St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1902-05-03
The school board Case.

in the celebrated suit of S. O. And.
rus ct ais VS.. The Board of Directors
(of public schools) of the parish Of
st. Landry. Judge Monroe was the
organ of the court.
It will be remembered that the
citizens of the fourth ward, some
months ago, Instituted suit against
the parish school board. The petit
ton averred that the said board, in
the distribution OF the school funds,
had Disseminated againts that
ward, and had unlawfully appro-
priated funds to the maintenance
of the st. Landry High School,
located at Opelousas, and the
Washington High school, located
at Washington. That the said
Board had borrowed and expended
money beyond its revenues, to the
detriment of the said fourth ward.
That the revenues should be appor-
toned to the various wards accord
ing to the number of educable
children in the said wards, disput-
ing the authority Of the Board to
appropriate any money to the
High Schools other than the funds
apportioned to the ward in which
the said High Schools are located.
Other minor and unimportant aver
ments were made.
The suit attracted considerable
interest throughout the State, as it
threatened to revolutionize the
school system of the entire country,
and had the suit been decided for
plaintiffs, High Schools would have
been thing of the past.
Messrs. White & Thornton, OF
Alexandria, represented the plan
tiffs, and Messrs. r. Lee Garland
and E. B. Dubisson took the school
board end of the case.
The lower court decided in favor
of the plaintiffs, except insofar as
to the Board borrowing money in
excess of it's revenues, the court
holding that this was not the case,
but that on the contrary, the Board
had balance on hand from year
to year.
The Board appealed from the de-
cision, with the result that the
Court reversed the deci-.
sion of the lower court on all inn
portant points, further decreeing
that the plaintiffs should pay costs.
Thus ends the famous suit. The
high schools are saved-the grand
est institutions in this country are
to be maintained on a proper and
sensible basis.
The Clarion desires to congratu-
late the Board and the attorneys
on the persistent and successful
fight made. The cause was worthy
OF the efforts.
The syllabus and decree are as
follows:
20. Andrus ct al VS.. Parish Board of
Directors, Parish of st. Landry ylla-
bus:
/. The law, as contained in sec
tions and 10 Of act 81 of 1888, is to be
construed as meaning, that the Parish
Board of School Directors shall distri-
butte the school funds to the several dis
tricts in their respective parishes rata
bly, in proportion to the number of per-
sons In such districts between the ages
of six and eighteen years; provided,
such boards, with the sanction of the
State Board of Education, and when
suitable sites and buildings have been
supplied, may establish such
central, or high schools as may be me-
and, for their maintenance, may
draw upon the general school funds be-
fore apportioning the same to the sew
eral districts.
2. Where a particular school district
has been apportioned less than its share
of the fund. 1t is entitled to be made
tionment, of the amount of the deficit
from the amount which would other
wise apportioned to those district which
received the excess.
8. 1T is the duty of the Parish Board
to limit itself, In the matter of mourning
debts, to the revenue of the calendar
wear in which the debt Is contracted,
and to SO keep its accounts that the re-
venues of the different years may be dis
as separte funds.
4. Disbursements by the treasurer of
the school fund of parish otherwise
than ON warrants drawn by the president
and countersigned by the secretary OF
the Parish Board of School Directors are
positively prohibited by law.
1t is therefore ordered, adjudged and
deereed that the judgement appealed
from be annulled, avoided and reversed,
in so far as it purports to control the dis
cretion vested by law in the parish
Board of School Directors, defendant
herein, acting with the approval OF the
State Board of Education, in the matter
of the establishment and maintenance
Of central or high schools in the parish
Of st. Landry, and in SO far as the said
denies the prayer of the
plaintiffs that ward four of said parish
he made good with reSpecE 10 denclI In
the apportionment of the school funds
for the year 1901 and it is further order
ed, adjudged and decreed that, from any
balance of revenue of said year still un-
by said board, or, il such bal
ance be insufficient, from the revenues
OF succeeding years, there be apportion-
ed to the schools of said fouth ward, in
addition to the amount to which they
may otherwise be entitled, the sum Of
$376, and that said amount be deducted,
pro rata, from the amounts apportioned,
or which may hereafter be apportioned
to the other wards of the parish to
~ vhich for the year lQl1 there WAS an