The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-11-24
QUALIFYING or TRUSTEES.
To the Editor of The Herald:
Peoa, Utah, Nov. 81.

Peoa. Utah, Nov. u.
To the Editor of The Herald:
VIII you please answer the following
questions:
Provided three school trustees were
elected on Nov. Z, 1893, for the term of
two years what is the legal time they
have to quality in? Does the time
allowed begin from the day of election
Tor from the day they were notified,
by the clerk of election, of their cleo
ton to that Officer
Article vii sec 90, page ia, of the
session laws of 1892, under the heading
Vacancies says: Any officer OF a
school district may resign, but such
resignation shall not take effect until
his successor has qualified according
to law Any office of a school district
shall be deemed vacant if the person
duly elected or appointed thereto shall
remove from the district, or neglect
or refuse, for the period of ten days
after such election or appointment, to
accept and qualify for such office -
Now the question to this is: Does
this law relate to the general election
or to elections or appointment where
there is a vacancy in the school
boards?
The majority here claim that the
new trustees can legally qualify any
time within twenty days from the time
of receiving notice of election, and
that the law quoted above refers only
to election or appointment in case of
vacancies. Who is right? Can the
new trustees legally qualify within
twenty days from election or notice of
election?
BY answering the above at once
you will greatly obnge the many
readers of your valuable paper here.
o. f. L.
The school law appears a little mix
ed on this question but would be clear
enough if the word election" was not
coupled with appointment in article
VII, section So of the school law. But
taking the language of Article V as
lit stands. it would appear from sec
ton S5 that five days time is allowed
after the election, to the clerk to give
notice by furnishing each person
elected with certificate of election.
If ten days time only is allowed after
the election in which to qualify, then
the elected person would only have
five days left in which to procure and
file bonds.
But the language of the election law
of 1892 seems to relieve the situation.
1t provides for a general election on
the Tuesday next after the first Mon
day in November in 1885, and BIZ
lennlally thereafter, for all elective Of
ficers in each city, town, village and
school district in the territory, and
that the officers then elected ''shall
qualify and enter upon the duties OF
their respective offices on the first day
OF January next succeeding their cleo
ton" That would convey the idea
that they are not required to qualify
and enter upon their duties until that
date.
School trustees are allowed until the
second Monday in January to meet
and organize and any two of them
whose official bonds have been ap-
proved may constitute a Quorum
Their predecessors hold until the first
day of January 1894, and until theil
successors are qualified. Therefore
isupposing a trustee elected on Novem-
Der Z, 1898 should neglect to qualify
before the first day of January 1894
there would be no vacancy in the of.
fee because the term of the present
incumbents does not expire until thai
date
Consequently it appears evident thai
the provision in Article VII of the
school law in reference to the ten days
appi9s, as the heading of the article
denotes, to the filing of vacancies
which should be made as expeditions
as possible. It declares that if a per-
son elected or appointed a trustee
shall remove from the district, or shall
fail to qualify within ten days, the
office shall be declared vacant This
could not be done if it referred to trus
tees elected at the general election
because the Office would not be vacant
While the term of the existing trus-
tees had not expired
| Taking the two laws together we