The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-09-22


court cannot interfere with school di-
rectors in the exercise of their discre-
tionary power in awarding contracts.
This is the case in which five of the
nine school directors voted q contract
| to build a school house to Collins &
| Brennon, although their bid of $lO.SlJ
was $1,000 higher than that of the Peck
| Lumber company, the lowest bidders.
| An injunction was applied for by Eu-
gene Taylor and other taxpayers to re-
| strain the board from awarding the
| contract as contemplated. -Four days
| prior to the time fixed for the hearing
| on the injunction the board, by an
| other five to four vote. adopted the
| following resolutions and presented
| them to court:
| Whereas, At q meeting of the board or
! dire ctors held on the 18th OF May 1898,
| they undertook to accept certain bid to
| build school house for said district, ana
| Whereas. 1t is the opinion that the said
| bid was improviGently and illegally ac-
| Cepted and that the acceptance OF the
\ same Is not for the best interest OF the
said school district or the taxpayers
| therein. Therefore be it
| Resolved, BY the board of school direc-
| tors of the school district Of the borough
| of Winton that the acceptance of the SAID
| bid for the erection of the said school
| building is hereby rescnded and that the
| contract made or partly made for the
erection of said school house be hereby
| declared null and void and that the secre-
! tary of this board be and he IL hereby di-
| rected to serve or cause to be served a
| copy of this resolution upon the said bid
| der.
| BILL Is PENDING.
| Whereas, There is a bill in equity pend
| ing in the court OF common pleas of Leck.
| awanna county, No. T. May term, 1873,
| wherein Eugene Taylor, ct al, are plain
| tiffs ana the school district of the bo-
| rough of Winton, ct al, are defendants.
| And
| Whereas. A preliminary injunction has
been granted by said court and tixeG Tor
a hearing on the 10th inst And
| Whereas 1t is the opinion of the board
| of said school directors of the school dis
| trict of the borough of Winton that the
| allegations in said bill are true, and that
| the said bid Of Collins and Brennan for
| the erection of said school house was inI-
| providently and wrongfully accepted. And
| Whereas 1t is the opinion of the board
| that said acceptance of said bid should
| not stand and that said school house
| should not be built at a cost OF slOSlj,
when the same can be erected according
| TO the plans and specifications at a MUCH
| less sum. Now. therefore. be 1t
| Resolved, BY the board of schoo! direc-
| tors that it does not intend to ana vii;
| not appear to show cause why the rule
| granted should not be dissulNcI and &c
! spnctfully consent that the honorable
court make said injunction permanent as
| to the defendants in said bin.
| Court had granted the permanent in
| junction and supposed the matter was
at an end. but it wasn't. At special
Or called meeting Of the school board,
held June u. 1898, there being five mem"
bers present, the following resolution
| was adopted:
| Resolved. BY the school board OF Win
| ton borough that the action of this board
| in awarding the contract for the erection
| of ii school building to Collins x iS'ca-
| nan IL hereby reattirmed an l the contract
| with them is approved, and declared TO
| be valid and binding; all acts or resou-
| tiOns of the board inconsistent with tins
| are hereby repealed.
ASKED A REOPENING.
In line with this last resolution the
boards solicitor James j. O'Malley,
| and his associate in the case, Ira II.
| Burns. came into court asking to have
the matter reopened and the case put
back on the list. This Judge Ed
! wards granted and last week the hear
ing was had.
| The judge promised an early adjudi-
| cation and yesterday handed down his
decision. In the opinion accompanying
the decision he says in part:
| There is no law requiring school direc-
tors to advertise for bids for the erection
OF school houses nor to compel them to
| award "A contract to the lowest RESPONSE
BILE bidder.
| The action of the directors in awarding
the contract for the erection OF the school
| house to Collins q Co., who were the
highest bidders, is clearly within the dis
| Creton vested by the law in school
boards. We cannot say that this action
| was such an abuse of discretion as would
Justify us in making the injunction in this
case perpetual
| 1t appearing from the evidence that the
contract was awarded to Collins * co.
| on the 18th of May, and that the said
contract was executed and delivered on
the 2lst of May, before the preliminary
Injunction in this case was applied for
the discretion of the school board had
already beer fully exercised. and tne mat
ter being under the law within their ais
creton, no subsequent proceedings could
change the status of the parties.
| However much we deplorc the action OF
the school directors of the Winton school
district in awarding the contract for the
erection Of school house to bidder
whose bid was two thousand dollars at
least in excess Of the next lowest respOn-
siblc bidder we find that under the law
as 1t is in this state We cannot interfere
WHEN COURT MAY INTERFERE.
The erection of school building and Sc
lection Of site are peculiarly within the
discretion of school directors and in the
absence Of bad faith or a clear abuse OF
discretion the court will not interfere
with them, The question involved is not
one of the proprietY of the action of the
school board. The law gives to the school
board the power to determine when and
where school houses shall be erected, and
who shall build them. If they exercise
their discretion unwisely they are respon-
| sble to their constituents and not TO the
court, Their action may be unwise or ill
advised. but the school directors in suCn
cases must reconcile their action with
| their own cOnsciences and must account
to the district which they represent. In
| the case of Wharton. ct al. VS. the School
| Directors of cass township, AZ Pa. 35S,
| Judge Woodward says that 1.-The courts
may compel school directors to perform
| their duties or to restrain them when
they transcend their powers, but they
cannot interfere whore they exercise their
unquestionable powers unwisely."
| 10 hat "a