Rodgers v. Independent School Dist. of Colfax

Decision Date11 December 1896
Citation69 N.W. 544,100 Iowa 317
PartiesJ. R. RODGERS, Appellant, v. THE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT OF COLFAX
CourtIowa Supreme Court

Appeal from Jasper District Court.--HON. A. R. DEWEY, Judge.

THIS is a suit in equity, by which the plaintiff seeks to enjoin the defendant district from appropriating the proceeds of certain schoolhouse bonds to erect a school building on any other location than upon the same site which has heretofore been used for schoolhouse purposes. It is admitted in the answer that the district, by its school directors, had purchased a new site for a schoolhouse, and it is averred that said directors had the legal right to select the site of the proposed new building. A temporary injunction was granted and, upon a hearing upon the pleadings and evidence, the temporary injunction was dissolved, and the petition was dismissed. Plaintiff appeals.

Reversed.

H. S Winslow for appellant.

J. C Cook and C. O. McLain for appellee.

OPINION

ROTHROCK, C. J.

I.

The case was submitted to the district court upon the pleadings, and upon an agreed statement of facts. No evidence, aside from the agreed stipulation, was introduced by either party. It appears from the pleadings, and the statement of facts, that the plaintiff is and has been a resident, taxpayer, and voter in said independent district. On the twenty-sixth day of April, 1895, the board of directors of the district adopted a resolution submitting to the voters a proposition to issue bonds, not exceeding fifteen thousand dollars in amount, for the purpose of erecting a schoolhouse. In pursuance of this resolution, a notice of the election was properly given, in which the time for the election was fixed for the fifteenth day of May, 1895. It was recited in the notice of the election that "an opportunity would be given the electors to vote on the location of the new school building," and that "a ballot box for that purpose would be provided." The result of this election is set out in the agreed statement of facts as follows: "(4) That the ballot used at this election was in accordance with the terms of the notice provided for the expression of the choice of the voter as to the site upon which the schoolhouse should be erected, and there were cast at the election one hundred and sixty-six votes for bonds, two hundred and twelve votes against bonds, one hundred and fourteen votes for a new site, and two hundred and fifty-seven votes against a new site." This proposition having been defeated, another election was ordered by resolution, by which the question of voting twelve thousand five hundred dollars in bonds to erect a schoolhouse "on the old site, if practicable," was ordered to be submitted to the voters. A notice of this election was duly given, and the electors were advised thereby that it was proposed to issue "bonds not to exceed $ 12,500 to build schoolhouse on old site." This last election was held on the twelfth day of June, 1895. The ballots cast at this election were in the following form:

SPECIAL ELECTION.

on

ISSUING BONDS FOR $ 12,500.00

To build schoolhouse on old site.

FOR BONDS.

AGAINST BONDS.

To vote "for bonds" scratch off the words,

"Against Bonds."

To vote "against bonds" scratch off the words,

"For Bonds."

These ballots were so marked that there were two hundred and twenty-eight votes cast "for bonds," and fifty-eight votes "against bonds." In about one week after this last election, the board of directors passed a resolution by which a committee of the board was appointed to purchase another site for the new building, and on the twenty-fourth day of July, 1895, at another meeting of the board, a resolution was passed, by which the board authorized a purchase of three full lots, half of another lot, and part of still another lot, for a site for the proposed new schoolhouse. At the time this resolution was passed, there was no money in the district treasury belonging to the schoolhouse fund, except the proceeds of the bonds which had been voted, and which the board had then sold. It does not appear what price was paid for the lots purchased. It was, however, paid by using part of the proceeds of the sale of the bonds which were voted to erect a new building on the old site. The last paragraph of the agreed statement of facts is as follows: "(13) That the board of directors, after the vote was taken and the bonds were sold, changed their minds as to the site, giving it as their opinion, that it was not practicable to erect a...

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