Board of Ed. of Carroll County v. State Bd. of Public Instruction, 49653
| Decision Date | 10 March 1959 |
| Docket Number | No. 49653,49653 |
| Citation | 250 Iowa 627,95 N.W.2d 285 |
| Parties | BOARD OF EDUCATION OF CARROLL COUNTY, Iowa, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. STATE BOARD OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, J. C. Wright, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Board of Education of Audubon County, Iowa, Board of Education of Shelby County, Iowa, and Board of Education of Crawford County, Iowa, Defendants (Audubon County is the only Appellant). |
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
Dale D. Levis, L. L. Ryan, Audubon, for appellant.
Loth & Melton, Fort Dodge, for appellee.
May 14, 1957, the Boards of Education of Audubon, Carroll, Crawford and Shelby Counties fixed the boundaries of a proposed Manning Community School District. On appeal to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, this action was reversed on the grounds of insufficient preliminary study prior to the filing of the petition on April 25, 1957, and, in effect, that the hearing on May 14, 1957 was biased, unfair and the result of prior commitments. On appeal from this decision to the District Court, the decision of the State Superintendent was reversed upon both grounds. On appeal to this Court by the Audubon Board, the sole issue goes to the fairness of the hearing on May 14, 1957.
In 1956 a petition was filed with the County Superintendent of Carroll County for the organization of a Manning Community School District. The proposed district included a portion of the four counties above named. The west boundary of the district was the newly organized Manilla School District in Crawford and Shelby Counties. At a joint meeting of the four Boards the proposed boundaries were adopted by a tie vote. On appeal to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction the action was reversed, and, at the time material here, that decision was pending on appeal to the District Court.
At this time there was also pending in the District Court a quo warranto proceeding as to the legality of the Manilla organization. This action was brought by individuals living on the borders of the Manilla and Manning Districts, who desired to be included in the Manning District.
Early in the 1957 session of the Iowa Legislature an attempt was made to legalize the Manilla District irrespective of the pending litigation. It was suggested by various members of the Legislature that the Manilla and Manning Boards compromise this boundary line dispute. Following this conference, Mr. Norelius, attorney for the Manilla District, called a meeting at his office in Denison, Iowa. Present, or represented, were the Manilla Board members, County Superintendents of Carroll, Crawford and Shelby Counties, the Manning Local Board members and attorneys, and the quo warranto plaintiffs and their attorneys. The sole matter discussed was the line between the two districts as it affected residents in Shelby and Crawford Counties. As a result of this meeting, a line was agreed upon between the two districts, and the quo warranto...
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