State ex rel. Vantage Joint Vocational School Dist. Bd. of Ed. v. Hoffman

• Decision Date: 21 June 1978
• Docket Number: No. 77-780,77-780
• Citation: 377 N.E.2d 758,54 Ohio St.2d 384
• Parties: , 8 O.O.3d 396 The STATE ex rel. VANTAGE JOINT VOCATIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION, Appellant, v. HOFFMAN, Auditor, et al., Appellees.
• Court: Ohio Supreme Court

Page 384

54 Ohio St.2d 384

377 N.E.2d 758, 8 O.O.3d 396

The STATE ex rel. VANTAGE JOINT VOCATIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION, Appellant, v. HOFFMAN, Auditor, et al., Appellees.

No. 77-780.

Supreme Court of Ohio.

June 21, 1978.

On June 27, 1973, the State Board of Education approved the establishment of the Van Wert County Area Joint Vocational School District, hereinafter the "district," which consisted of the Van Wert City School District. On June 19, 1974, it was enlarged by including Wayne Trace Local, Paulding Exempted Village, and Antwerp Local School Districts, all of Paulding County. The Mendon-Union Local School District of Mercer County was included by the adoption of a resolution on March 5, 1975. Both of the foregoing additions to the district were accomplished pursuant to R.C. 3311.213. As the district expanded so did its board membership to include representatives of each addition, and the tax levies of the joint vocational school district were spread over the new member districts. Sometime during 1975, Resolution No. 75- 56 was adopted and approved by the State Board of Education, changing the name of the district to Vantage Joint Vocational School District, hereinafter continued to be referred to as the "district."

On March 10, 1975, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, by direction of the State Board of Education, notified the Ottoville, Jennings and Continental Local School Districts, all of Putnam County, and the Parkway Local School District of Mercer County that they were not providing vocational education in accordance with R.C. 3313.90. The State Board of Education set a meeting date of September 6, 1975, for the four districts (Ottoville, Jennings, Continental and Parkway) to consider relevant factors associated with assignment to a joint vocational school district. On October 13, 1975, the State Board of Education directed the Superintendent of Public Instruction to notify the clerks of the four districts (Ottoville, Jennings, Continental and Parkway) and the clerk of the Vantage Joint Vocational School District of their intended assignments effective as of January 1, 1976. All of the five districts were notified at the same time of their right to a hearing on the intended assignment, pursuant to R.C. Chapter 119, which none of them exercised. By resolution adopted by the State Board of Education at its December 8, 1975, meeting, the intended assignment became a fait accompli without objection or appeal.

In apparent anticipation of the December 8, 1975, assignment by the State Board of Education, the Vantage Joint Vocational School District Board of Education was enlarged on December 3, 1975, to include representatives of the four additional districts. The organizational meeting of the expanded Board of Education of the Vantage Joint Vocational School District was held on January 7, 1976, and the members present were sworn into office.

On August 8, 1976, the budget commission of Van Wert County, pursuant to R.C. 5705.48, called a joint meeting with the budget commissioners of Paulding, Mercer, Auglaize and Putnam Counties to review the budget for 1977 and establish a tax levy millage for the 1976 tax year for the Vantage Joint Vocational School District. At this time a representative of the Mercer County Auditor informed those in attendance of the decision of the Court of Appeals for Franklin County in a similar case ¹ which held that R.C. 3313.91 "does not permit the State Board of Education to mandate a jointure as was done in this case." The Mercer County Auditor's representative, relying on that language, refused to place the adjusted levy on the tax duplicate of the newly assigned Parkway Local School District. Putnam County, though not represented at the meeting, also refused to place the levy on the tax duplicates of the newly assigned districts. Since a part of the Mercer County Parkway Local School District is located in Van Wert County, the auditor of that county did not place the levy on that portion of his county.

On February 25, 1977, a complaint in mandamus was filed by the Vantage Joint Vocational School District Board of Education in the Court of Appeals for Van Wert County naming the auditors and treasurers of Putnam, Mercer and Van Wert Counties as respondents. Relator alleged that the respondents had a mandatory duty created by R.C. 3311.213 to place and collect the adjusted tax rate millage on the tax duplicates of the assigned school districts in their respective counties. Relator alleged further that such duty is consistent with Section 2, Article XII, of the Ohio Constitution and R.C. 3311.20 and 3311.21 regarding the "ten mill limitation" of R.C. 5705.02.

The respondents answered the complaint asserting several defenses, the most prominent of which stated:

"Respondents have no clear legal duty to act contrary to the ruling of the Franklin County Court of Appeals of July 13, 1976, In the Matter of Assignment of Hamilton Local School District to the Eastland Joint Vocational School District, Case No. 75 AP 421.''

The parties stipulated certain facts not in dispute, including the facts, pertinent to this appeal, that the local school districts in question had been assigned to the Vantage Joint Vocational School District by the State Board of Education pursuant to R.C. 3313.91 that the 2.90 mill tax levy of the Vantage Joint Vocational School District had not been approved by the voters in the assigned local school districts; and that the auditors of Mercer, Putnam and Van Wert Counties have not placed the tax levy of the Vantage Joint Vocational School District on the tax duplicates of the assigned school districts, and the treasurers of said counties were not collecting the taxes. (Stipulations of Fact filed May 17, 1977.)

Prior to the submission of the case on the pleadings and the stipulations of fact to the Court of Appeals for Van Wert County, this court rendered its decision reversing the Court of Appeals for Franklin County.

In denying the writs of mandamus, the Court of Appeals for Van Wert County held:

"We find, accordingly, that there was no joinder as contemplated by R.C. 3311.213 permitting the spreading of the tax levies of the vocational district over the territory of any one or more of such local school districts. We further find that there is no evidence of any joinder other than the involuntary limited joinder resulting from an assignment by the state board of education under the provisions of R.C. 3313.90 and 3313.91, which may result only in a contractual relationship and not in a relationship permitting the tax levies of the vocational district to be spread over the territory of the assigned local school districts.

"So concluding, based on the existing involuntary assignments, there is no clear legal duty on the part of the respondents to levy or collect any of the tax levies of the Vantage Joint Vocational School District in the assigned local school districts and mandamus will not lie to command the respondents to do so.

"There being no tax levies which could be so levied and collected the proceedings of the so-called joint budget commission were, in this respect, neither required nor valid and the question of whether the ten mill limitation has been exceeded without approving an election or whether there is uniformity of taxation does not, in fact, exist. It should be observed that notwithstanding that the parties have treated the tax levies here involved as being outside the ten mill limitation there is neither an admission in the pleadings or a stipulation that such is the fact."

The cause is now before this court on an appeal as of right.

Alexander, Ebinger, Holschuh, Fisher & McAlister, John D. Holschuh, Columbus, Koch & Koch and Robert Koch, Van Wert, for appellant.

Thomas A. Unverferth, Ottawa, William Meikle, Celina, for appellees Putnam County, Mercer and Van Wert County.

PER CURIAM.

At the outset the initial question resolving the matter of "joinder" can be disposed of by a cursory reading of the first sentence of the syllabus in the case of Eastland v. Dept. of Education (1977), 50 Ohio St.2d 91, 362 N.E.2d 654:

"Under the provisions of R.C. 3313.91, the State Board of Education is empowered to assign school districts to joint vocational school districts. Such assignment having been made, the State Board of Education is under a duty to direct those districts to contract so as to provide suitable vocational services."

The second sentence of the above syllabus, decisive herein, concerns itself with the question of financing brought on by the special circumstances of overcrowding in that case. To distinguish this matter it should suffice to say that there is no known problem of providing space for the additional students "joining" the Vantage Joint Vocational School District. This is a distinct contrast to the Eastland case which led to a contract payment for students admitted as space became available.

Consequently, the only issue to be determined by this court in this case is the legality of spreading the tax base throughout the district and the obligation, if any, of the respondent county auditors to place the tax levy of the joint vocational school district on the tax lists of the member school districts in his county. Deciding the issue affirmatively would place a correlated obligation on the treasurers of the three counties involved to collect the tax rate millage in their respective counties.

The appellants chose to rely on an interpretation of the assignment by the State Board of Education under R.C. 3313.91 as being the equivalent of a voluntary joinder...