St. Paul daily globe., 1892-02-01
COURT MUST DECIDE.
Attorney General Clapp Sub
mitS His Answer to Min
neapolis Ministers.
Courts Must Officially Deter
mine What Constitutes
Public Schools,
And When Public Money May
Be Withheld in Proper
Instances.
Cases Where Unintentional
Hardship May Fall on
Other Schools.

Attorney General Clapp has prepared
his reply to the request OF the Minis
terial Association Of Minneapolis for
legal light upon the school question.
The opinion was made public yester-
day. 1t is addressed to Rev. NJ. Falk
Gjertsen and is as follows:
You make the following inquiries of
this office:
First-When the character of school
is brought in question, and disagree
ment of opinion exists, whether the
school i'll question is q public school
within the meaning Of the constitution
and laws of this state, who is to officially
determine the character of such school?
SecOnd-What would be the proper
legal proceedings to prevent the pay
ment OF public school money to such
schools as are not conducted as public
schools within the meaning of the con-
Stitution and statutes of this state?
| understand these inquiries are sub
mitted On behalf of committee of
which you are chairman. The answer
TO the first inquiry is necessarily in
vOlved i'll the answer to the second in
quiry.
Under the laws of this state the money
used for the support of public schools
is derived from several sources. There
is what is known as the current school
fund, consisting of the general school
fund, together with one-mill state
school fund.
There is also local mill tax levied
by the county commissioners, and a
fund accruing from liquor licenses, eS-
trays and fines. In addition to this is a
special tax voted by the district, not
| necessary, however, to consider in con-
nectiOn with this inquiry.
The state superintendent of public in
struction is required to make all ap-
pointment of the available current
school funds in the state treasury,
among the several counties of the state,
on the first Monday in March and the
first Monday Of October of each year
(and provision is made for remitting to
the several counties such apportion-
ment, less what is turned in tax settle
menD upon the basis OF enrolment and
attendance; the evidence upon which
the state superintendent acts being the
reports of district clerks made to the
county uperntendent, and by that Off
Ger reported to the state superintendent
After the state superintendent has
made his apportionment to the several
counties of the available current schools
funds, the county auditor is required to
make an apportionment of the money
in the county treasury accruing from
the current school fund, liquor licenses,
estrayS and fines; the So-called local.
one-mill tax not being apporotoned,g as.
it belongs with the special tax to the
districts i'll which it is raised. s.~a
The apportlonment made by the
county auditor is based upon the en-
r0liment and attendance as reported to-
him by the county superintendent
There are certain conditions attached
to the apportionment not necessaryito
mention here. 80
l have, at some length, referred to the
sources from which the money used for
the support of the public schools is de-
rived, and the manner in which it is ap-
portioned to correct misapprehension
as to the powers and duties of the state
superintendent. While that officer is
vested with certain authority under our
school code, yet the law depends finally
for its administration and execution
upon local agencies. 1t will be seen
that the state superintendent only ap-
portions the current school fund upon
reports furnished previously by district
clerks. Nor does the state superintend-
ent apportiOn to districts, but directly
to the county. Should the state super
intendent assume to determine whether
any district reported was not, In
fact. public school in contem-
plation Of the law, and re-
duce the county apportionment on
that account, the county auditor might
treat such district as entitled. to ap-
pOintment and include it in the diStri-
button of the funds allotted to the
county by the state superintendent, in
which ease the state superintendent in
stead of visiting his condemnation
upon the supposed offender, would, in
fact, deprive ali the other districts in
the county of proportion of the fund.
1t might be urged that if the state
superintendent makes an appOTtion-
ment upon basis including district
not, III fact, entitled to any public
moneys, and the auditor should throw
such district out of his computation,
the other districts in the county would
receive a portion beyond what they
were legally entitled to. but an answer
to this suggestion is found in the fact
that the county auditor is subject to Ie-
gal proceedings to compel him to make
a proper apportionment or prevent him
from making an improper one as the
case may be, while the state Superin-
tendent is probably not subject to such
proceeding. 1t follows, therefore, that
If public moneys are likely to be ap-
portloned to district which, it is
claimed is not entitled to the same, the
remedy is by proceeding TO restrain
the county auditor from making such
portionment, or if he refuses to make
an apportionment to district lawfully
entitled thereto, proceedings may be in
Stituted against him to compel him to
make such appOrtlonment. In either
case the court, which is the only tribu-
nal which can authoritatively pass upon
the question, would determine whether
the district was or was not entitled to
its share Of the public school moneys.
[ have the honor to be very respectfully,
MOSES E. CLApP. D
Boycott Rates 81 j
From st. Paul and Minneapolis, begin.