Clark v. Board of Trustees of Dawson Springs Graded School

• Decision Date: 21 April 1915
• Parties: CLARK v. BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF DAWSON SPRINGS GRADED SCHOOL.
• Court: Kentucky Court of Appeals

175 S.W. 359

164 Ky. 210

CLARK v. BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF DAWSON SPRINGS GRADED SCHOOL.

Court of Appeals of Kentucky.

April 21, 1915

Appeal from Circuit Court, Hopkins County.

Action by D. M. Clark against the Board of Trustees of Dawson Springs Graded School. Judgment for defendant, and plaintiff appeals. Affirmed.

H. F S. Bailey, of Madisonville, for appellant.

Laffoon & Waddill, of Madisonville, for appellee.

TURNER J.

The Dawson Springs graded common school district was created in 1905, and the trustees thereof in the fall of 1914, under the authority of section 4481 of the Kentucky Statutes, called an election so that the people of the district might determine whether it should create an indebtedness of $10,000 and authorize the trustees to issue bonds to that amount in excess of the revenue for that year; it being necessary in the opinion of the board to provide that amount for the purpose of furnishing suitable grounds, schoolhouse, furniture, and apparatus for the said school district. The election was held in December, 1914, and the vote thereon was practically unanimous; only 14 votes being cast against the proposition. Appellant is a taxpayer of the district, and, suing for himself and other taxpayers instituted this action to enjoin the board of trustees from issuing or delivering the bonds so authorized.

The election was called by the board of trustees, the election officers were appointed by the board of trustees, the returns were made to it, and the same canvassed and certified by it and the first question made is that there is no authority of law authorizing the returns to be canvassed by the board of trustees, and that they should therefore have been canvassed and the result certified by the county election board.

Section 4485 of the Kentucky Statutes, which is part of the act dealing with graded common schools, provides:

"After the first election provided for in this law shall have been held, the tax voted, trustees elected, and the graded common school organized, the board of trustees shall appoint the officers to hold all other elections, which officers shall take an oath to be under the same responsibilities and subject to the same penalties as the officers holding state or county elections, only they shall make returns of pollbooks, and certify the result of the elections to the board of trustees, who shall examine and compare the same and issue certificates to the persons found to be

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