New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-10-14

ATTORNEY GENERALS OFFICE
State Of Louisiana, 7
New Orleaus, October l. 1870
Hon. Thomas W Conway, Superintendent of Pub
lie Education New Orleans, Louisiana:
Sri have examined with much care
the law touching the question OF apportlon-
,uent submitted to lie for opinion in your
| communication of the thirtieth ultimo.
am under Obligations to you for opinions
of Mr.. George S. Lacey and yourself on the
the same subject, inciosed with communl-
! cation.
| 70 obtain proper understanding of the
| school system OF the State we must Keep
constantly before our minds the theory OF
| organization, under act No. 3 of the extra
! session of 1870. The organization we find
| to be as follows:
| First-,rhe Superintendent Of the Public
! Education, a constitutional State officer.
with general supervisory power throughout
| the State.
number, with the power of supervising
| schools in their respective districts, under
| the supervisory control of the State Super
| inten,(ent, to whom they report, except IN
| certain specified cases. Sections three SIX.
| nine and ten.
Third-The State Board of Education,
! composed of the State superintendent anu
division superintendents. The duties and
|
| in sections four and five.
Then, for each Incorporated town anu
| city there is Board of School directors
| lexcept in the city OF New Orleans) OF not
| less than three nor more than five members;
| section sixteen.
For each parish there is a school board OF
| five or more persons (OrleanS eXcepted);
section eighteen.
Then, for each Police Jury or other ward
in each parish there is board OF three
school directors; sections tWenty-one ana
twenty-five.
This completes the school organization OF
the State. 1t will be seen that the super
yisorv control is as follows:
| First-Supermtendent of State, general
throughout the State, receiving communl-
cations through the medium of division su-
perintendentS, etc.
Second-rhe supervisory control of divi-
sion superintendents, through their respec-
tive districts to whom the parish boards
report and the power OF parish boards over
ward and other boards IN the parish.
This division of power and duty 1t must
must be observed. Is only so, SO Tar as the
matter of seeing that schools are IN opera
ton is concerned. and has nothing To do
with the distribution OF money to whom
and where it property belongs Indeed,
there does not appear to be any reason why
there should be circumocutlon IN receiving
|
Superintendent apport1ons, as que 10
ward q district, or u town.
| The question as to whether the Clty or
Ward Boards should receive the apportlon-
ment to nv mind is clear. Section nlty
four reads: .'Said board tCity Board shall
have all the powers, and perform all the
duties in reference to the pubhc schools OF
the citv. and to the distribution OF the
school funds thereof, herein conferred on
the Parish Boards of School Directors IN
other parishes" This, therefore, places the
city. so far as power and duty is CON
cerned. in the same position as the Parish
Boards.
Now, let us see what that power is, so
far as regards the receiving and dlSbursinS
of money
1t is this That there are only two in
stances in which they can receive and dis
burse money. ~
First, under section twenty-one. fifth par
agraph, where the money arises from IL t;ix
levied bv the Police Jury. for the particular
parish which, when collected by the tax
collector is paid directly into the treasury
Of tbena1ish board instead of into the State
treasury as the regular school tax. And
even in that case the parish board can not
disburse, but must apportion the same
among the ward boards OF the parish, as
provided in the section referred to.
The second instance is in section ffty-two
where district boards of school directors III
parishes ''fail to establish at least one school
in the district" then the PARISH board as
sumes the powers, so far rs respects the re
ceiyino and disbursng Of money belonging
to district boards.
; These. as | said before. are the only in
stances in which parish boards can receive
! and disburse money belonging to the school
districts or wards. Now, Us there Is an en-
tire absence of authority to receive and dis
11rt t.n IA hnl al
(the CITY boards being III power and duty
The samel, let us see if there is authority Tol
the Davnlent of money to the ward boards
directly from the State treasury as arpor
toned.
Section twenty three reads thus: That the
president of the ward board OF the district
shall draw all drafts on the State Treasurer
and upon the treasurer oi the pariSh BOARD
for money apportioned to his district"
The same section, paragraph ten, reads
, The treasurer THAT is the treasurer ol The
i ward or district board) shall hold all moneys
, belonging to the district, and pay the same
, out on the order of the president, thereby
vcsting the power III the ward board Il
draft on the State Treasurer for the regular
school fund, and the treasurer of the parlsi
board for such fund as may arise from ta>
levied by Police Jury, as provided III sec
: ton twenty-one, paragraph hve-
The ward boards of the city are, IN power
and duty. the same rs the ward or distrlc
boards in the country parishes.
Section fifty nine reads: That each ware
= | board in the city of New Orleans shall have
, the same powers and duties, and be gov
erned by the regulations herein prescrlbef
, for district boards of school directors II
\ other parishes"
= This appears to be conclusive, that as tn
! district boards in other parishes alone haV'
+ the power to draft against and receive ap
! | portionment, so alone have the ward board
p of New Orleans, whose powers and dutle
are exactly the same.
4 Wards, as subdivisions Of the city, are de
@ fined bv law. and can not be the SUBJECT o
the slightest discussion. The representa-
+ | t;ou in both houses of the General Assem- Dl
. ia hy wards in apportlonmcnt, aud Whcl
f wards are defined by legislative enactment
4 It must also be considered, i'll connection
2 with this question, that all OF these parish
= town. city and district boards are corpora
Q tions under tie law; that they have the ca
l., uacitv of suing and being sued; that tn
: ward boards employ teachers, and havln
t the mower to contract, and beng require
A tn contract. are the only bodies that coul
e be sued on the contracts maze; an4' 20 sd
" fine least. it would be an anomaly III law
:, hnJ them responsible on their contracts
n and al, the same time leave the ward or COZ
n noration to the mercy OF another corpora
tion-tbn city bosrd-to meet her obllSa
tions.
. There is another view of the questl0
- which strikes me with some force. Iha
a the treasurer of the city board is require
~ to furnish bond only in the sum OF tWent
. thousand dollars, when the quarterly al
y | Dort;onment for all the wards reaches nea