Court Opinion

ID: 9532167
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 04:18:45.939387+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:28:41.621136
License: Public Domain

FOSHEIM, Justice
(concurring specially).
In Salem Independent School Dist. v. Circuit Court, 60 S.D. 341, 350, 244 N.W. 373, 377 (1932), this court indicated that the *313duty of a county auditor in spreading a mill levy to meet the needs of a taxing district is ministerial in nature. Accordingly, the duty of the county auditor here is an appropriate subject of mandamus.
The majority opinion points out that school districts in this state are authorized to levy taxes to raise funds sufficient to cover their budgets, independent of any control by county boards. This practice is inconsistent with the scheme which exists between the Board of Regents and the legislature, wherein a proposed budget for higher education in this state is dependent upon an appropriation by the legislature. See SDCL Title 4. Whether the county system is unsatisfactory and should be changed to conform with the state system is a matter which should be addressed to the legislature.