Jones v. Mattox
Jones v. Mattox
Opinion of the Court
This is the second appearance of this ease in this court. Mattox v. Jones, 141 Ga. 649 (81 S. E. 861). J. H. Mattox, the defendant in error, made application for a writ of mandamus to compel the plaintiffs in error, who compose the board of education of Liberty county, to approve the official bond tendered by him as the duly elected county superintendent of public schools for that county, they having refused to approve the bond. On the trial the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff. A motion for a new trial was overruled, and the defendants excepted.
1. Formerly county school commissioners were selected by the members of the county board of education either from their own body or from the outside, they themselves being selected by the grand jury. This law was changed by the acts oi 1887 and 1909, now embodied in the Civil Code, §§ 1489 et seq. By section 1490, before a candidate for county school commissioner can be voted on, it is necessary that he shall stand an examination prepared by the State school commissioner. If in such an examination an applicant makes a specified mark, he is competent and can become a candidate at the general election. If elected and commissioned by •the Governor, it becomes essential that he should take an oath and give a bond before assuming the duties of the office. By section 1492 the bond is required to be “with good security, payable to the county board of education, conditioned upon his faithful performance of his duty under the law, the amount and sufficiency of the security to be judged of by the board.” After having qualified, the commissioner can be removed from office, before the expiration
2. The commission issued by the Governor was expressly from the 7th day of May, 1912, to the 7th day of May, 1916, but the term of his office, under section 1489, was for four years, and until his successor was elected and qualified. The bond which he tendered followed the language of his commission, and purported to be operative for the four years between the dates above mentioned, without any reference to the language of the section, “and until their successors are elected and qualified.” Notwithstanding the bond might have omitted such language, it would bind the securities thereon for any time after the expiration of the four years until the principal’s successor should have been elected and qualified. 29 Cyc. 1457. The mere fact that after the election and tender of the bond another act of the legislature (Acts 1912, p. 180) extended the commissioner’s term .until the first day of January, 1917, and that the bond made no reference to the security for the eight months intervening between these two dates, would not authorize the commissioners to refuse to approve the bond on the ground that it was not sufficient. Applying these
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.