Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1891-01-09
THE SCHOOL LAW.
DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT
THEREON.

THEREON.
Hon. Carroll s. Page, Governor of Yer
mont
Sir :-ln reply to your communication
hereto annexed, after consultation and
careful comparison of the various acts of
the Legislature 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 refer
ence to such division of school moneys
commenced March 20, 1890, and Will end
March 10, 1891. Act No. of the laws
of 1890 by force of section 20 will be-
come operative on the first Tuesday of
March, 1891. Section 2 of this act
amends section 233 of No. 8 of the laws
of 1888 so as to make it read, "the select
men of such town shall annually on the
last Friday next preceding the last Tues
day of March divide the school moneys
in the treasury of such town among the
school districts of such town" This re-
quires the next division of the school
moneys to be made on that date. The
clause of section 236 of No. 8 of the laws
of 1888, which reads, "and no public
money shall be distributed to a school
district unless such district has support
ed school "a weeks during the school
year" remains unchanged. 1t is therefore
important to ascertain when the school
year commenced and will end.
By 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. of the laws of 1885," Before
the passage of that act, by Revised Laws,
section 677, the school year commenced
on the first day of April and ended on
] a : nf N
of the laws of 1882 engrafted upon this
section the following: "Provided that
the selectmen in the division of the pub
lie money shall consider the school year
as commencing on the Goth day of March
and ending on the 10Th day of March
next following"
Section 163 of No. 8 of the laws of
1888 is so amended by No. 6 of the laws
of 1890 as to be in the exact language of
Revised Laws, section ca, before said
proviso was added.
These are the only provisions of the
law relative to the commencement and
close of the school year.
From them it follows that the school
year for general purposes commenced on
the first day of April, 1896, and will end
on the last day of March, 1891, but for
| thC spCSktl pul pOsc VI hldhiuS ulNlslOIl
of the school moneys the school year
commenced on the 10th day of March,
1890. and will end on the 10Th day of
March, 1891.
We regard the language OF the law as
left by the passage of No. 8 of the laws
of 1890 as requiring this construction.
1t has ever been regarded as within the
province of the Legislature to fix and de-
clare the condition on which the school
moneys shall be divided. No. 8 of the
laws of 1890 applies only to a division to
be made after it takes effect. 1t is not
therefore retroactive. In prescribing the
limits of the school year with reference
to the next division of school moneys it
uses three months which had already
been included in the school year for the
purpose of making the last division there
of; 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 school moneys, especially
when to give it such importance would
defeat the manifest intention of the Leg.
islature of helping the small school dis.
tricts.
Dated at Burlington, this 9Th day OF
January, A. ID. 1891.
JONATHAN Ross, Chief Judge,
RUSSELL 5. TAFT,
JOHN w. ROwELL, Assist
JAMES M. TYLER ant
LOvELAND MUNSON, Judges.
HENRY II. START,
LAFORREST ii. THOMPSON,