City of Franklin v. Hinds
| Decision Date | 20 June 1958 |
| Citation | 143 A.2d 111,101 N.H. 344 |
| Parties | CITY OF FRANKLIN v. Robert C. HINDS and another. |
| Court | New Hampshire Supreme Court |
Donald W. Cushing, City Solicitor, Franklin, for plaintiff.
Nighswander, Lord & Bownes, Conrad E. Snow, Hugh H. Bownes, Laconia, for defendant board of education.
The board of education of the city of Franklin proposes to hire three teachers deemed necessary for proper instruction in its public schools. The mayor and councilmen, hereinafter referred to as the city council, have refused to appropriate the additional funds required for their employment. It is to be noted that the city council has not refused and could not refuse to appropriate the funds necessary to meet the minimum requirements established by the State Board of Education under the broad comprehensive powers conferred by RSA 186:5. Coleman v. School District, 87 N.H. 465, 470, 183 A. 586; Conway v. New Hampshire Water Resources Board, 89 N.H. 346, 353, 199 A. 83. It appears from the agreed statement of facts in this case that the requested teacher positions are not necessary to meet these minimum requirements.
Edwards, The Courts and Public Schools (Rev. ed. 1955) p. 106. In New Hampshire the extent to which school finances are subject to municipal control in each city is determined by its charter. Toussaint v. Fogarty, 80 N.H. 286, 116 A. 636; Wilcox v. Burnham, 98 N.H. 64, 65, 94 A.2d 378.
The Franklin charter contains the following relevant provisions:
'The administration of all the fiscal, prudential, and municipal affairs of said city, and the government thereof, shall be vested in * * * the city council.' Laws 1893, c. 260, § 3. Section 5 of the charter provides that the city shall constitute one school district 'and the administration of all fiscal, prudential, and district affairs of said district shall be vested in the city council, except such as shall hereinafter be vested in the school board.' See, also, section 4 of the charter and RSA 47:6. The pertinent part of section 15 of the charter as it relates to the board of education reads as follows: 'General management and control of the public schools, and of the buildings and property pertaining thereto, shall be vested in the board of education consisting of three members * * *.'
The manner in which educational policy of cities shall be formulated is determined by the Legislature and not the courts. The policy...
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Laconia Bd. of Ed. v. City of Laconia, No. 6353
...is the manager and controller of the public schools within the limits of the appropriation made by the city council. Franklin v. Hinds, 101 N.H. 344, 143 A.2d 111 (1958). It is equally clear that the power of the city council to appropriate funds for school district purposes is subject to a......
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Baker v. Hudson School Dist.
...by its charter. Toussaint v. Fogarty, 80 N.H. 286, 113 A. 636; Wilcox v. Burnham, 98 N.H. 64, 65, 94 A.2d 378.' Franklin v. Hinds, 101 N.H. 344, 345-346, 143 A.2d 111, 113. The New Hampshire cases have recognized a policy favoring financial independence for school districts wherever possibl......
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Ashley v. Rye School Dist.
...intent even if expressed pressed obtusely. Baker v. Hudson School District, 110 N.H. 389, 269 A.2d 128 (1970); Franklin v. Hinds, 101 N.H. 344, 143 A.2d 111 (1958); Hecker v. McKernan, 105 N.H. 195, 196 A.2d 38 Plaintiff contends that the action of the school board violated the Municipal Bu......
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Sullivan v. Flynn, 7317
...would be to invest the amendments with a greater force than the legislature intended or the voters contemplated. Franklin v. Hinds, 101 N.H. 344, 346, 143 A.2d 111, 113 (1958). Furthermore, Wilcox relied on more than the language of the former section 42 in concluding that the board has pri......