State ex rel. Lynch v. Board of County Com'rs, 2705
| Decision Date | 08 May 1956 |
| Docket Number | No. 2705,2705 |
| Parties | STATE ex rel. Anna L. LYNCH, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. The BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, Converse County, Wyoming, Defendant and Appellant. |
| Court | Wyoming Supreme Court |
William P. Dixon, Glenrock, for appellant.
J. B. Sullivan, Douglas, for respondent.
This is an action for mandamus commenced by the relator, Anna L. Lynch, against the Board of County Commissioners of Converse County, Wyoming, to compel the board to pay her the statutory salary of county superintendent of schools. Relator in her amended petition alleged that she was elected as County Superintendent of Schools of Converse County, Wyoming, at the election of November 2, 1954; that she filed her bond with the defendant board as provided by law; that she had previously filed with said board her Wyoming teacher's certificate which reads in words and figures as follows, to wit:
'State of Wyoming
Department of Education
(Seal)
'Elementary Life Certificate
'This Certifies That Anna Lenore Lynch, having met all the requirements as prescribed by the State Board of Education, is hereby granted this Certificate, which entitles the holder thereof to teach in the permit high schools, elementary and rural schools of the State of Wyoming for life.
'Issued this 1st. day of September 1936.
'143
'/s/ Jack R. Gage
'State Superintendent of Public Instruction'
The relator further alleged that the certificate is in full force and effect; that she took oath of office as required by law and is in all respects a duly qualified superintendent of schools. Relator further stated that she presented her voucher for salary as county superintendent of schools for the month of January 1955 but that the board refused to pay it, claiming that she was disqualified as county superintendent. She asked that a writ of mandamus be issued, compelling the board to pay her salary.
In answer to the amended petition, the board of county commissioners stated that the reason for refusal to pay the salary of county superintendent of schools to the relator was that she was disqualified under the statutes of this State. These statutes applicable herein will be mentioned hereafter. The board further answered that the certificate held by the relator is not a certificate which complies with the statutes of this State and the rules enacted by the board of education of the State; that on October 11 and 12, 1954, the State board of education in regular meeting added to the rules and regulations governing the certificates of teachers the following rule: 'The Standard Administrative Certificate shall be considered as a first class certificate as mentioned in Section 27-1102, Wyoming Compiled Statutes, 1945.' The board further answered that on February 5, 1955, the State board of education made the following rule: 'Miss Linford was instructed to inform the attorney for Miss Anna Lynch of Converse County that the Board still holds that the Standard Administrative Certificate is a first class certificate and since Miss Lynch's certificate would not meet the requirements of the Standard Administrative Certificate, she does not have a first class certificate,' and that the board was informed of this rule by letter from the State superintendent of public instruction in February 1955. Section 27-1101, W.C.S.1945, provides as follows:
'There shall be in each organized county a superintendent of public schools, who shall, on or before time of his nomination and election as said superintendent, file with the county clerk his or her Wyoming teacher's certificate, or certified copy thereof, of as high a rank as first class in full force and effect * * *.'
Section 27-1102, W.C.S.1945, provides:
'No county superintendent of schools shall receive compensation out of any public fund for his services as county superintendent of schools until he has filed with the board of county commissioners a Wyoming teacher's certificate of as high a rank as first class, in full force and effect; and the said county superintendent of schools shall be required to have such certificate in full force and effect during his term of office to entitle him to compensation out of public funds.'
Section 67-116, W.C.S.1945, provides:
'The State Board of Education shall prescribe rules and regulations for administering the laws governing the certification of superintendents, supervisors, principals, and teachers, whether by examination in specified subjects or through the completion of courses in approved institutions and in its discretion, prepare and publish lists of approved Normal Schools, Colleges, and Universities and fix standards for such approval.'
Section 27-1101, W.C.S.1945, § 30-901, W.R.S.1931, in which the provision here in question first appeared in 1925, provides that a county superintendent of schools shall hold a teacher's certificate of as high a rank as first class. A similar provision is contained in § 27-1102, W.C.S.1945, first enacted in 1913. The statutes do not state what is a first class certificate, nor do the rules of the board of education contain any specific reference thereto. That board in October 1954, after the relator had been nominated for the office, prescribed that: 'The Standard Administrative Certificate shall be considered as a first class certificate as mentioned in Section 27-1102, Wyoming Compiled Statutes, 1945.' It does not state that no other certificate may be considered as first class within the meaning of the statute. The board of education during the course of years has issued various, and in fact numerous, classes of certificates; and we are not able to tell that the...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Martinez v. City of Cheyenne
...568 P.2d 908 (Wyo.1977); Bemis v. Texaco, Inc., 400 P.2d 529, reh. denied 401 P.2d 708 (Wyo.1965); State, ex rel. Lynch v. Board of County Commissioners, 75 Wyo. 435, 296 P.2d 986 (1956); Mustanen v. Diamond Coal & Coke Company, 50 Wyo. 462, 62 P.2d 287 (1936). No such evidence has been bro......
-
State ex rel. Wyo. Dept. of Revenue v. UPRC
...Co. v. Bottjen, 695 P.2d 647 (Wyo.1985); Johnson v. Safeway Stores, Inc., 568 P.2d 908 (Wyo.1977); State ex rel. Lynch v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 75 Wyo. 435, 296 P.2d 986 (1956); Hercules Powder Co. v. State Bd. of Equalization, 66 Wyo. 268, 208 P.2d 1096 (1949); and Mustanen v. Diamond Coa......
-
Johnson v. Safeway Stores, Inc.
...application of a statute to events occurring before enactment of a statute is not favored. State ex rel. Lynch v. Board of County Commissioners, 75 Wyo. 435, 296 P.2d 986, 988 (1956); Mustanen v. Diamond Coal & Coke Co., 50 Wyo. 462, 62 P.2d 287, 292 (1936); Lee v. Cook, 1 Wyo. 413, 417 (18......
-
Belco Petroleum Corp. v. State Bd. of Equalization
...§ 513 (4th Ed., 1924); Bemis v. Texaco, Inc., Wyo.1965, 400 P.2d 529, rehearing denied 401 P.2d 708; State ex rel. Lynch v. Board of County Commissioners, 1956, 75 Wyo. 435, 296 P.2d 986; Mustanen v. Diamond Coal and Coke Co., 1936, 50 Wyo. 462, 62 P.2d 287. 6 Further, as a general rule, re......
-
CHAPTER 14 THE FIRST AND LAST DEFENSES IN PRIVATE ROYALTY LITIGATION: STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEFENSES
...[106] Edgcomb v. Lower Valley Power & Light, 922 P.2d 850, 859 (Wyo. 1996). See also State ex rel. Lynch v. Board of County Comm'rs, 296 P.2d 986, 988 (Wyo. 1956) (applying a 1954 rule that school superintendents must be college graduates to a school superintendent already in office at the ......