Litchfield enquirer., 1870-10-20
CHAPTER CXXXI.

t6s Approved, July 9. 1870.
 CHAPTER CxxxI.
 An act concerning Education.
 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
 Sec. 1. For the purpose of main taining public schools in this State, each town shall annually raise by tax on the grand list of the town, in connection with the tax levied for other town purposes, and shall appropriate for the support of its public schools sum of money, which, to-. gether with the income from the town de- posit fund, and the income from any other fund which may be appropriated for the support of schools, shall be sufficient to pay the wages of teachers, the cost of fuel and the incidental expenses of the public schools of the town for at least thirty weeks of each year, in every district in which the number of persons between four and six teen years of age at the last enumeration was twenty-four or more, and for at least twenty weeks of each year in every district in which the number of said per- sons at such enumeration was less than twenty four.
 Sec. 2. The school visitors and selectmen shall constitute joint board for the pur- pose specified in this act, and this joint board shall at the annual town meeting, present written or printed statement of the cost of the District schools in their respective towns for the school year next preceding, and the cost of each District school, and shall also present to said meet ing, an estimate of the cost of the town for the current school year.
 Sec. 5. The income of the Connecticut Common School Fund when received by the several towns, and the income of the Town Deposit Fund, shall annually be paid into the treasury of the several towns for the support of schools.
 sec. A. The money raised for schools un- der the first section of this act, and the in- come from the Connecticut Common school fund, and the income from the town de- posit fund shall be appropriated for the support of the public schools over which the town has jurisdiction, under direction of the school visitors and selectmen, in snch manner as will in their judgment best promote the purposes of this act; unless the town shall direct the mode of distribu. tion.
 Sec. 5. At the close of each term ot the school in any district. and on certificate of the school visitors, that the school or schools of such district for such term have been kept in all respects according to law the selectmen shall draw an order on the town treasurer, in favor of such district for sum of money sufficient to pay the cost of said term of school, for teachers wages, fuel and incidental expenses, but not for any term exceeding thirty weeks ir any school year, unless the town has voted to pay the expenses of its schols for long CT time, or has appropriated sum sufficient to maintain more than thirty weeks school nor for larger amount in aggregate tc any district for the school year than may have been appropriated to such district ir accordance to the first and fourth sections of this act.
 Sec. 6. If any district maintains { school of higher order than is required by the law of the State, and thereby incurs in creased expense for its school; or if an, district shall continue it's school for long CT time than is provided for at the expense of the town, according to the first section of this act; or if any district shall expeni for teachers wages or other purposes,a sun which the aforesaid joint board deem un necessary and extravagant, the cost of sucl school above the sum received by such dis trict from the own treasury, shall be paii by tax laid by the legal voters of saii district, in Meeting duly warned, upor the property and polls of said district Nothing, however. in this act is to be con staued as forbidding the payment of the ad ditional expense of continueing any school longer than the time required by law, b, voluntary contribution, or by tuition charg eE.
 Sec. '. No town shall receive any money from the income of the Connecticut com mon school fund for any district, unles the such district, the proceeding schoo year, was kept according to law for at leas thirty weeks in each district in which th number of persons between four and six teen years of age at the enumeration mad within said school year was twenty-fou weeks in each district in which the numbe of such persons at said enumeration wa less than twenty-four.
 Sec. 8. Wherever the number of schol ars in any district for any term of schoo district, the maintaining of separate schoo by said district for such term, by vote. unit Its school with the school of an adioinin, districts. Such union of schools shall b made only with the approval of the schoo visitors of the town or towns in which tn districts are situated. And if any distric shall unite its school with that of anothe district or districts, as provided in this sec 5 ton, such district shall be deemed to hay compiled with the law, in the same man ner as if it had maintained separat school for the time required by law. @sad Sec. g, If any town shall neglect or re refuse to provide for the maintainance 2
 it's schools according to the provisions (
 the first section of this act, such town sha
 forfeit to the State sum equal to the ! mount which it was the duty of such tow
 to raise and appropriate as aforesaid, to b recovered by the treasu Ter of the State i T an a0tins, fnnn dod flo~oy.nor