Thames v. Board of Sup'rs of Simpson County

• Decision Date: 21 February 1921
• Docket Number: 21744
• Citation: 87 So. 126,124 Miss. 576
• Parties: THAMES ET AL. v. BOARD OF SUP'RS OF SIMPSON COUNTY
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court

87 So. 126

124 Miss. 576

THAMES ET AL. v. BOARD OF SUP'RS OF SIMPSON COUNTY

No. 21744

Supreme Court of Mississippi

February 21, 1921

1. SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS.. Supervisors cannot levy extra tax on property in former district forming a part of consolidated district.

Chapter 254 of the Laws of 1918, providing "that where public schools heretofore established have been formed into a consolidated school district, and because of a failure to erect the consolidated school building... the... school is not taught, then the county superintendent of education is hereby authorized and empowered to have the school taught as heretofore and so continue until said... school is opened and in operation," does not authorize the board of supervisors to levy an extra tax on a part of the consolidated district for the benefit of one of the former school districts embraced in the consolidated district.

2. SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DRISTRICTS. Districts consolidated cease to exist and cannot have extra tax levied.

Where the county school board creates a consolidated district by merging two or more districts into the consolidated districts, the former districts cease to exist and have no power to have the board of supervisors make an extra levy under the provisions of chapter 172, Laws of 1918.

HON. W H. HUGHES, Judge.

APPEAL from circuit court of Simpson county, HON. W. H. HUGHES Judge.

Petition by W. B. Thames and others requesting the board of supervisors of Simpson county to levy a school tax. From a judgment sustaining the action of the board in declining to make the levy, the petitioners appeal. Affirmed.

Judgment affirmed.

J. P. &amp A. M. Edwards, for appellant.

There was no question raised before the board as to the existence of the Old Hickory Rural School, but the board were of the opinion, that for the reason the county school board at its July, 1920, meeting had passed an order on its minutes consolidating the Old Hickory Rural School with the Pine Grove Rural School, that the board could not grant this petition; that this action of the county school board canceled all rights of the Old Hickory School as such and that after this action of the school board, this school constituted an inseparable part of the new school, that is the old Hickory Consolidated School. This, we submit, under the facts of the case was an error. It is shown by the bill of exceptions containing the evidence before the board, that all that has ever been done towards the consolidation of these two schools, is the order of the county school board, providing for the consolidation of the territories of these schools.

Here the whole matter ceased. The testimony is, that nothing else has been done. The Old Hickory School and the Pine Grove School each is being taught, conducted and managed in every respect just as they were before the order consolidating their territories. Then under such circumstances, we submit that by virtue of section 1, chapter 195, of acts of the legislature, 1916, this school is unaffected by the action of the county school board.

It was intended by the above act, to preserve all the rights of the ordinary rural schools till such time as the consolidation should be effected by the building of the consolidated school house, equipping of same and the opening of the school therein. It could not be held otherwise. Certainly it was not the intention of the legislature to in any way abridge the rights and powers of the rural schools simply because they have made an effort to consolidate with their neighboring schools. It might be that these two schools would never venture further in the project to consolidate. Should the matter end at this action of the county school board would they, that is, this school and the Pine Grove School, be deprived of their right to call upon the board of supervisors to create a levy of three mills as they had the right to do before the action of the county school board? Certainly not. The act above cited must have been for the specific purpose of meeting just such a condition. This school is no part of a consolidated school merely because the county school board passed the order of consolidation with the Pine Grove School and will not be such until the machinery is put further in operation, and it is possible that this may never be done.

We submit that the board had no discretion in the matter, but that section 3, chapter 172, of acts of the legislature of 1918, is mandatory. This act reads as follows: "On petition of a majority of the qualified electors of any public school district in a county, the board of supervisors shall levy a tax on the property of that district for the purpose of supplementing salaries of teachers, extending school term, buying furniture for the school, repairing school building, or for fuel and other incidental expenses for the purpose of the school in said district. "

It was under the above act that the petition was drawn and presented to the board of supervisors. The board had no doubt as to the existence of the Old Hickory Public School, and for this reason did not call upon the petitioners to produce before them in evidence the records of the county school board showing that the Old Hickory Rural School had been created and its boundaries fixed, but went off on the idea that the Old Hickory Rural School had ceased to exist by virtue of the action of the county school board in passing an order consolidating the territory of the Old Hickory Public School with the Pine Grove Public School as shown by the order.

We submit that on presentation of this petition signed as it was by a majority of the qualified electors of the district asking for the levy, it was the duty of the board to fix the levy, and pass an order, if necessary, mentioning the district by reference to the minutes of the county school board as to the territory embraced in the district to be affected by the levy, or even the minutes of the school board could have been easily had in drafting the order of the board. There could have been no uncertainty as to the property to be affected by the levy.

We submit that the judgment of the lower court will be reversed and the board of supervisors required to grant the petition for the levy as prayed for.

W. M. Lofton, for appellee.

The case will be affirmed by this, the supreme court, for a number of reasons. In the first place, the Old Hickory Public School, and the Pine Grove Public School no longer exist as separate entities, but now form one school by reason of the order of the county school board passed in August, 1920, and which is a valid order, as it correctly and accurately defined the boundaries of a new school, which is the Old Hickory Consolidated School District, and this petition...