St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1861-01-31
NUMBER 5.

applies as to the honr of meeting and
adjourning, as in case Of sub-dis.rcts
1t is my opinion that the power to
levy a tax for building school houses.
can not be delegated to the Board.
1t must be voted by the district meet
ing.
City districts are organized under y
special law, and have no subdistricts.
See Parts XVIII and XIX. and the
note appcndcd to the latter, pages 81,
3S, 80 and 40, and for notice, form
No. l3, page 65. Such districts hold
their regular meeting for the election
of officers and the transaction of mis-
cellaneons business, on the second
Monday in March. Sec section 2, Of
Part XIX, and section of Part VIII.
! The same rule as TO the hour Of meet
ing and adjourning must be observed
as in case Of sub-districts and dis
trict townships.
The next meeting in order is that
of the Board of Directors, on the first
Monday in April See sections IA, 10
and l6 Of Part VIII, of the school
laws. This meeting is very impor-
tant one, as there are duties to be per-
formed which can not be attended to
at any other time. 1t is the proper
time for dividing the district town.
ships into snb-districts, and in per-
forming this duty hope you will ex-
anime carefully form No. 8, page GO.
and the comments accompanying it.
1t is also the only time designated for
estimating and lcvying the dcficieu-
cy necessary for the support Of schools
for the period required by law. Sec
form No. Q, and note appended, page
G2 of school laws. Observe the
changes contemplated in section 3, Of
Part TX, page "a.
The spcraE meeting Of sub-disticts.
to be held hereafter on the first Mon
day in May, is the last to be consid
cred. 1t is only to be held in case
the district township meeting has re-
fused or neglected to make adequate
provisions for the construction Of
school houses. See sections 65, &C,
61, GS and 20, of Part VIII, and sec
tions and 3, Of Port TX, and tho
note appended, and forms No. 81, 32.
50, 50 aud SO, and the comments an
ncXch. BY u careful examination Of
the forms and instructions above re-
tcrrcd to-, there will be no difficulty in
conducting the meeting strictly in ac-
cordance with the law.
Our opinion has been solicited as to
the meaning Of section "a, of Part
VIII, of the School Laws, which rcadA
as follows:
SEC. "a. Tho collector shall, Oh
the first Monday in April and Septem-
Der, in each year, pay over to the
treasurer of the district the amount
of said tax which shall have been COL
lcctcd, and shall render him q state,
mcnt of the amount uncolected and
the amount unpaid shall be collected
at any subsequent time as delinquent
county taxes are collected, and shah
be paid over, when collected, to the
treasurer aforesaid"
The point made by the inquirer il.
at what time shall the collector pay
over the taxes included in his state
mcnt of the amount uncoltected g.? We
answer in The plain and unmistakabe
language Of the law, that they are To
be paid over whcn cOtiected' Sup
pcsc, for instance, that on the Grst
Monday in April, i. should appear
from the collectors books, that Ger
t,in school distri, has levied tax Of
| $1,000, and that half the amount has
been collected. ltwou.d thea become
his duty to pay over the $500 on hand.
and render statement of the amount
uncollected, and if the amount en-
braccd in the statement as delinquent
or unpaid should bc collected tho fol-
| lowing week, it would be his duty to
pay it over at once, without waiting
until the first Monday in September
following, as some collectors claim tho
right to do. This is very import
ant matter to the districts, and We
would advise the school officers to re-
quirc strict compliance with this
plain and cqnitable provision Of tho
law. If different construction is al
lowed, then it would follow that hun
dreds of thousands of dollars Of school
money would remain idle in the vari-
Gus county treasures of the State.
and that tno while the teachers and
other creditors of the district might
be actually suffering for the amount
due them. We do not mean that tho
collector should be harrasscd for evc-
ry dollar the moment it is paid into
the county treasury, but simply that
he should be required to pay over any
reasonable amonnt of the delinquent
tax on hand when applied for by tho
. district treasurer The law makes it
his imperative duty to do so, and in
case he shonld refuse, the district au.
thorties should make application for
writ of mandamus to compel him ia
do it.
There is another question intimatc-
ly connected with this. but confined tn
! the districts. 1t is does the last
clause of section 2S, Of Part VIII, re-
: fer to certain class Of warrants, or
) to all warrants outstanding at any
i. time when one is presented for pay
q mcnt? We answer, that it refers tn
= the warrants outstanding at the time
r any installmcnt Of school money ia
; paid into the district treasury ; other
t wise it would be q nullity. To illus.
, trate-suppnsc the district treasurer
I should receive ON the first Monday in
: April, $500 on account of school house
= fund and $500 on account of teach
cr's fund 1t would be his duty to
ascertain the exact amount OF orders
thea outstanding or unpaid, which We
will assume 10 be $1,000 on each fund
. This would enable him to pay fifty
cents on the dollar, which he should
a proceed at once to do. reserving tho
: whole amount for that particular pur-
9 pose--that is, 40 part of it should be
}. applied on warrant drawn on the
J. following OF any subsequent day.
n Again suppose he should receive