The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-03-31

A special meeting of the School Comm ttee
was held last evenieg to receive and act upon
the report of the committee to which was re-
ferred the matter of the legal status of the
Board.
The report was presented, and reads as fol-
lows:
The undersigned, a Committee appointed to
examine the laws relating to the organization
of this Board, and to report the result of their
investigation, ask leave to submit the following
report:
The tenth section of chapter II of the Revis-
ed Statutes OF 1857 gave power to towns to
choose COMMITTEES of not Tess than three and TO
invest such committee with the powers both of
experimenting School Committee, and of
School Agent.
This section was repealed by an act OF the
Legislature March 22d, 1870.
If then the City Council derived its authority
to elect School Board of twenty-one solely
from r. S., 1857, Chap II, Sec. 10 it is clear
that the present constitution OF this Board is
without legal authority. The change in the
law, if one has been made, dates from the pas
sage of the above act OF 1870 aud is not due to
any error in the revision OF the Statutes, and it
would probably be conceded that this act of
1870 was not intended by those who framed and
passed it to affect in any manner the constitu-
ton OF the School Committee in Portland.
But inasmuch as it has been the custom of
the City Council for period of thirty or forty
than three members, it is evident that the
sources of the authority for such action on the
part of the City Government must be sought IN
earlier atutes than the revision OF 1851, and
while your committee have been unable to
make full examination of all the statutes re-
latng to this NATTER it is found that in the act
of March 18th, 1884, it is specially provided,
THAT the inhabitants of the City of Portland
shall be and hereby are authorized at their an
nual meetings to choose their School Commit
tee of such numbers as they may think
pvoper, which committee shall have all the
rights and powers and perform all the duties en-
joyed and enjoined upon the said Superintend-
ing Committee and said agents"
This was an act of local application, giving to
the City of Portland without condition or limi-
tation the right to determine the number of
which the School Board should consist, and it
is undoubtedly the source of the authority on
which the action of the City Government in
this regard has since been based
When the Statutes were revised in 1910, the
act o. 1884, in which the above provision was
contained was repealed, subject, however, to
the following provision viz:
0No prjvate act or act of local application.
now uprepealed, shall be affected by any pro-
vision of the Revised Statutes Inconsistent
Herewith, unless such provision De different
from the former puDilc OF Seneral law on une
same subject"
Of the repeating act of 1910 the above section
of the act of 1884 which conferred a special
clear that the original authority for the organi-
.zation of this Board, upon its present basis,
still remains.
Thus far there is no difference Of opinion
among the members of your committee, who
Join in this report.
But upon the vital question whether the act
of 1884 still remains in force there is more or
less difference of opinion, and we can only
unite IN reporting that it is doubtful question
of law what the true construction OF the fore
may be, and that this doubt can only be set at
rest by judicial construction or by an act of the
Legislature. 1t can by no means be asserted
as cIear that the act of 1884 is now imperative.
This is the only report which the Committee
can submit upon that point. 1t would not be
expected that our report should embody the
different views of the individual members of
the Committee Moreover, there is strong rea-
son to believe that upon any construction OF
the statutes three members of the Board have
been legally elected.
In preparing this report we have confined
ourselves strictly to the point submitted 10 us,
and have considered noUe of the d1fhcultes
and complications which attend upon the
theory that the Board is not legally organ
lied.
Whether it is not sufficient for all practical
purposes that the Board is acting in the capac-
ity of experimenting School Committee in
accordance with the usage of the city, and by
formal vote of the City Council, is undoubtedly
question which deserves the consideration
OF those whose pToNluCe IL Is 10 determine 1t
No question arises or can arise as to the legal
ity of taxes or the validity of appropriations
Taxes are assessed and appropriations are made
for schooLs-n It to the School Committee.
The approval of bills by Committee chosen
by the CITY Government, anc holding by virtue
of such election the Office OF Superintending
School Committed is a sufficient protection to
the CITY Treasurer, whether the Committee is
acting de fact0 or de 5ure.
That the present iuncture of affairs AFFORDS
a favorable opportunity for deVlslpg an per-
fectng, at the next session OF the Legislature,
more efficient system for the superlntendence
of schools, is apparent to all; but whether IN
the meantime any hasty and temporary substI-
tuition of new system for established meth
DDS will be of advantage to the schools or the
pubic; whether in the midst OF school year,
when matters of Importance in relation to the
schools are pending before the Board, so radi-
cal a change should be suddenly made: whether
on the other hand the City Council will not
rather determine that the present system can
continue during the remainder of the wear
with greater safety to all the interests involved
less detriment to the schools, than will attend
the action of new and much smaller Board
chosen in an unexpected emergency proceed
ing upon questionable authority dnder law
which has no special reference to Portland nor
to the requirements of the schools here; these
are questions which, even if it were conceded
that the present constitution OF the School
Committee is irregular and unauthorized, re-
main for the consideration of the City Council,
on whom the responsibility exists OF determin-
ing to whom shall be inorusted the interests OF
the public schools during the present year.
The report was received and accepted.
The chairman thought it wise to make com
munication to the City Council, asking them te
take such action as they see fit. He suggested
the following communication: