Arizona republican., 1910-06-29
UNAUTHORIZED BY LAW
View of Judge Weber of Chicago of the $150,OO0 Bond Issue of Phoenix Union High School Dis
 trict Received Yesterday

A defect, and possibly a very seri-
 ous one, in the law of this territory
 providing for high schools was point
 ed out yesterday when the board of supervisors received from the William R. Compton Bond & Mortgage com pany of St. Louis an opinion of its attorneys, failing to approve the $150,- GOO high school bond issue for which the company was the highest bidder.
 The opinion was prepared by Harry P Weber of the firm of Swope, Zane BuSby X Weber of Chicago. The writer appears to have made an eX- haustiNe study of the school laws of this territory before this matter was broughp to his attention. If his opinion is not successfully contradict ed. every high school bond issue of this territory is invalid and every high school district has issued bonds and sold them.
 The opinion first points out defects in the abstract accompanying the bonds, but it says that they may all be remedied by the submission of proper documents. These defects con- siSt solely of lack of proof that cer- tain steps required by law were taken.
 Thus. there is no proof of the for nation of the district and the location of the high school in conformity with chapter 10, title xix of the revised statutes, the first legislation on the subject of union high schools
 Nor is there any showing as to the total amount of the indebtedness of the constituent districts. Assuming that the union high school district should be treated as a distinct cor porate body, independent of it's con- stituent districts. the boundaries of which are coeXtensive with those of the union high school district it could not incur an indebtedness to the full amount of the 4 per cent limit, re- gardless of the amount of the indebt- edness of the constituent districts It is the opinion of MT. Weber that the indebtedness of all must not aggre- gate more than per cent.
 4 third objection is that since the election authorizing the issuance of the bonds was held under paragraph 21S2 of the revised statutes, there is no accompanying showing that only qualified voters were permitted to vote at that election. But the writer says that all these objections could be met by proper proof, which is no doubt available.
 But the next question is the seri- Ous one, the right of high school boards or anybody else to proceed in the matter of issuing bonds for high school districts in this territory. It is pointed out that there is no eX- press or implied authorization in chapter 10, title xix, of the revised statutes, or in the amendatory act of 1903 or the subsequent amendment of 1905-all the legislation there has ever been oh the subject of high schools. In one place the school board has been invested with the manage ment" of the schools. Then ensues in the opinion a discussion of the word management" the conclusion being reached from numerous defini- tions and citations, that manage ment" cannot be regarded as a suf- ficient warrant for the exercise of scuh power as the board has used in this case.
 The board, says the writer. prob ably proceeded under the theory that paragraph 21S2, allowing boards of trustees of school districts to order DOiiu tlttliOilS, dppiiSS CA Pi'PA iN vigore to high school districts. That theory is found by the opinion to be l inconsistent, for if that were so, high | school boards could proceed to the or dering of special tax levies. prohibited | by paragraph 2222 of the high school | act, and to do many other things, not 1 withstanding restrictive acts.
 Arriving at the firm conclusion that the bonds, as the law stands. are in- valid, Judge Weber offers the follow ing almost naive suggestion for a | remedy:
 We have heretofore had occasion to point out the inadequacy of the high school act to accomplish any | such purpose as is proposed in the | instant case: and We have urged the | passage by the territorial general as- sembly of additional or amendatory | legislation. or, as an alternative. that | the situation be cleared by procuring | a decision of the supreme court of | the territory in an appropriate test | suit If the matter was properly and | carefully presented to the supreme court. it is my opinion that the court | would hold against the power of union high school districts to issue | bonds for any purpose. but it would | be possible to present a case in such | way as to induce the court to adopt | such a liberal construction of the | statutes as would amount virtually |