Connecticut western news., 1909-07-29

buildings, lands, apparatus, and other property used for school purposes; they shall determine the number and qualifi- cations of the scholars to be admitted into each school; they shall employ a requisite number of qualified teachers, but shall make no contract for longer period than one year; they shall desig- nate the schools which shall be attended by the various children within their sev- eral towns, and shall make such provts- ions as will enable every child of school age, residing in the town, who is of proper mental and physical condition, to attend some public day school for the period required by law, and they may provide for the transportation of chil- dren wherever transportation may seem reasonable or desirable, and they may arrange, if they see fit, with the com mittee of an adjoining town for the ir- structlon therein of such children as can attend school in such adjoining town more conveniently; they shall report in detail to the annual town meeting con-
 
 corning the expenditures on the schools of the towns during the year ending on fifteenth day of the previous July, and also concerning their doings, and the condition of the schools under their su- perintendence, and they shall perform all lawful acts necessary to carry into effect the powers and duties granted by this act.
 The town clerk and treasurer of each town shall have, in addition to the pow CTS and duties now imposed by law upon such officers, all the powers and duties, respectively, of the clerk and treasurer of 8 school district, except in so far as such duties are rendered unnecessary by the provisions of this act.
 The records of the districts heretofore existing in each town shall be handed oyer to the town clerk of such town, and shall be preserved by the town.
 All property heretofore held by school districts shall vest in the towns in which such districts are situated, to be held by such towns for school purposes. All debts, obligations, or pecuniary trusts of any school district, existing at the time of the passage of this act, shall re main in force against the town i'll which such district was situated, and shall be paid and performed by such town, ex- cept as hereinafter provided. The as- sessors of each town shall, on or before the thirtieth day of September, 1909, ap- praise the property of each school dis trict within it's limits. At the next an- nual town meeting after the passage of this act, an equalization tax shall be levied upon the grand list of the town, equivalent to such 8 tax as would, in all districts of the town combined, raise an amount of money equal to the value of the property owned by such districts, less their indebtedness, and there shall then be abated to the taxpayers of each district so manymills of such equalization tax rate as upon that part of the grand list of the town taxable within such dis trict would yield an amount equal to the appraised value of its property less the amount of indebtedness of the district Any district shall have power to deter mine that any stated amount of it's in- debtedness shall not be devolved upon the town, but shall be owed by such dis trict exclusively, as heretofore, and any town shall have this same power regard ing the indebtedness of any district situ- ated within it's limits; provided, that, if action is taken both by the town and by the district having such indebtedness, the vote stating the larger amount of in debtedness to be separately retained by the district and not devolved upon the town shall determine such amount; and provided, further, that this amount of indebtedness thus separately retained by the district shall not be deducted from the appraised value of it's property in fixing the amount of the equalization tax to be abated for it's taxpayers. Every school district shall remain separately and solely liable for any indebtedness or liability by it incurred previously to September 1, 1909, unless the amount of such liability or indebtedness shall be deducted, as aforesaid, from the ap- praised value of it's property in fixing the amount of the equalization tax to be abated for it's taxpayers. For the pur- pose of distributing the effect of the equalization tax upon it's taxpayers ever a number of years. any school district may borrow and pay to the town any part of the sum of money which the eQaaliza- tion tax rate would raise upon that part of the grand list of the town taxable within such district, and the sum so paid to the town shall be added to the appraised value of the property of the district in calculating the number of mills of the equalization tax rate to be abated to it's taxpayers. The provisions of this section shall not apply in any town ln which the partIes in interest shall. on or before the first day of De-