Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1883-12-14
Another Technical MISdemeanOr

Another Technical MISdemeanOr.
Under section "a Article 81 of the Revised
Code of Public and General Laws of this State,
1.-THE Board of County School Commissioners
are required to publish annually in the month
OF November, in such form and manner aS they
NAV deem proper, statement OF their receipts
and disbursements, including the money recelv-
ed and expended on account of text books, and
a statement of the Indebtedness of the board
at the close of the fiscal year, add forward II
copy to the State Board of Education"
This is imperative duty imposed upon the
Board of School Commissioners, and like the
duty imposed upon the Lew Court, requiring
them to make out and publish annually an
itemiZed or detailed statement of the expenses
etc, of the county, it is imposed for no
other purpose we presume than TO inform the
public by a simple, and satisfactory mode how
the peoples money paid by taxation has been
expended and being an imperative duty so
imposed. they in failing 10 comply with it, are
again like the County Commissioners. so re-
Gently tried and convicted guilty Of Tethni-
cal Misdemeaner. The Board of School Com
mSSionerS have never to our knowledge com
piled with this Sautary provision of the law
in any manner that we are aware of, and the
court in following the precedent il has eStab-
liShed, and our neighbor in calling attention TO
technical violations OF the law by public officers
should direct the attention of the Grand Jury
10 the fact, aud have the matter Investigated
I-Laaepsndent.
Our neighbor has gone wrong again
1t is off he track both as regards its law
and its facts AS matter OF law there is
no proper parallel between the require
ments made of the School Board and those
made of the County Commissioners, and
there is really no obligation whatever,
either express or necessarily implied upon
the school board to publish any statement
1T all in the county p- pers; yet, as a mat
ter of fact, with that instructive cXactness
which always actuates honorable nen who
are invested with a public trust, the School
Board has iararia5iy published an annual
statement Of their receipts End disbursements
in the county papers The statement for
present year appears in this issue
1t is the custom OF the School Board to
make a report 70 the State Board of Eda-
cation in the month of November in each
year, in which the receipts and expenses
of the board are :temized and this report
is duly printed and published in the an
nual report of the State Board of Educa
ton which is distributed throughout the
State in pamphlet form. This publication
would undoubtedly he a substantial com.
pliance wi b the section OF law referred to,
as the form and manner of the publication
is lett entirely in the dscre'isn of the
School Board, but, without being there
unto required by law, the School Board,
as we have said, have So far recognized
the propriety of it as to publish annually
in the county papers a sta ement Of these
account
the School Board and that Of the county
Commissioners, as both boards are now
constituted in this county. are several and
important. In the first place the mem bers
of the former board are not invested with
any power to handle the public money
All the fuads expended by them are re-
who is required 10y law to give an ample
bond to cover any defalcation he might
make, while, on The Y'her hand. the cnun-
~ commissioners are empowered to han
die all the public money derived from tax
alton in the county, excepting only r the
past two years the jury fund. They give
-. ~. ~
SO required, would probably be unable to
do so In the second place, the School
Board is appointed not, ike the county
commissioners, elected; and hence one
reason that applies 10 the publica ion TO
the people OF statement 10y the latter
board does not apply to the f,rmer. In
the third place. the funds disbursed by
the School Board ere With a very small
exception received from the STATE and not
directly from the people OF the county by
taxation. All OF these reasons. as vel as
the letter of the statute, 60 TO render the
publication Of "a statement in the county
papers by the School Board less obigato-
rs and essential than the performance OF
that duty by the latter board, yet the for
mer officials have always published an ex
act statement, and there failure to 60 SO or
their doing so IL an ev4siYe and unsatisfac
tory manner would excite just comment,
which we should not h state to make
So it seems that this technical misde
meanor" did not pan out" very we'll
Try again, neighIor.