The Greeley tribune., 1911-10-05
SCHOOL FUND DECISION
RELIEVES UNCERTAINTY

formerly done) and if any district
should fail to levy sufficient tax. or
if the revenues of district fall
short on account OF the tax being
uncollectable, in some instances, 1t
becomes the duty of the board not
to issue warrants in excess of their
revenues of the current year, which
is clearly Illegal by the statutes, but
the board should borrow enough
money to finish their term of school
for that year, levy enough tax the
following year to take care of the
borrowed money and when the
funds come in from that levy, a war;
rant should be issued to pay back
the money SO borrowed.
/ The county treasurer hereaft fter
undoubtedly will refuse to pay or
register any school warrant which
is in excess of the revenues of the
district upon which it is drawn, and
by that procedure it will be abso-
lutely necessary for the school board
to borrow money to conduct schools,
where the finances have fallen short
of expectations. 1t Is always pos
sible for the county treasurer to de-
termine whether a certain warrant
/ will be paid out of the funds of the
district during any fiscal year, and
all that is necessary for the pur-
chaser of warrant to insure secur-
iity in his purchase is to consult the
county treasurer and ascertain if
there are funds or if there will be
! funds in his hands to pay such war
rant.
The decision of Judge Graham de-
fining the fiscal year as beginning
| December l and ending November
80 makes it necessary for the board
of the school district to make their
financial year correspond with the
same dates, and the time which
school districts are liable to fall
short on revenues is during the
months of October and November,
this being practically the only time
in which the purchaser of school
warrant will be in danger of accept
ing warrant for which there might
not be funds to redeem it.
If there be an excess in the rev.
enues Of a district after the expense
,of conducting its school for the fiscal
year has been paid. it becomes the
duty of the county treasurer to pay
such surplus on warrants registered
during prior years. There has been
some doubt as to the effect that the
decision has had upon the registered
warrants of prior years, which have
not heretofore been paid and which
have been postponed in payment on
! account of this decision. These war;
rants are the legal and Just debts of
Leach district upon which the war
l'rants are drawn, for which each
school district is legally liable. The
only effect which the decision had
: upon these warrants was to change
the method of their payment. They
4 must be paid out of the surplus of
the revenues of district, and 1t
becomes the duty of the school dis
d trict having such warrants outstand-
= ing to levy such tax as will create
/ surplus sufficient to pay off such
IL warrants. Districts which have fail
5 ed or shall refuse to levy such a tax
Ii undoubtedly can be compelled to do
: so by any holder of such postponed
warrant, excepting that no district
I can levy a tax in excess of the
! amount provided by statute.
The effect of the decision of
Judge Graham is to put school dis
tricts upon a cash basis and prevent
: the promiscuous issuance of war
! rants by districts and in time, as
soon as school districts and pur-
: chasers of warrants understand the
situation and laws, the schools and
! the purchasers of school warrants
!. will be established on a basis of
credit heretofore not enjoyed.
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