dist., 16 Wash. 365, 47 P. 758, the board of directors on May 9th, at the time the contract was entered into, had the power to engage a teacher for the ensuing year, notwithstanding the fact that there would or might be a change in the membership of the board before the time for the commencement of the term should arrive. The fact that a number of the citizens objected to the employment of the plaintiff as a teacher, and alleged that she was an incompetent person therefor, would not affect the power of the board, even though their action was ill-advised. She was legally...