Floyd County Fiscal Court v. Floyd County Board of Education

• Decision Date: 08 May 1917
• Citation: 175 Ky. 517,194 S.W. 561
• Parties: FLOYD COUNTY FISCAL COURT v. FLOYD COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
• Court: Kentucky Court of Appeals

194 S.W. 561

175 Ky. 517

FLOYD COUNTY FISCAL COURT v. FLOYD COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.

Court of Appeals of Kentucky.

May 8, 1917

Appeal from Circuit Court, Floyd County.

Mandamus by the Floyd County Board of Education against the Floyd County Fiscal Court. From a judgment awarding a writ of mandamus, the defendant appeals. Reversed.

C. P Stephens, of Prestonsburg, for appellant.

B. M James and B. F. Combs, both of Prestonsburg, for appellee.

SETTLE C.J.

This appeal is prosecuted by the Floyd county fiscal court from a judgment of the circuit court of that county awarding, at the suit of the board of education of the county, a writ of mandamus compelling it to amend the tax levy for school purposes made December 28, 1916, for the year 1917, by increasing such tax from 15 cents ad valorem and 25 cents on each poll, to 20 cents ad valorem and $1 on each poll.

It appears from the record that the board of education on the 20th of September, 1916, met and made the following order:

"Upon the call of the chairman the county board of education met in the office of Oma Preston (superintendent) at one p. m on the 20th day of September, 1916, with the following members present: Sherman Nunery, G. W. Elliott, Dan Prater and Oma Preston. This being a quorum, the following business was transacted: Ordered, that we, in order to meet the expenses of building, repairing, seating and to meet the incidental expenses and other obligations of the county board of education for the coming year (1917), ask the fiscal court of Floyd county to lay a levy for school purposes as follows: 20 cents on each one hundred dollars of assessed valuation of property in the county and a capitation tax of $1.00."

The following statement of the action thus taken was furnished the Floyd county fiscal court prior to its meeting of December 28, 1916:

"The county board of education of Floyd county, believing that there are so many schoolhouses in various districts in such worn-out and run-down condition that it is impossible to continue the schools in some of them, we believe it necessary to erect and seat as many buildings as possible. In order to meet the expense of building, repairing, seating, and to meet the incidental expenses and other obligations of the county board of education for the coming year (1917), we ask that the fiscal court of Floyd county lay a levy for the coming year for school purposes as follows: 20 cents on each one hundred dollars of assessed valuation of property in the county and a capitation tax of $1.00 (one dollar).

Given under our hands, this September 20, 1916. G. W. Elliott, Chair. of County Board of Education. Sherman Nunery, Secretary, County Board of Education."

Upon receiving the above communication from the board of education, the fiscal court made a levy of 15 cents ad valorem and 25 cents poll tax instead of 20 cents ad valorem and $1 poll tax as therein requested, which action led to the filing of the petition by the board of education praying the granting of the writ of mandamus to compel of the fiscal court compliance with its request.

The answer of the fiscal court justified its action in the matter of the levy upon the grounds that the written request to it from the board of education contained no estimate of the educational needs of the county for the year 1917, and failed to specify the amount necessary to supply same, and alleged that the board of education then had and now has in the hands of its treasurer, after paying all the expenses of the common schools of the county for the year 1916, a surplus of more than $2,000, which surplus, together with the amount to be realized from the levy actually made by the fiscal court, would be amply sufficient to meet the educational needs of the county for the year 1917. The answer also denied the necessity for the erection of the number of schoolhouses the communication from the board of education stated would be required for the schools of the county, and, in substance, alleged that the erection of additional schoolhouses would be unnecessary. The affirmative matter of the answer was controverted of record.

In making demand of the fiscal court for the levy of a tax for school purposes in Floyd county, the board of education was attempting to proceed as authorized by section 4426a, subsec. 9, Kentucky Statutes, which provides:

"It shall be the further duty of the county board of education to estimate and lay before the fiscal court * * * the educational needs of the county in accordance with such estimate, and said county (fiscal court) shall levy a tax for school purposes not to exceed twenty cents on each hundred dollars of assessed valuation of property in the county, and a capitation tax not exceeding $1.00, and the sheriff shall then collect this tax as other state and county taxes are collected. * * * When the tax so levied shall have been collected by the sheriff of the county, he shall turn over to the county superintendent, who shall act as treasurer of the county board of education, the amount of money so levied and collected, and the county board shall expend the money so received in the building, improvement and

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