Case Name: Scott v. Warren
Court: Delaware County Court of Common Pleas
Jurisdiction: Pennsylvania
Decision Date: 1924-12-29
Citations: 6 Pa. D. & C. 438
Docket Number: No. 444
Parties: Scott v. Warren.
Judges: 
Reporter: Pennsylvania District and County Reports
Volume: 6
Pages: 438–438

Head Matter:
Scott v. Warren.
Common schools — Municipal indebtedness — Assent of electors — Improvement to school buildings — Diverting loan to erect new school.
Where electors give their consent to a school district indebtedness for the purpose of making alterations, improvements and additions to the present school buildings, the money must be spent on the present buildings and cannot be used to erect another building 100 feet distant.
Demurrer to bill in equity to restrain diversion of loan created by assent of electors. C. P. Delaware Co., June T., 1924, No. 444.
Edwin A. Lucas, J. B. Hannum, Jr., and Wallace Chadwick, for demurrer.
W. B. Fronefield, contra.
Dec. 29, 1924.

Opinion:
Broomall, J.,
The electorate of Swarthmore Borough School District authorized by an election a borrowing of a loan of $150,000 for the purpose of making and erecting alterations, improvements and additions to the present school buildings.
The directors are proceeding to erect a separate building some hundred feet from the present school building.
The question is whether the terms "alterations, improvements and additions to the present school buildings" mean alterations, improvements and additions to the purposes of the present school buildings, or mean alterations, improvements and additions physically to the present school buildings.
To sustain this demurrer requires us to adopt the former view. We are not prepared to do this. It may be that further light may be shed on the solution of this question as the litigation advances. For the present, we hold to the view that alterations, improvements and additions to the present school buildings means physical alterations, improvements and additions to the present school buildings. The defendants' demurrer is, therefore, overruled.
From A. B. Geary, Chester, Pa.