Russell v. High Sch. Bd. of Educ. of Sch. Dist. No. 131

• Decision Date: 24 October 1904
• Parties: RUSSELL v. HIGH SCHOOL BOARD OF EDUCATION OF SCHOOL DIST. NO. 131 et al.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

212 Ill. 327

72 N.E. 441

RUSSELL

v.HIGH SCHOOL BOARD OF EDUCATION OF SCHOOL DIST. NO. 131 et al. ^*

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Oct. 24, 1904.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Cook County; E. F. Dunne, Judge.

Suit by Elizabeth A. Russell against the High School Board of Education of School District No. 131 in Cook county and others. Decree for defendants, and plaintiff appeals. Reversed.

L. C. Ruth, for appellant.

Thatcher, Griffen & Wright, for appellees.

CARTWRIGHT, J.

Appellant, a resident and taxpayer of School District No. 131 in Cook county, filed her bill in the circuit court of said county against the appellees, alleging that the taxable property within said district, as ascertained by the last assessment for state and county taxes for the year 1903, was $638,992; that the district had issued bonds and become legally indebted to the amount of $16,500, and that the high school board of education threatened to issue interest-bearing bonds of the district to the amount of $31,000, which would make the indebtedness of said district more than 7 per cent. of the value of said taxable property; and praying the court to enjoin the defendants from issuing bonds or contracting any obligation which, with existing indebtedness of the district, should exceed 5 per cent. of the value of the taxable property of said district as ascertained by the last assessment for state and county taxes previous to the incurring of such indebtedness. The defendants answered the bill, admitting its allegations as to taxable property and indebtedness of the district, but alleged that the district had a population of 2,418, and that a high school had been established therein, known as ‘Morgan Park High School District’; that the district was not indebted on account of the establishment or maintenance of said high school, and that the proposed issue of $31,000 of bonds was not within the prohibition of the Constitution. The cause was heard upon the bill and answer, and the bill was dismissed for want of equity, at the cost of complainant.

The school law provides for the organization of school districts and the maintenance therein of free schools in which the children of the state may receive a good common school education. Laws 1889, p. 239. Under that act any school district can maintain different departments, and grade and classify the scholars so as to promote the efficiency of the school. It may maintain and establish grades and divisionsfor instruction of advanced scholars in the same higher branches that are taught in high schools. Section 1 of article 8 of the Constitution declares: ‘The General Assembly shall provide a thorough and efficient system of free schools, whereby all children of this state may receive a good common school education.’ That section is both a mandate to the Legislature and a limitation upon their power to establish schools except for the purpose of a good common school education. But a high school for the education of more advanced pupils is a school of the character required by the Constitution. Any school district may establish and maintain a high school department. Richards v. Raymond, 92 Ill. 612, 34 Am. Rep. 151;Powell v. Board of Education, 97 Ill. 375, 37 Am. Rep. 123. As originally enacted in 1889, the school law provided that any school township might, in pursuance of an election for that purpose, establish a township high school, and the township should be regarded as a school district for that purpose, and the township board of education should have the powers and discharge the duties of directors of such district. It was also provided that two or more adjoining townships or parts of townships might co-operate in the establishment and maintenance of a high school. The evident purpose of these provisions was to enable a township or several school districts to establish a high school where it would be impossible or undesirable for single districts to maintain schools of that grade separately. In 1901 sections 41 and 42 of the school law were amended, and the...