County Board of Education v. Board of Education of Benton Township Rural School District
County Board of Education v. Board of Education of Benton Township Rural School District
Opinion of the Court
The demurrer to the answer of the county board of education presents the question whether subsequent to the taking of a vote on the centralization of the schools of a rural school district, resulting in favor of centralization, and the
Much that was said in the opinion in the case of County Board of Education of Hancock County v. Boehm, 102 Ohio St., 292, relative to the many and frequent changes and amendments of the school laws of the state, particularly those tending toward the accomplishment of the very evident purpose of the legislative body to vest broader and more comprehensive authority in the county boards of education, has application to the consideration of the question presented in this case. The amendment of Section 4727, General Code, April 16, 1919, clearly evinces such purpose by the use of language that is plain in its terms and easy of application. It is therein provided that “nothing in this or the foregoing sections, namely, sections 4726 and 4726-1, shall prevent a county board of education upon the petition of two-thirds of the qualified electors of the territory petitioning for transfer, from transferring territory to or from a centralized school district, the same as to or from a district not centralized. ’ ’ That provision was enacted subsequent to the decision of the case of State, ex rel. Snapp, v. Goul et al., Board of Education of Champaign Co. School District, 97 Ohio St., 259, and apparently was enacted to confer upon the county board of education the very power and authority which this court found and declared it did not have under laws then in effect. The provisions of Section 4727, General Code, at that time, as held in
Then the general assembly amended Section 4727, General Code, in such manner as to specifically confer authority upon the county board of education to transfer territory either to or from a centralized school district, the same as to or from a district not centralized, if two-thirds of the qualified electors of such territory petition for the transfer thereof. The plain and pertinent provisions of this amendment cannot be ignored, but must be recognized and applied. The difficulty in this ease seems to have arisen from attempting to apply to the conditions here presented the decisions of this court based upon provisions of statutes formerly in force, disregarding the very material subsequent amendment of those statutes.
It is conceded that a petition such as is provided for by Section 4727, General Code, was presented to the county board of education in this case, and that the county board of education acted pursuant thereto; but it is urged in effect that the proceeding for the transfer of territory was premature, the centralization of the schools not having been completed, and the decree of injunction awarded by the court of appeals, in- harmony with that contention, restrains such transfer only “until the proceedings in the matter of centralization of the Benton Township Rural School District have been regularly completed.”
In view of this situation and of the power now vested in such county board of education it would seem a vain and futile thing to merely suspend its action making this transfer of territory until bonds were issued and money procured and expended in the erection of a building, the convenience of location and the required dimensions of which would probably be affected by a transfer of a portion of such district, which it is known will be accomplished immediately thereafter. In our opinion, however, the county board of education was within its jurisdiction and authorized to take the action at the time it did.
The Benton township rural school district could properly be characterized as a “centralized district” within the provisions of Section 4727, General Code, from the time of the certification of the result of the election wherein the proposition to centralize carried. The further provisions of Section 4726, General Code, relative to the erection of a building are
The demurrer to the answer should have been overruled and for error in sustaining the same the judgment of the court of. appeals is reversed.
Judgment reversed..
Reference
- Full Case Name
- The County Board of Education of Paulding County v. The Board of Education of Benton Township Rural School District
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Schools — Centralized districts — Transfer of territory therefrom —Section .'f727, General Code (108 O. L., pt. 1, 285) — Power of county board of education — Effect of pending building proceedings. 1. The provision of Section 4727, General Code, as amended April 16, 1919 (108 O.- L., pt. 1, 235), authorizes a county hoard of education, upon the petition of two-thirds of the qualified electors of territory included in a centralized school district, to transfer such territory to another district. 2. Such action may be taken by the board of education upon the filing of the required petition, notwithstanding the pend-ency of proceedings to erect a school building in the centralized school district.