Evening journal., 1919-09-13

subject.
III Is clear from the language Of ar
iicle y that 10 was designed 10 cover
. wholly and completely the subject o
public education When any act. Nheth.
er special or general. relating TO publ,
education was acted upon by the legis.
laiure II did so under article y. Tn,
mistake Of the Obiecl0rs TO the Code
is that they assume that a special aci
r latng to a school district and confer
ing quas corporate powers upon 10.
board Is not covered by article y OF the
constitution but falls within article IN
This mistake Is grounded upon q mis-
conception OF the purpose and object
OF public education In general. and OF
these special school acts in particular
AS already pointed out public edu-
cation Is q Stale function. 10 IL local
lied only so far as certain admnlstra-
tive features are concerned. Tho pas
sage OF a special act for a special district
does not take the distrlct out OF The
state control. II does not confer vest
ed rights and powers superior TO those
OF the state II Is beyond the scope
OF any legislature 10 select any one or
any number Of districts and deal with
them In such a manner as that they
can never thereafter be legislated for
under article y. 10 Is beyond the power
OF any one general assembly TO fetler
succeeding legislators with a tw0-thirds
vote requirement in dealing with the
subject OF public education. 10 is a
paradox TO say that a general and eli-
cient system Of free public schools may
/ be provided by a majority vote but that
any one legislature by calling special
districts corporations and giving their
local boards governmental powers Of a
corporate nature, may make two
thirds vote a constitutional necessity.
! How can there be a general and etli-
Client system OF free public schools with
scores OF special districts 0mittedg
"The nature and reasonable conclu-
sion Is that all legislative acts concern
ing public schools. whether special or
general. fall under article Y and that
article IN has nothing 10 do with them.
The subject OF Artice y was school
districts. and 20 hold that any Legisla-
ture has the power to force them out
Of Article X and drive them into Arti-
Gle IX merely by clothing them with
administrative authority in the nature
OF corporate powers would be 10 alter
the plain and direct language Of Arti-
Gle y.
Such a construction cannot stop with |
these districts created, united or con-
solidated by special Act, but must in
clude all school districts, for the SIM.
pie reason that the local admlnistra-
tion OF every kind Of school district in
wolves necessarily certain quasi cor
porato powers. lt has already been
pointed out in these notes that the
power to hold property 10 sue and be
sued, etc, by a common name is COM
mon 10 both classes Of districts. Such
power Is OF a quasi corporate charac-
ter, but Il is impossible TO conceive OF
the functioning OF a district without
such a power. The ileXorable con
clusion is, therefore, that IL the pos
session OF such a power transfers
school district from Article X to Arti-
Gle IN Of the Constitution all the
school districts o. the State must be
dealt with under Article IN.
One answer 20 the obiectors to the
Code Is that even II IL be admitted
that the vesting of these corporate
powers in a school district requires
vote, yet that the authority
OF the Legislature 20 act under Article
Y by a majority vote remains un-
abridged. 10 seems 10 me, however
that the simple solution Of the problem
Is that no kind OF school district
zones within the provision OF Arti-
lie IX.
III IL be once held that a school
district OF either class is a corporation
ublect 10 the provisions OF every Ar
lcle Of the Constitution relating TO |,
orporations, serious, if not fatal,
low will be dealt TO the cause Of pub
.c education I'm Delaware. For eX
mple. Section 3 OF Article VIII, OF the 4
inhibits the apprOpria-
ion Of public moneys to any "cor-
grafton" except with the concurrence
Z three-fourths OF the members elect
d to each branch OF the General As
embly. n
"Is the school code an attempt TO t.
elegate Legislative power2 q
Section g.. Of the school Code
bollshes the local Boards or Commit a
aes Of every district in the State eX- d
epl certain designated districts G.
AIMED in Section i2l and called Special q
choOl Districts. and except also dis1 ci
'icts created, united or consolidated "
y special Act which fail to llle a is
rillen acceptance Of The provisions
( the Act with the Slate Board. The K,
Of the public schools In ii,
lose districts whose administrative O.
cards were thus abolished was trans n,
'rred 10 The County Board OF Educa- er
on. a body appointed by the Cover h,
or for the first school year but there n,
tier elected by the voters. m
There seems 90 be an impression ed
nong the obiectors TO the Code that n,
sclion G. gives school districts ere
led. united or consolidated by special 4,
ct the right to nullify all OF the pro- ds
sions OF the Code so far as the 40
.hools Of such districts are concerned 80
y refusal 90 fle an acceptance OF =,
le provisions Of the Act in accordance ~
i'm Section G7. We submit. however, =,
Iat this lis an error. 50
1T is true that the local administer So
We boards OF such special act districts
&c not abolished. but may continue No
function under their respective spe- nc
al acts, but IL by no means follows bf
Iat this places those districts outside m
the school Code. Such districts con- co
nue. to be integral parts OF the state IN
hool system and are under the juris- Sc
elton OF the state Board Of Education bu
ID its officials and subject TO its rules or
I'd regulations. Section OF Article ] IN
the code expressly provides that be
le general administration and super 10
sion OF the free public schools and OF bli