quest of not less than five legal voters of the district, by giving the notice required in the next succeeding section; but no When may not be called. special meeting shall be called unless the business to be transacted may lawfully come before such meeting, and no busi-Business of, ness shall be transacted at a special meeting unless the same in notice. be stated in the notice of said meeting. NOTICE: Liberal rules of interpretation must be applied to these notices, and if they be such as, under a fair construction, to give notice to the electors of the purpose for which the meetings are called, they must be held sufficient.-Peters v. Warren Twp., 98/55. SPECIAL MEETING: In order to constitute a legal school meeting, the evidence must show that a legal petition was presented and a legal notice of the meeting given.-Cent. Sch. Supply House v. Sch. Dist., 99/402; Johnston v. Mitchell, 120/589. Use by a school board, in calling a special meeting, of a blank form of notice prepared by a lawyer at the request of one who was not a member of the board, is insufficient to show a ratification on its part of a promise by such third person that the board would pay a specified sum for the legal services rendered.-Leonardson v. School District No. 3 of Troy Township, 125/209. to be stated meetings. (42) § 4661. SEC. 16. All notices of annual or special Notices of district meetings, after the first meeting has been held as aforesaid, shall specify the day and hour and place of meeting, and shall be given at least six days previous to such meeting, by posting up copies thereof in three of the most public places in the district, one copy of which for each meeting shall be posted at the outer door of the district schoolhouse, if there be one; and in case of any special meeting called for the purpose of establishing or changing the site of a schoolhouse, such notice shall be given at least ten days previous thereto: Provided, That when any of the district Proviso, duty of disboard shall receive a request to call a special meeting, as trict officer provided in the preceding section, he shall forthwith give to give. notice, as above provided, of said meeting, which shall be called in not less than six nor more than twelve days from the time the said .officer shall receive the notice aforesaid. No annual meeting shall be deemed illegal for want of due When annual meeting not notice, unless it shall appear that the omission to give such illegal for notice was wilful and fraudulent. Schafer v. Sch. Dist. No. 1 of Baraga, 116/206; Johnston v. Mitchell, 120/589. want of. (43) § 4662. SEC. 17. In all school elections including Who school elections held in districts organized and governed in voters. qualified whole or in part by a local act or acts, any provisions in such local act or acts to the contrary notwithstanding, every citizen of the United States of the age of twenty-one years, male or female, who owns property which is assessed for school taxes in the district, or who is the parent or legal guardian of any child of school age included in the school census of said district, and who has resided in said district three months next preceding such election, shall be a qualified voter. On the question of voting school taxes, every School taxes. citizen of the United States of the age of twenty-one years, male or female, who owns property which is assessed for school taxes in the district, and who has resided in the dis Proviso, land trict as above stated, shall be a qualified voter: Provided, contract; husband and wife. Proviso, act not applicable. Challenging voters. That the purchaser of land upon a land contract, who Am. 1909, Act 83; 1913, Act 146; 1915, Act 300. See (44) § 4663. SEC. 18. If any person offering to vote at a school district meeting shall be challenged as unqualified by any legal voter in such district, the chairman presiding at such meeting shall declare to the person challenged the qualifications of a voter; and if such person shall state that he is qualified, and the challenge shall not be withdrawn, the chairOath tendered man shall tender to him an oath, in substance as follows: to challenged voter. "You do swear (or affirm) that you are a citizen of the United States, that you have been for the last three months an actual resident of this school district, or residing upon territory now attached to this school district, and that you pay a school district tax therein;" and every person taking this oath shall be permitted to vote upon all questions proposed at such meetings. Or he may take the following oath, to wit: "You do swear (or affirm) that you are a citizen of the United States, that you have been for the last three months an actual resident of this school district, or residing upon property now attached to this school district, and that you are the parent or legal guardian of one or more children deemed now included in the school census of the district;" and he may vote upon all questions which do not directly involve the raising of money by tax. If any person so challenged shall False oath refuse to take such oath, his vote shall be rejected; and perjury. any person who shall wilfully take a false oath, or make a false affirmation, under the provisions of this section, shall be deemed guilty of perjury. When any question is taken in any other way than by ballot, a challenge immediately after the vote has been taken shall be deemed to be made when offering the vote, and treated in the same manner. Belles v. Burr, 76/6; Menton v. Cook, 147 / 542. persons at disturbing (45) § 4664. SEC. 19. If at any district meeting any Disorderly person shall conduct himself in a disorderly manner, and, district after notice from the moderator or person presiding, shall meetings. persist therein, the moderator or person presiding may order him to withdraw from the meeting, and on his refusal, may order any constable, or other person or persons, to take him into custody until the meeting shall be adjourned; and any Penalty for person who shall refuse to withdraw from such meeting on meeting. being so ordered as herein provided, and also any person who shall wilfully disturb such meeting by rude and indecent behavior, or by profane or indecent discourse, or in any other way make such disturbance, shall, on conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not less than two nor more than fifty dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding thirty days; and any justice of the peace, recorder, or police Who shall justice of the township, ward, or city where such offense shall tion in trial. be committed, shall have jurisdiction to try and determine the same. any have jurisdic meeting, power of voters, etc. (46) § 4665. SEC. 20. The qualified voters of any school Annual district when lawfully assembled at the first and at each annual meeting or at an adjournment thereof, or at special meeting lawfully called, except as hereinafter provided, shall have power: First, At the first meeting and at any meeting after the Chairman. organization of the district, in the absence of the moderator, to appoint a chairman for the time being and, in the absence of the director, to appoint some person to act in his stead, who shall keep a minute of the proceedings of such meeting and certify same to the director, to be by him entered in the records of the district; Second, To adjourn from time to time as occasion may re- Adjournment. quire; election of. Third, To elect district officers as herein provided, and to Officers, determine at what hour the annual meeting shall be held; Fourth, To designate as hereinafter provided a site or such sites. number of sites as may be desired for school houses, and to change same when necessary; Purchase, etc. Tax, limit of. Building fund. Proviso. Other purposes. School house, etc., sale of. Suits. Building committee. School terms. Fifth, To direct the purchasing or leasing of a site or sites lawfully determined upon; the building, hiring or purchasing of a school house or houses, or the enlarging of a site or sites previously established; Sixth, To vote such tax as the meeting shall deem sufficient to purchase or lease a site or sites, or to build, hire or purchase a school house or houses; but the amount of taxes to be raised in any district for the purpose of purchasing or building or altering a school house or houses in the same year that any bonded indebtedness is incurred shall not exceed two hundred fifty dollars in districts containing less than ten children between the ages of five and twenty years; in districts having between ten and thirty children of like age it shall not exceed five hundred dollars; and in districts having between thirty and fifty children of like age it shall not exceed one thousand dollars; the foregoing tax when levied and collected, together with all funds derived from bonding for the same purposes, when received by the treasurer, shall be accounted for under the title of "building fund:" Provided, That the money belonging to the building fund shall be used for no other purpose than that for which it was raised without a consenting vote of two-thirds of the taxpaying voters of the district present and voting at said election; Seventh, To determine the amount of money to be raised by tax for all school purposes, except as otherwise provided by law; the tax herein provided for, together with the onemill tax, when collected and received by the treasurer shall be accounted for under the title of "General fund;" Eighth, To authorize and direct the sale of any school house, site, building or other property belonging to the district, when the same shall no longer be needed for the use of the district; Ninth, To give such directions and make such provisions as they shall deem necessary in relation to the prosecution or defense of any suit or proceeding in which the district may be a party or interested; Tenth, To appoint as in their discretion it may be necessary a building committee to perform such duties in supervising the work of building a school house as they may by vote direct; Eleventh, At the first and annual meeting only to determine the length of time a school shall be taught in their district during the ensuing year, which shall not be less than nine months in all districts having four hundred or more children of school age, and in all districts having over thirty children and less than four hundred children, not less than eight months, and not less than five months in all other districts on the pain of forfeiture of their share of the primary school interest fund; but in case the people do not deter mine the length of the school year, then the district board Am. 1903, Act 10; 1907, Act 91; 1909, Act 83; 1911, Act 57; 1913, Act FIFTH: A school district, contracting for the building of a schoolhouse within a stated time, is bound to furnish a suitable site therefor, within such reasonable time that the contractors shall not be delayed on their part.—Todd v. Sch. Dist., 40/294. Sureties upon a bond for the performance of a contract are released by an assignment of the contract and the grant of an extension of time to the contractors.-Id. See Act 17 of 1915, sections 443-445. SIXTH: A school district in its annual meeting may lawfully recognize and pay equitable claims even though they are not strictly legal demands against it.-Stockdale v. School Dist., 47 / 226. The provision that no land shall be taxed for the building of schoolhouses, unless some portion thereof shall be within 21⁄2 miles of the schoolhouse site, does not apply to a graded school district.-Keweenaw Ass'n v. Sch. Dist., 98/437. SEVENTH: Publishing House v. Sch. Dist., 94/265. The word "appendage" does not mean simply the apparatus to be used inside of the building, nor is it limited to brooms, pails, cups, etc., but must be construed to include fuel, fences and necessary out-houses.-Creager v. Sch. Dist., 62/108. A director has authority, in the exercise of a sound discretion, to buy new seats for a schoolhouse under a resolution "to fit up the schoolhouse for the winter term."-McLaren v. Akron Town Board, 48/190. Equitable claims.See notes to subdivision sixth. Certain charts, etc., held not to be necessary appendages, such as the director is required to furnish.-Gibson v. Sch. Dist., 36/404; Publishing House v. School Dist., 94/265. A school district has no power to levy a tax except for the purposes specified by statute.-Hinman v. Sch. Dist., 4/168. See section 67, subdivision 6. ELEVENTH: Tappan v. Sch. Dist., 44/500. The district board has power to contract with a qualified teacher for such term during the ensuing year as shall be determined by the qualified voters of the district at the annual school meeting.-Cleveland v. Amy, 88/374; Moiles v. Watson, 60 / 417. In exercising the discretion vested in the voters of a school district to discontinue school for a year, the school board are bound to furnish transportation and may determine the amount to be paid. The performance of such duty may be enforced by mandamus.-Dennis v. Wrigley, 175 / 621. Where voters of a district have voted to discontinue school and send the children to an adjoining district, at an annual or special meeting cannot rescind the action at a subsequent meeting and reopen the school for the ensuing period.--Meek v. Carpenter, 178/547. MISCELLANEOUS : Gibson v. Sch. Dist., 36/404. Where a board of education erects a school building in such manner that ice and snow must inevitably slide from the roof into plaintiff's premises, there being no sufficient barrier to prevent, and fails, after notice, to remedy the defect, it may be held liable to him for injuries sustained in falling upon ice so precipitated, the trespass being the proximate cause of the injury. Ferris v. Board of Education of Detroit, 122/315. The neglect or refusal of the electors of a township to vote the amounts necessary to be raised for township and school purposes is sufficiently shown, within the statutes authorizing the township board and the board of education, respectively, to vote the same in such case, by a recital in the resolutions of the several boards voting such taxes, that the attention of the electors present at the annual meeting was called to the matter of voting upon such questions, and that they failed, neglected, and refused to vote such sums as were necessary.-Weston Lumber Co. v. Township of Munising, 123 / 138. Where the legislature divides a district and provides for a distribution of property, the new district is not entitled to share in primary school interest fund at the following apportionment, though based upon reports of previous year. A district which does not maintain school for at least three months (now five months) is not entitled to share in apportionment of primary school interest fund.-Decker |