Barnes v. Board of Com'rs of Davidson County

• Decision Date: 08 November 1922
• Docket Number: 398.
• Citation: 114 S.E. 398,184 N.C. 325
• Parties: BARNES v. BOARD OF COM'RS OF DAVIDSON COUNTY.
• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court

114 S.E. 398

184 N.C. 325

BARNES v. BOARD OF COM'RS OF DAVIDSON COUNTY.

No. 398.

Supreme Court of North Carolina

November 8, 1922

Appeal from Superior Court, Davidson County; Harding, Judge.

Action by S.D. Barnes against the Board of Commissioners of Davidson County. There was a judgment continuing a restraining order against defendants to final hearing and they except and appeal. Affirmed.

From the affidavits and pleadings as presented, it appeared that in March, 1921, the board of education of said county made an order consolidating certain school districts in said county and on March 7th an election was ordered on the question of a special tax to supplement the school funds of said consolidated district. The election was held and the proposed tax measure approved by the voters on April 8-21, 1921. That the districts composing the said consolidated school district were Churchland district No. 3, Sapona district No. 2, Sowers district No. 4, and at the time of consolidation and the election, etc., the said Churchland district was a special school tax district, having voted same in July, 1911, and district organized and tax levied and collected for purpose since said date, and the two other districts were districts in which no special tax had ever been voted. The action is to restrain the collection of the special tax in the consolidated district, and on the facts presented the court entered judgment continuing the restraining order to the final hearing, and defendants excepted and appealed.

J. R McCrary and Raper & Raper, all of Lexington, for appellants.

Walser & Walser, of Lexington, for appellee.

HOKE J.

It has been held in several of our recent decisions that under a proper construction of the legislation now prevailing on the subject (Consolidated Statutes, c. 95, §§ 5469-5526, etc also Laws of 1921, c. 179), while county boards of education are given power to consolidate special tax districts observing the provisions of the statutes in reference thereto, when they undertake to consolidate special tax districts with school districts in which no special tax has been voted, the case in so far as levying the uniform tax is concerned, is one coming under the requirements of section 5530, C. S., referring more especially to the enlargement of special tax districts, and in which it is provided that before any such consolidation or enlargement shall take place it must have the approval of the voters outside of the special tax district or districts. Hicks v. Board of Education of Wayne County, 183 N.C. 394, 112 S.E. 1; Perry v. Commrs. of Bladen, 183 N.C. 387, 112 S.E. 6; Paschal v. Johnson, 183 N.C. 129, 110 S.E. 841.

In further application of the principle approved in these decisions in Burney v. Commissioners of Bladen, a case at the...