The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1899-03-22
SOME FACTS ABOUT
SCHOOL SUPPLIES.
Extravaganza Seems to Have
Been Extraordinary.
cARELEssNEss OF TRUSTEES

The attorney general IS expected
to day to deliver an opinion on the
validity of warrants issued in pay
nent of the purchase of school sup
plies, when the contracts are dated q
year ahead. He is preparing this
opinion at the request If Mr.. w. h
Barton, superintendent of education
of Greenville county. This is an-
other development of Superintendent
McMahan's Investigation iato the
extravagant purchase Of, the arith-
metical charts sold by B 0. Evans
g. Co. Mr.. Bartou's reason for
asking for this opinion is that some
of the school trustees, in purchasing
the charts, have contracted for part
of the amount out of the school
funds of next year, for the law says
that no school shall exceed its funds
for the year in mourning any ex-
penses in expenditures The question
involved is whether they can con-
tract upon the funds Of year in
advance.
Assistant Attorney General G. P.
Townsend expressed an opinion on
this question on april 2. 1898. The
opinion is on file in the State super
intendent's Office and reads as fol-
lows:
Your request has had my atsen-
ton The law prohibits the making of
contracts for this year in excess of
the funds of the year, bat it does not
prohibit the making of contracts to
take effect during next year. provided
they are not in excess of the funds
for that year"
Mr.. McMahan thinks that this
would give the trustees the right to
expend the funds. OF not only one, but
of several years in advance. and
that. too, when they had nothing to
guide them as to the amount Of funds
for those years.
Mr.. McMahan has on file many
letters or this subject Some OF
them are very severe in their cTi:i-
cism Of the agents making the sales.
charging them with deception and
fraud
Following is the rule of the state
board, adopted in 1897, which relates
to the purchase of school supplies
'.No school supplies shall be pur-
chased by school officers for use in
the public schools of any county in
the State, except such as are su,
thor.zed by the state board to be
sold The vendors of ali such sup
plies authorized to be sold by this
board shall enter into written
contract with this board, in which
the prices of the supplies shall be
stated, and copies of the supplies
shall be placed IN the Office of the
state superintendent of education,
and the supplies sold to the schools
shall at all times conform to the sam
pies, and the, prices shall not exceed
the prices. agreed on The county
board may allow or disailow such
supplies. or any of them. to be sold
in their counties In case they per-
NIT the same to be sold, they shall
give the vendor q written permission
to offer the same to the trustees OF
their counties, the prices Of the sup
plies to be named in the written
permission, leaving the purchase, or
not, of such supplies to the good
Judgment of the boards of trustees
In case the trustees purchase any OF
such supplies, they may give
warrant against the school fund OF
their distric. in payment therefor,
but in no case shall the county
superintendent of education counter.
sign or endorse any such warrant
until tae supplies have been deliver
ed the county superintendent shall
hold all such warrants.in his posses
sion until the delivery OF the sup.
plies is made. ALI persons purchas-
ing any such warrants before the
same bas been countersigped by the
county superintendent of education,
do so at their own risk.