Opinion ID: 1707762
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: conclusion

Text: The people of this State recognized the value of having a town on sixteenth section land when they adopted the amendment to Art. 8, § 211 in 1944, and authorized a 99-year lease for a gross sum rental. The Legislature likewise recognized it when they passed 1946 Miss. Laws Chap. 443, 1948 Miss. Laws Chap. 497, 1956 Miss. Laws Chap. 290. Also, Dodds v. Sixteenth Section Development Corp., 232 Miss. 524, 99 So.2d 897 (1958). In sum, in the 1940s the Legislature, our people, and especially our people who lived in municipalities situated on sixteenth section lands, wanted to put the question of title at rest. They wanted to encourage development and improvement of the city land. Thereby the City of Forest and other similarly situated could better hope for growth of their town. It is that simple. There is no question in this case but that the letter of § 211 of the Constitution was scrupulously adhered to, as were all the technical requirements of the statutes passed thereunder. The factual situation in this case is unique. We have had no sixteenth section land cases like this before. By perfectly sound trust law, II A.W. Fratcher, Scott on Trusts, § 181, 4th Ed. (1987), this Court could render immeasurable benefit to Forest and its municipal separate school district in unanimously affirming the chancery court decree. The purpose of a school trust is to bring in revenue for the school. A dollar to a school is a dollar, no matter its source, and whether it comes directly or indirectly. It should be readily apparent that, aside from a gold or silver mine, or a producing oil or gas well, the very best prospect for revenue for a school district is to have a town sitting on top of it. Who will be willing, however, to build a permanent residence or commercial building when the title is uncertain and of short duration? No one, if he has any choice. Seen in this light, the civic leaders made a prudent decision in 1947, and trustees in the true and accurate sense of the word. The amicus curae brief filed by Mississippi Valley Title Insurance Company warned this Court of the serious consequences which would follow a reversal of the chancery court, wisdom the majority is ill-advised to ignore. The leaseholders stuck with a sizable investment already made on their leaseholds will have to do the best they can. They will be looking for the first, least expensive exit. No new investments in residences (other than tents, shacks or mobile homes) can be expected. No commercial structures, in which Forest can take pride, are likely to be made. Mr. Thompson's building, which would easily produce $1,500-$2,500 annually in city and county tax revenue, is now a discarded dream. The people of Forest and Scott County made the decision in setting gross rentals at $7.50 for a 99-year lease on a town lot. As to Lackey's leases, there has been no showing that there was ever any justifiable expectation of getting more than the district received, which should bind the district. Kramme v. Mewshaw, 147 Md. 535, 128 A. 468 (1925). Having spent my adult life in a small town very much like Forest, I can understand the awful conditions that prevailed in small towns in Mississippi in the late 1940s and 1950s, and wondering where our next meal was coming from. Had my home town been on sixteenth section land, and we been faced with the same choice as that facing Forest, I am confident I would have advocated essentially the same course chosen by Forest and Scott County. [7] The beneficiaries of this sixteenth section are not this Court or any other official in Jackson. The sole beneficiaries are the people who live in the Forest school district, the children who go to school there, and their parents and taxpayers who must pay for their education. They are the ones involved. We should bear in mind that there has been no protest from any of these beneficiaries. The contest of Thompson's confirmation suit arose entirely from outside the district. The 1978 Act may prove beneficial. It was designed, however, to deal with school leases as they expire. There is nothing about the Act to suggest it is a mandate for a state or county official to disturb leases executed prior to 1978. The Act neither adds nor diminishes the duty every such official already had (with the exception of the secretary of state, who by virtue of the abolition of the office of state land commissioner assumed the duties of that office). Because there are men and women and business enterprises who do own homes, commercial buildings and fixed improvements on this section, I do not doubt the majority's holding will bring in revenue. These unfortunate people have no choice. I am just as convinced it will be a Pyrrhic windfall. Investment in this area will be catastrophically reduced. Investment is based upon confidence, sometimes overconfidence, but never upon fear. This Court might exercise a little humility and acknowledge that the leasing policy of sixteenth section town lots, when done honestly and in good faith, is a matter best left entirely in the hands of the people who live there, who after all, will either be enriched together or suffer together. As this Court should know, small towns in Mississippi continue in a desperate struggle to keep afloat. We should affirm the chancery court, and insofar as this Court goes, quietly shut the door and leave the people of Forest to make their own future. SULLIVAN, J., joins this opinion.