The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1901-10-23
CANNOT BE CHARGED.
Public Schools Must be Free IN Fact SIS
Well as Name.

! W GIL 6s ~ S44S.
I Assis ant Attorney General Quite
Tuesday handed the State superin-
tendent Of education an opinion Of far
reaching mportsnce. Under this opia
ION the Law Of the State forbids school
districts to charge pupils incidental
fees going TO make up the tition fees
which they cannot legally charge. 1t
will affect nsays public school in
the State whose resources have thus
been laoat materially sdded to from
time to time.
! This opinion has no bearing upon the
decision Of the supreme court rendered
some time sgo, in the Rick Hill case,
which allowed the charging Of such
fees in schools. In that case the schools
were chartered, and the charter gave
the right to charge supplemental and
incidental fees.
MIR. Gunter's opinion reads as fol-
lows:
Dear Sir: Your request to be ad-
7ised upon the following question:
"Csn a board Of trustees Of free
school charge an incidental fee OF i'm
pose any other kind of cost as pre-
requisite to entrance of scholars to the
public schools?''
am Of the opinion that the boards
can impose no such charges. The board
Of trustees being Of satstutor7 construo.
ton car have no authority except Euch
50 granted By statute. Boards Of trus.
tees are created under general school
lsw. This laR provides for the COM
plete free school scheme Of the State,
and is entitled an act to declare the
free school law Of the Safe" approved
N. r;h 8, 1896. The title as we'll IS The
body OF the act denotes the intention
Of the general assembly to give lhe
people fr@e school Not only free
in name but free in fact.
After careful perusal Of every sec
ticn Of the act ha7s be; n unable to
ind any. authority, either direct or by
implication, to impose the fee re!erred
to. It is true that the board Of tTus-
tees are charged with the management
Of the free schools Of their respective
districts, and are given suthority to act
''so.as best TO promote the educational
interest Of theiT district" But this
does not apply to ,he financial re
sources Of district. That festpre is
loft to the tsx collecting and tax dis
bu1siag mach merry. The trustees sre
given aushorisy to distribute a.d ex
pend the school funds Of distrlc5 ior
the best interest Of the district. There
csa, therefore, be no excuse to attempt
to raise funds for any Incidental pur
pose By 81 incidental fee for tbs whole
sun raised by taxation is available for
any educational purpose.
If board of trustees can impose
small fee they could Likewise Impose
large fee, thereby making attendance
iu possible, a2d thus thWarting she OBJ
jecs Of freo school law. This eo2clu-
slo1 has, OF course, 70 reference to
schools operating uGaer special char
ters CT special leg:s:stion, wherein au-
thority IS given 10 chsrgs fees OF tut
tion, the suprema eoucs having re-
Gently sustained such power. The
csses passed upon BY The Euprene
court having no bea1iag upon schools
operated uader the general fres school
Law Of the State.
FURTHER INFORMATION.
AS result Of the 7ecsnt opinion Of
Assistant Attorney General GuaseE
that public schools have to run ont Of
aaeir public funds income Only and
cannot charge incidental fees for main
tensace, a number Of questiocs have
been propoundad from different por-
tiors Of the State. The following i5
further opinion in reply to typical
letter rsee.7ed Thursday:
Dear Sir: You request to BE- ad-
7ised whether a board Of trustees of q
free school car psy, for the operating
expenses of the Ecnool, such as fuel,
rent, etc., out Of the school funds Of
the district.
This question you state is in view Of
an opialon Of this Office that an inoi-
dental fee cannot be paid for such
purpose. The general school Law Of
1895 clearly vests such officers with
that authority.
Section 26 CT that law directs that
the school funds Of each district shall
be expended by tue board Of trustees
according 10 their judgment for tie best
interests Of the school district.
Section IL makes it a duty Of the
board Of trustees to provide suitable
school houses in their district and to
make the same comfortable.
Section - provides how such claims
shall be approved. From these extracts,
as we'll as from a consideration OF the
scope Of tie free school Law, it is mani
fest ttas the trustees haVs such authori-