Craig v. Bell
| Decision Date | 09 January 1948 |
| Docket Number | 16026. |
| Citation | 46 S.E.2d 52,211 S.C. 473 |
| Parties | CRAIG et al. v. BELL et al. |
| Court | South Carolina Supreme Court |
Appeal from Common Pleas Court of Barnwell County; E. H. Henderson, Judge.
Action by J. C Craig and others, taxpayers, against J. J. Bell, as treasurer of Barnwell County, and others, to enjoin assessment or collection of taxes with which to pay certain note held by one of the defendants, to enjoin holder of note from collecting any portion of it, to enjoin payment of note, for judgment that note was void, and for determination as to who were trustees of high school district. From an adverse judgment, the plaintiffs appeal.
The order of Judge Henderson, directed by the Supreme Court to be reported, follows:
In this action the plaintiffs, who are taxpayers of the Williston-Elko high school district in Barnwell County, seek to enjoin the assessment or collection of taxes with which to pay a certain note, dated November 27, 1946, held by the defendant, George E. Crouch; to enjoin the holder of the note from collecting any portion of it; to enjoin the trustees from paying the note, or using any of the borrowed money; for a judgment that the note be declared null and void; and that the Court determine who are the trustees of the high school district. The case for a permanent injunction was heard before me upon the merits.
On November 27, 1946, the defendants, J. C. Folk, W. B. Powell S. L. Fogle and J. Lewis Smith, styling themselves trustees of the Williston-Elko high school district, borrowed from the defendant, George E Crouch, the sum of $10,000, and executed and delivered to him a note for this sum. The plaintiffs contend that this note is illegal, and school be declared to be null and void, for the reason that the signers of the note are not the trustees of the Williston-Elko high school district, that the trustees of the district have no authority under the law to borrow money in this manner, and that there is no authority in law for trustees to erect a residence for the superintendent of the school district.
Although the note was first executed by the four gentlemen whose names are set forth above, thereafter it was signed by all the other persons who constitute the board of trustees of the Williston grammar school district, and by all of the chairmen of the districts which cooperated in the organization of the present Williston-Elko high school district.
The Act of the Legislature of March 13, 1929, now appearing as section 5532 of the code, established four high school districts in Barnwell County, and provided that the board of trustees of the Williston-Elko high school district should be 'elected or appointed as now provided for by law.' A difficult point arises in the case as to what is the method 'now provided for by law'. The plaintiffs contend that section 5406 of the code is the law which governs, and that the board is legally composed only of the chairmen of the boards of the several cooperating districts. The defendants, on the other hand, contend that the statute which governs is section 5405, and that the board is made up of 'the board of trustees of the district wherein the high school is located, together with the chairman of each of the cooperating districts.' The high school building is located in the Williston district, and in fact was there before.
It is to be noted that these two sections were originally parts of a single act, and consequently should be harmonized, if that can be done. While it is not at all clear from the language employed, I am inclined to the opinion that section 5405 is the one which governs here.
However, it must be said that the matter is not at all free from difficulty. The two sections when read together are ambiguous, and I think that the contemporaneous construction placed upon the statute, and the construction given it by the officers charged with the enforcement of the school law, should have great weight and should control in this instance.
The rule of contemporaneous construction of a statute, and the rule that the Court will give weight to the construction placed upon it by the officers who have the duty of administering the law, may be found in numerous decisions of our Supreme Court and in the text books. In the case of Barksdale v. Morrison, Harp. 101, 16 S.C.L. 101, it was decided as far back as 1824 that 'if a statute be of dubious construction, long usage may be called in to aid the exposition.'
In the case of Read v. Phosphate Co. v. South Carolina Tax Commission, 169 S.C. 314, 168 S.E. 722, 728, the Supreme Court said that 'the construction given to a statute by those charged with the duty of executing it is always entitled to the most respectful consideration, and ought not to be overruled without cogent reasons.'
The Supreme Court in the case of City of Spartanburg v. Leonard, 180 S.C. 491, 186 S.E. 395, 397, said that
This rule of statutory construction was stated again in the case of Hadden v. South Carolina Tax Commission, 183 S.C. 38, 190 S.E. 249, where the court made a similar statement.
See also the cases of Carolina Music Co. v. Query, 192 S.C. 308, 6 S.E.2d 473, and Harling v. Board of Commissioners, 205 S.C. 319, 31 S.E.2d 913.
This is the general law also, as may be seen by reference to 59 C.J. 1022 and 1025, and 50 Amer.Jurisprudence, pages 307-311.
The election of trustees for the Williston-Elko high school district has been consistently thought to be governed by section 5405 of the code . Ever since the adoption of this act in 1929, it has been regarded in Barnwell County by the Superintendent of Education and the County Board of Education, who administer the law along with the high school board, and by the public generally, that the board of this district consists of the trustees of the Williston grammar school and the chairmen of the cooperating districts. This view has been taken throughout these years by the public whose money has been spent and whose children have been educated; by the board of trustees itself; and by the Treasurer and Auditor of Barnwell County, who paid the vouchers of the board and levied the taxes. A marbel tablet in the school building shows the names of the trustees then in office. Not only has this been recognized by the general public and the school authorities over long years, but in a court proceeding in the year 1939 it was held by his Honor, Judge Rice, that the act of 1929 'Constitutes the trustees of the high school district along with the chairmen of the grammar school districts, a board for the purpose of filing the required budget on estimate.' This is by no means to be regarded as res adjudicata, as the parties are not the same, yet it emphasizes the long recognition of the personnel of the high school board.
The plaintiffs contend that under section 5343, boards of trustees of graded schools are limited to three, and that there is no authority for a board to contain as many as seven members. Plaintiffs say that the four gentlemen who originally signed the note may have been the four illegal members. Even if correct this does not seem to me to be at all decisive, for the reason that the note is now without doubt signed by the three members, the signatures of the other four who signed may be regarded as surplusage.
In addition to this, it appears to me that the issues in this case do not embrace this contention, since the fourth allegation of the plaintiff's complaint alleges that the seven named gentlemen are 'trustees of Williston grammar or graded school district No. 29, of the County of Barnwell, State of South Carolina.' The defendants admitted this allegation in their answer, and both parties have testified that it is correct. I consequently hold that the pleadings do not raise this contention in any manner.
However, despite these considerations, it seems quite clear that the Williston graded school board of trustees does consist of seven members and that these members now are J. C. Folk, S. L. Fogle, George Lott, W. B. Powell, M. M. Player, J. Lewis Smith and Byron Wham. The Williston graded school district was created as a special school district in Barnwell County by the act of the Legislature adopted in 1888, Act Dec. 24, and found at 20 Stat. 123. The area of this district was later enlarged and now covers the site occupied by the present Williston-Elko high school building. An act of the legislature of 1897, Act March 2, to be found at 22 Stat. 621, provided that the seven trustees of the district should be elected by the people. It is true that the Constitution of 1895 prohibits the future creation of special graded school districts, but it preserves those which had already been formed. This may clearly be seen by reference to Article XI, section 5, which reads in part as follows:
The intention of the framers of the Constitution is again made very manifest in Article XI, section 6, which reads in part 'Not less than three trustees for each school district shall be selected from the qualified voters and taxpayers therein, in such manner and for such terms as the General Assembly may determine,...
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