The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-03-21
LEGAL QUESTION AFFECTING
SCHOOL ELECTIONS.
Wife Who Owns No Property Cannot
Vote TO Raise Revenue-0ther
Queries Answered.

Attorney General Bishop yesterday
replied to some legal questions submit
ted to him by State Superintendent
Park, which will interest a great many
school trustees throughout the state.
The matters upon which the superin-
tendent asked to be advised were:
| First-(al At a school election held
for the purpose of voting a tax in ex-
cess of the revenue Tor the current
year, or for bonding the district for
the purposes of building school
house, may a wife, who owns no prop
erty in her own name, vote at such
election?
(b) May heirs to an undivided es-
| tate who own no property in their own
name, vote at such election if otherwise
qualified?
Second-For the purpose of building
a school house, may the voters in a
school district, after levying the maxi
mum rate, levy any additional sum
other than by bonding the district?
Third-May school district bonds be
issued for a less period than five years?
Fourth-May school trustees con-
struct school buildings by days labor
or by contract, without first advertising
for sealed proposals for building such
school houses?
Replying to the first inquiry the at
torney general directs attention to sec
ton 3 Of article IA. of the constitution,
which provides that mo debt in eX-
cess of the tax for the current year
shall be created by any county or sub
division thereof, or by any school dis
trict therein in this state; I'M
less the proposition to create such debt
shall have been submitted to a vote Of
such qualified electors as shall have
paid a property tax therein, in the year
preceding such election, and a majority
of those voting thereon shall have
voted in favor of mourning such debt
He also points to section 1911, re-
vised statutes, which prescribes who
are qualified to vote for tax, bonds, etc,
at school elections, and holds that I'M
der these provisions it is evident that
a voter at such elections, in addition to
the usual qualifications, must have paid
a property tax in said district during
the year next preceding such election.
The attorney generals reply to the
other questions are:
Second-In your second question you
do not make it clear as to whether Or
not you mean an Indebtedness in ex-
cess of the levy of ene-half of one per
cent which the trustees are authorized
to make, under the provisions Of sec
ton 1915, revised statutes, or the two
per cent provided Tor IN section 1871,
revised statutes, which latter ley must
be authorized by vote of the qualified
electors therein. l understand, from
your question, that you have refer
ence to an Indebtedness in excess of
the two per cent mentioned and, if
such is the case / think such indebted
ness can only be created by the iSSu-
ance of bonds as provided for in sec
tons 1882 to 1889, revised statutes.
Third-Replying to your third ques-
ton | will say that section 1884, revised
statutes, provides that bonds shall be
made payable, not more than twenty
years from their date, without fixing
the minimum time in which they may
be made payable, and, therefore, bonds
may be issued for a less term than five
years.
Fourth-Taking up your fourth and
last inquiry; you will observe from an
examination of section 1890 revised
statutes. that this section contains
proviso that the construction of school
buildings by school districts may, in
the judgment of the trustees, be done
by days labor or by contract. This pro-
viso. however, follows specific direc-
tions requiring that the trustees shall
advertise for at least thirty days in
some newspaper, or by posting notices,
would the trustees be authorized TO con-
bv DAVIS labor or otherwise, without
first having advertised.
---<S-NRo-
We take pleasure in announcing to
the ladies of Salt Lake that our mil
ic in pha nf NTicc