Consol. Sch. Dist. No. 97 v. Sloan

• Decision Date: 28 June 1927
• Docket Number: Case Number: 16564
• Citation: 135 Okla. 29,273 P. 271,1927 OK 181
• Parties: CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DIST. No. 97 et al. v. SLOAN et al.
• Court: Oklahoma Supreme Court

1927 OK 181

273 P. 271

135 Okla. 29

CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DIST. No. 97 et al. v. SLOAN et al.

Case Number: 16564

Supreme Court of Oklahoma

Decided: June 28, 1927

Syllabus

¶0 Schools and School Districts--Consolidated District--Disposition of Assets of Disorganized District--Right of Taxpayer to Sue to Compel Performance.

Where several school districts are organized into a consolidated district, it becomes the duty of the school board of said consolidated district, where one of said disorganized districts has a bonded indebtedness, to dispose of the property of said disorganized district and apply the proceeds therefrom on the bonded indebtedness, and the residue, if any, becomes the property of the consolidated district. Held, that a resident taxpayer of said disorganized district can maintain an action to compel the school board to perform this legal duty.

Error from District Court, Grady County; Will Linn, Judge.

Action by J. B. Sloan and others against Consolidated School District No. 97, Grady County, et al. Judgment for plaintiffs, and defendants bring error. Affirmed.

Bailey & Hammerly, for plaintiffs in error.

Melton & Melton, for defendants in error.

CLARK, J.

¶1 The parties herein, for convenience, will be referred to as they appeared at the trial court. J. B. Sloan, C. B. Doss, H. L. McCracken, J. L. Hartin, and A. E. Hennings commenced this action in the district court of Grady county, Okla., against consolidated school district No. 97, Grady county, Okla., and W. H. Duckwall, chairman, Mrs. Alta Wise, clerk, and J. P. Thomas, director, and officers of said consolidated school district. Later, a number of resident taxpayers of said consolidated district No. 97 filed a motion and request with the court that they be permitted to intervene in said cause and be made parties thereto, and that they be permitted to adopt the answer theretofore filed in said cause. The record fails to disclose any order of court passing on said motion.

¶2 Plaintiffs allege that they are resident taxpayers within consolidated district No. 97 in Grady county, Okla., and that said consolidated district No. 97 is a duly organized consolidated school district under the laws of the state of Oklahoma, and that H. W. Duckwall, Mrs. Alta Wise, and J. P. Thomas are the duly elected, qualified, and acting officers of said consolidated school district; that the said district was organized in the year 1920, under and pursuant to the laws of the state of Oklahoma, and in the organization of said district there was included what was then known as district No. 3, in Grady county, Okla., and the territory embraced within said school district No. 3, which included the town of Tuttle and vicinity. That the plaintiffs are residents and taxpayers in the territory formerly comprising school district No. 3 and which was included in and is now a part of said consolidated district No. 97, and in addition to said plaintiffs there were numerous other persons, owners of real and personal property, in said district No. 3, and now in said consolidated district, and that these plaintiffs sued in their own behalf and in behalf of all the taxpayers similarly situated. That at the time of the organization of said consolidated district No. 97, school district No. 3, which became a part thereof, owned school property in the town of Tuttle, Okla., with school building located thereon, consisting of one new brick building, all of which at such time was of the value of $ 25,000. And at the time of consolidation, school district No. 3 had a bonded indebtedness against said district property therein, outstanding and unpaid, of more than $ 25,000, and for the payment of which taxes were annually levied against the real and personal property embraced within said district No. 3. That at the time of such consolidation and the organization of district No. 97, the officers of such consolidated district, under the law, were required to sell the real and personal property of each of the districts embraced within said consolidated district and apply the proceeds from such sale to the bonded indebtedness of the districts owning the property sold. That the consolidated school district No. 97 and the officers of said district have failed and refused to sell the property herein described which belongs to district No. 3 and apply the proceeds therefrom to the bonded indebtedness against the property within district No. 3, described in said petition.

¶3 Said defendants have used said property for the benefit of said consolidated district, and still continue to possess, hold, and use said property for said purpose.

¶4 Plaintiffs allege that there is now outstanding a bond of district No. 3 of more than $ 23,000, for the payment of which an annual tax must be levied against the said real and personal property in district No. 3. That the value of said property is more than the sum of $ 23,000, and these plaintiffs, in their behalf and in behalf of other taxpayers in district No. 3 similarly situated, are entitled to a judgment against the defendant, consolidated school district No. 97, for the value of said property in the sum of $ 23,000 and a lien upon said property to secure payment of said judgment, the proceeds therefrom to be applied in payment and discharge of the bonded indebtedness assessed against district No. 3, herein described.

¶5 Defendants answered by way of a general denial, but admitted that school district No. 97 was organized in 1920 and included said school district formerly known as district No. 3; denied that at the time of organization said property of said district No. 3 was valued at $ 25,000, and denied that the law required that the officers of said school district No. 97 should sell the property of said school district No. 3 and apply the proceeds therefrom to the paying and liquidating of any outstanding bonds of district No. 3. Defendants denied that plaintiffs were entitled to recover against said school district No. 97 for the value of property or any part thereof, and denied that they are entitled to have said property sold.

¶6 The cause was tried to the court without the intervention of a jury. The court found that at the time said consolidated district No. 97 was organized, district No. 3 owned lot 48 and the north half of block 59 and the north half of block 45 in the town of Tuttle, with the brick school building located thereon, and other property, on which there was an outstanding bonded indebtedness, at the time of consolidation, in the sum of $ 25,000. At the time of the trial this bonded indebtedness amounted to $ 19,723. That the assessments to pay said indebtedness could only be made against the property formerly located within the boundaries of district No. 3. That under the law it was the duty of the officers of the consolidated district to sell this property and apply the proceeds to the discharge of the bonded indebtedness of district No. 3, the district having no floating indebtedness. That the officers of said district had failed to perform this duty; that the property had not been sold, but the consolidated district had taken possession of the property and used it for the benefit of the consolidated district, while the taxpayers in that part of the consolidated district formerly embraced in district No. 3 were being assessed to pay the bonded indebtedness. And the court decreed as follows:

"It is therefore considered, ordered, adjudged and decreed that defendants, H. W. Duckwall, Mrs. Alta Wise and Earl Wright, the officers of consolidated school district No. 97, and their successors, be and they are hereby, directed to proceed at once to sell block No. 48, the north half of block No. 59 and the south half of block No. 45, in the town of Tuttle, according to the plat thereof, together with the school buildings located thereon, in accordance with the laws of the state of Oklahoma, for the sale of such property by the officers of consolidated school districts. The proceeds derived from the sale of such property to be applied on the discharge of the bonded indebtedness outstanding against school district No. 3, and if the proceeds from the sale of such property shall amount to more than the outstanding bonded indebtedness against school district No. 3, then the balance shall be retained by said officers for the use

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