The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-10-26
DIVERGENT VIEWS
@As, to the Possibility of Obtaining
- More Money for schools. 80

AS to the Possibility of Obtaining
More Money for Schools.
Divergent opinions as to the possibility
Of securing ~more money for the schools
in the future 5thanais possible with a limit
of two mills and half are still OBJ
tainable. e~.s@ iii So
1t Is commended, on the one hand, that
in view of the fact that the law of 1891,
which creates the independent school dis
trict of st. Paul and provides for its
government, is 'separa tie and apart from
the city charter; that the two nd-a-half
mill limit therein imposed on the annual
expenditure for7sschoepe purposes would
still remain IN force! on the theory that
the legisfa tuneeicould not delegate to the
charter commission the power to repeal
a special law of the state. The state
law referred to is chapter 49,, of the Spe-.
cial Laws of 1891; and the sections which
it is commended would be in the way of
the possibility of charter revision are as
I follows:2 s aD s.
Sec 6. The expense - of the ipublie
schools of the city of St. Paul: shall not
in any year exceed the amount of money
appropriated and set apart therefor by
the common council of said city, and the
common council Of said city Is hereby
prohibited from making any greater tax
levy in any one year for the support and
maintenance Of! the public and free
mills on a dollar, nor less than two mills
on the dollar on all property on the as
sessment roll; out Of which amount said
council may set apart one-half mill on
the dollar for the erection Of additional
buildings for school purposes, or for Gre
ating fund that shall be used for that
purpose exclusively. And said board of
school inspectors shall have no power to
create any indebtedness against the city
of ST. Paul, or to pledge the faith and
credit Of said city In any respect what
ever until after. the common council or
legislative department of the city has, by
ordinance. ordained what the eXpendf-
lures for school purposes for such year
shall be, and then only to the extent of
the amount 50 set apart by ordinance
for school purposes for such year: and in
no year shall the aggregate amount so
set apart exceed an amount greater than
two and a half mills on a dollar of the
property assessed for taxation in said
city for such year, and any violation of
this provision shall be a misdemeanor,
the same shall be punished by imprison-
ment In, the county Jail for six months
Sec 7, after providing that the board
shall report certain matters monthly to
the mayor, continues:
The common council OF the city shall
be limited in its power in this respect; to
determine the amount of money to be
expended for school purposes, which shall
not in any one year, exceed the amount
that may be realized by a levy of two
and a half mills upon the as
in said district and in said city Of St
Paul, in addition to all other funds de-
rived from other sources and applicable
to purposes of education within said
city
Against thisbft''is commended that the
city has the right under section SO of the
constitution ito frame charter for it's
own government, which charter, after
being duly ratified by the citizens, "shall
become the charter of the city and SUI
10 r,,l,a
ments thereof. y,
One member Of the former commission
who believes that 1t is still possible for
the city, through the. action Of a charter
commission, to so1Ve the school problem.
in spite of the array Of city hall officials
taking the other view, is William H
Lightner. Mr. Lightner- said last even
ing:
1.-THE constitution confers on the voters
Of any city in this state the right to
frame charter for the government of
their own municipal affairs. This char
charter could not make any change
affecting a county officer, or any state
officer. But there is no doubt that their
power to provide for the regulation of
their work is ratified by the citizens of
the municipality, only providing that the
charter thus drawn does not conflict
with the constitution OF the state. When
the former commission considered the
school question some of the members took
the view that the law making ST. Paul
an independent school district took it out
of the municipal hands of the charter
commission to regulate it. In Difference
to this opinion, the section referred to
was left as 1t was, to prevent a conflict
on that point But If the special school
district created by this charter provision
does not come within the municipal gov
eminent. which the commission has the
power to revise. then the commission has
the right to provide other methods ef
raising money'i for municipal schools,
st Paul now Has a library board.
about which thereois not a line in its
present charter. That board is created
under general law. of the state 1t
is a good law 80 there was no obstacle
| in that case to- prevent the commission
| from going right ahead and recognizing
its existence III charter. But when
| 1t came to the municipal courts and JUS
| tees Of the peace. there was some alles-
| ton whether these Were no. state offices.
the courts being constituted by legislative