News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1891-01-08
NO EXTRA SESSION.
THE SCHOOL Law SUSTAINED.

The exciting question, which has |
more than any other exercised the
minds of the good people of Vermont |
for the past five weeks, has at last
been satisfactorily settled. The much
abused school law, which it has been
claimed was to resultin depriving the
weaker school districts of the State of
their share of the public money, is all
right By a unanimous decision of
the entire board, the Supreme Court
holds that for the purposes of divid-
ing the school money the school year
began on the Goth day OF March, 1890,
and will end on the 10Th day of March,
1891. The following is the full text
of the decision of the Court and the
correspondence connected Herewith
HYDE PARK, Vt, Jan. 3, 1891.
To the Judges of the Supreme Court:
SIRs To enable me to determine
whether it is my duty to call an extra
session of the Legislature, | respect
fully request your opinion as to when
the school year began and will end,
for the purpose of the next required
division of the public moneys.
Respectfully yours,
CARROLL S. PAGE, Governor.
Hon. Carroll S. Page, Governor of
Vermont:
SIR:-In reply to your cOmmun-
ication hereto annexed, after con-
sultatipn and careful comparison
of thetvarious acts of the Legisla-
ture touching the point of law,
concerning which you request our.
opinion, we have the honor to reply
that in our opinion the school year,
with reference to the division of school
moneys, commenced March Goth,
1890. and will end March 10Th, 1891.
Act No. of the laws of 1890, by
force of section 20 will become oper-
ative on the first Tuesday of March
1891. Sec. 2 of this act amends sec
ton 233 of No. 9 of the laws of 1888
so as to makeit read, "the selectmen
of such town shall annually ON the
last Friday next preceding the last
Tuesday OF March divide the school
moneys in the treasury of such town
among the school districts of such
town" This requires the next di-
vision of the school moneys to be
made on that date. The clause of
section 236 of No. 9 of the laws OF
1883, which reads, "and no public
money shall be distributed to a
school district unless such district
has supported a school twenCy-four
weeks during the school year re-
mains unchanged. 1t is therefore i'm
portant to ascertain when the school
wear for this purpose commenced and
will end
Bv section IS of No. of the laws
of 1890, it is enacted, the school
year shall begin and close as before
the passage of act No. 9 of the laws
of 1888" Before thepassage ofthat
act, by R. l.. Sec GIT the school year
commenced on the first day of April
and ended on the last day of March
following. No. % of the laws of
1882 engrafted upon this section the
following: Provided that the Sc
lectmen in the division of the public
money shall consider the school year
as commencing on the twentieth day
of March and ending on the nine
teenth day of March next following"
Sec. 1913 of No 9 of the laws of
1888 is so amended by No. ) of the
laws of 1890 as to be in the exact
language of r. L. Sec. 677 before
said proviso was added.
These are the only provisions of
the law relative to the commence
ment and close of the school year.
From them it follows that the
school year for general purposes COM
--fnenced on the first day of April.
1890, and will end on the last day of
March, 1891, but for the special pur-
pose of making division OF the school
moneys, the school year commenced
on the goth day of March, 1890, and
will end on the 10Th day of March
1891.
We regard the language of the law
as left by passage ONO. > OF the laws
of 1890 as requiring this construc-
ton. 1t has ever been regarded as
within the province of the. Legisla
ture to fix and declare the condition
on which the school moneys shall be
divided. No. 5 of the laws of 1890
applies only to division to be made
after it takes effect. 1t is not there
fore retroactive. In prescribing the
limits of the school year with refer
ence to the next division of the school
moneys it uses three months which
had already been included in the
school year for the purpose of max
ing the last division thereof; but we
do not regard this fact of sufficient
importance to control or vary the
explicit language used to define the
commencement and close of the
school year for the purpose of making
the next division of the school
moneys, especially when to give it
such Importance would defeat the
manifest intention of the Legislature
of helping the small school districts.
Dated at Burlington, this 9Th day
of January, A. D., 1891.
JONATHAN Ross,
Chief Judge.
RUSSELL S. TAFT,
JOHN w. RowELL,
JAS NJ. TYLER,
LovELAND MUNsoN,
HENRY r. START,
LAFORREsT H. THOMPSON,
Assistant Judges.
No conclusion of any court, at any
time, was ever hailed with greater
satisfaction than will be the clean
cut. straightforward, Interpretation
which the Supreme Court of Vermont
have given the school law in the fore
going opinion.
There may be now and then vio-
lator of the liquor laws of Vermont
who goes UNPUBLISHED. But so severe
are the laws that when violator
does get caught" he is quite apt to
feel that he has had enough of YER
mont Justice, and is either very care
ful as to how he continues in his in
f., mons huGinpSS OF. else goes ont of