State ex rel. Freese v. Mid-Prairie Reorganized Community School Dist. of Washington County
| Decision Date | 18 November 1958 |
| Docket Number | MID-PRAIRIE,No. 49635,49635 |
| Parties | STATE of Iowa ex rel. Baxter FREESE, Appellant, v.REORGANIZED COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, Iowa; Merle H. McDowell, Mabel J. Foster, Kenneth Kos, Charles W. Beckman, and Kenneth Patterson as Board of Directors of Mid-Prairie Reorganized Community School District of Washington County, Iowa; County Board of Education of Washington County, Iowa, and County Superintendent of Schools of Washington County, Iowa, Appellees. |
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
Louis J. Kehoe, Washington, for appellant.
A. E. Baldrige, Washington, for appellees.
This is a quo warranto proceeding challenging the legality of the formation of Mid-Prairie Reorganized Community School District of Washington County, and the election of defendants as directors of the district.
May 22, 1958, after securing approval of court, plaintiff filed petition in quo warranto alleging that formation of the district, election of directors, and all actions of the Board, were illegal.
Sometime prior to October 1956, petitions signed by more than one-third of the electors in thirty school districts in Washington County, requesting formation of a community district, were filed with the County Superintendent of Schools. Necessary statutory proceedings were taken and on October 11, 1956, a special election was held pursuant to the petitions. The proposition carried in twenty-four out of the thirty districts by vote of 1,010 yes to 246 no. It failed in six districts by a vote of 63 yes and 154 no.
One of the districts in which the proposition carried was not contiguous to the other twenty-three districts. This district has since joined another community district. After canvassing the votes the County Board of Education proceeded to organize a district composed of the twenty-three districts in which the proposition carried by a vote of 1,000 yes to 239 no.
The County Superintendent gave statutory notice as to election of directors and school treasurer in the twenty-three districts. They were duly elected and on July 1, 1957 the district started to function, and has been in operation since said date.
All funds in the hands of the various treasurers of the twenty-three districts were transferred to the treasurer of the community district. Contracts were made with teachers for teaching in the school year of 1957-1958, and again for 1958- 1959. Taxes were certified, property of the old districts sold, busses purchased and all other school activities maintained.
In accordance with the provisions of Section 274.4, 1958 Iowa Code, I.C.A., the County Superintendent of Schools of Washington County filed with the County Auditor on December 11, 1956 a 'Notice of establishment of Mid-Prairie Reorganized Community School District of Washington County Iowa'. The notice contained a description of the boundaries of the new school corporation. Pursuant to this directive, the County Auditor transferred all the land embraced within the twenty-three contiguous approving districts to the new district for taxation purposes.
Plaintiff challenged the legality of the formation of the district by reason of slight defects in some of the petitions, and also on the basis of the absence of power in the County Board of Education to establish a new district out of the twenty-three districts.
We hold plaintiff cannot now challenge the legality of the formation of the district for two reasons: First--he is guilty of laches in the commencement of his action. Second--Section 274.5, 1958 Iowa Code, I.C.A., is a valid limitation statute against attacking legality of a school district after six months from the filing of the description of the property with the County Auditor.
I. The election was held on October 11, 1956. Plaintiff did not file his action until May 22, 1958. He failed to take any action and permitted all the proceedings and actions heretofore outlined to transpire without objection for more than nineteen months. Plaintiff was guilty of laches and is barred and estopped from making an attack of this nature against the newly formed district. Molyneaux v. Molyneaux, 130 Iowa 100, 106 N.W. 370; Nelson v. Consolidated Independent School Dist., 181 Iowa 424, 164 N.W. 874; State ex rel. Thie v. Consolidated Independent School Dist. of Mediapolis, 193 Iowa 856, 186 N.W. 426; State ex rel. School Tp. of Douglas Tp., Union County v. Kinkade, 192 Iowa 1362, 186 N.W. 662; Swan Lake Consolidated School Dist. v. Consolidated School District of Dolliver, 244 Iowa 1269, 58 N.W.2d 349.
In State ex rel. Thie v. Consolidated Independent School Dist. supra [193 Iowa 856, 186 N.W. 427], this court said:
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