the president to have a vote only in case of a tie; that special meetings may be called, at any time, by the president or any other two members by giving one day's notice of the time and place of same: Provided, that if the president of the board shall be absent from any such meetings a temporary president may be appointed; and said board may pass and enforce such by-laws, rules and regulations for their own government and for the government of the clerk and treasurer, not inconsistent with this act, as they may deem proper; and by resolution, shall direct the payment of all moneys that shall come into the hands of the treasurer, and no money shall be paid out of the treasury, except in pursuance of such resolution or written order of the president, countersigned by the clerk.

§ 6. All school funds, notes, bonds or obligations belonging to township thirteen (13) north, of range eleven (11) east, third principal meridian. in the county of Coles, and State of Illinois, held or owned for school purposes by said township, shall be divided between the said Ashmore School District and the portion of said township within the same, in the proportion and manner following, to-wit: The school trustees of said township, within thirty days after the taking effect of this act, shall appoint two commissioners, who are freeholders, one a resident of said district, the other a resident of said township within said district, who, after being duly sworn to well and fully discharge their duties, shall ascertain the whole number of persons under the age of twenty-one years residing in said district and the whole number in said township without said district; and, thereupon, said trustees shall divide and apportion said funds, notes, bonds and obligations of said township between said district and the balance of said township without said district, in the proportion of the whole number of persons under twenty-one years of age, as each shall bear to the whole number in the whole township. Said trustees shall have power to supply vacancies occurring among said commissioners, and compensate them for such services, in such amount as they shall deem proper and right.

§ 7. Said trustees or other person or persons, having control or custody of said funds, property, bonds or (other) obligations, shall, upon such divisions being made, pay over, assign, transfer and deliver to the board of education of the Ashmore School District the portions of the funds and other personal estate, notes, bonds and obligations, to which said district may be entitled; which fund and other personal estate, notes, bonds and obligations shall be and remain under the full and entire control and power of said board of education for the use and benefit of said district.

§ 8. The board of education of said district is hereby required to make out or cause to be made out and furnished to the school superintendent of said Coles county an abstract of the whole number of children under the age of twenty-one years, at the time and in the manner required by law of other school officers under the general school law of this State; and said superintendent or other proper officer shall pay to the treasurer of said district its proportion of the school, college and seminary fund, of the two mill tax, interest, fines

and other moneys or special taxes distributed according to the laws in force for each apportionment or distribution, treating such districts for this purpose the same as a township.

§ 9. The said board of education shall establish and maintain a sufficient number of free schools for the education of every person residing in said district, over the age of six years and under the age of twenty-one years; and shall make the necessary provisions for continuing said schools in operation not less than nine months nor more than ten months in each year; and, for the purpose of more successfully accomplishing this end, the said board shall have power:

First. To rent, lease or purchase grounds and sites for school buildings.

Second. To hire, purchase or erect a school house or houses and buildings, to be used for school purposes, and to keep the same in proper repair.

Third. To furnish the schools in said district with all the necessary fixtures, furniture and apparatus.

Fourth. To establish in said district as many primary schools and those of higher grades as said board shall deem proper, to determine the branches or studies to be taught in each department or grade, and to prescribe and enforce rules and regulations for admission of the pupils into the same, and for the promotion from one grade or department to another, and also to determine the text books. and other articles to be used therein.

Fifth. To hire and appoint all teachers of said schools, establish rules respecting their qualifications and how the same shall be determined; fix the amount of the salary or compensation of each teacher, and dismiss any teacher, at any time: Provided, that nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to supersede the necessity of every teacher first procuring a certificate from the county superintendent of schools, as is now required by the general laws of this State.

Sixth. To appoint a committee or committees to conduct all examinations of the pupils for admission to any department or grade of said schools or for promotion therein, and to appoint officers or agents as they shall deem best or most conducive to the interest of said schools.

Seventh. To have the power to suspend or expel pupils for disobedient, refractory, incorrigibly bad conduct, or for a failure to comply with all rules and regulations adopted by said board for the government of said schools.

Eighth. To have and possess all the rights, powers and authority necessary for the proper management of schools and school funds and the carrying out of the true spirit and intent of this act and that may be necessary to establish and perfect a good and thorough system of public instruction in graded free schools in said district.

§ 10. It shall be the duty of the board of education and they shall have full power to determine the amount of money needed and to be raised for school purposes for each year, over and above the amount derived from the school funds heretofore enumerated or from other sources, and to levy the same, annually, on taxable property of the

district, and have it collected in the same manner as other school directors do under the general school law; which levy or tax shall not in any one year, exceed three (3) per centum of the assessed valuation of all the property in said district subject to taxation therein.

§ 11. Said board may, also, at any time when they may deem it necessary, borrow any sum or sums of money, for a term not exceeding one year. and at a rate of interest not exceeding 10 per centum, per annum, to be expended for general school purposes, for purchasing school house sites and for repairing and improving school buildings: Provided, the total emount of money so borrowed and unpaid at any one time shall not exceed two (2) per centum of the assessed valuation of the real and personal property subject to taxation in said district.

§ 12. That whenever said board of education shall deem it necessary to purchase or erect a school house or houses and other necessary buildings for said district, they shall have power to levy a tax and collect the same, from year to year, in such amounts as said board may deem necessary for said purposes, Said taxes are to be collected [the] same as other taxes for school purposes: Provided, that said levy shall not exceed three (3) per centum in any one year of the assessed value of the taxable property of said district. And the said board of education shall have power to issue bonds, which shall be executed by the president and clerk, in sums not less than one hundred (100) dollars each, bearing interest not exceeding 10 per centum, per annum, and running for such times [as] may [be] necessary.

§ 13. All persons over the age of six (6) years and under the age of twenty-one (21) years, residing in said district, shall be admitted to said schools free, and said board shall have power to admit persons who do not reside in said district or who are over 21 years of age, into said schools, upon such terms as they may deem proper, but nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to prevent persons from being suspended, expelled or kept out of any schools altogether, for the reasons herein before mentioned.

§ 14. No member of the board shall receive any compensation for his services, but the treasurer shall receive not to exceed 2 per centum on all moneys actually paid out, at the option of the board.

§ 15. It shall be the duty of the president and clerk to sign all papers and documents of said board, and the same are hereby declared legal and binding when so signed.

§ 16. All the acts of the school directors of district number two (2), in township thirteen (13) north, range eleven (11) east of third (3) principal meridian, in said county of Coles, and State of Illinois, in relation to schools, the building or repairing school houses in said district and the levy of the tax therefor, and the proceedings thereunder, together with all the contracts and obligations heretofore entered into for school purposes by the said directors of the said district, are hereby legalized and confirmed and made binding upon the district created by this act, and shall be carried out and enforced by this board.

§ 17. For any neglect or failure, except through sickness of himself or family, by any member or treasurer of said board of education, to fulfill and perform the duties required of or imposed upon him by any of the provisions of this act, shall be liable to a penalty of ten (10) dollars for each default, to be recovered by any action of debt, at the suit of any person who may complain, one-half of said fine to go to the informer, the other half to be paid to the treasurer of said district.

§ 18. The treasurer shall, as often as required by the board, make due and full report to them, (which report shall be open to inspection of any citizen of said district) of the financial condition thereof, giving the amount of money on hand and from what sources derived, the amount paid out since the last report, and for what purposes required, and such other items as the board or general school law may require. § 19. All prior acts or parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed.

§ 20. This act is hereby declared to be a public act, and shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.

APPROVED March 6, 1869.

BLOOMINGTON SCHOOL DISTRICT.

AN ACT to establish and regulate a system of public schools in the city of Bloomington.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly: That there shall be elected biennially in the city of Bloomington, by the qualified electors of said city, a board of education, to consist of seven members, which shall be denominated the board of education, and the persons so elected shall be residents of said city and shall hold their office for the term of two years and until their successors shall be elected and qualified. The first election for said members of the board of education shall be holden on the first Monday in April, A. D. 1857, and on the first Monday in April, biennially, thereafter; the meetings for said election shall be notified and called, and the poll book opened and kept, the votes canvassed and the returns made in the same manner as the election of mayor and aldermen. The seven persons having the highest number of votes shall be declared elected and, the city clerk, immediately upon the result of the election being made known by the proper returns, shall notify the several persons so elected of their election.

§ 2. The board of education shall, within two days after the election, or as soon thereafter as is convenient, meet within said city; the time and place of meeting shall be made known to all members of said board in writing by any two of the persons so elected; when convened the board shall organize by electing one of their number president and appointing by ballot some competent person to be secretary of said board, who may or may not be a member of the board, and also appoint a treasurer. The president shall preside at all meetings of the board and perform all the duties of a presiding officer. The

secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of the board in a book to be provided for that purpose by the board, and shall perform such other duties in relation to the schools in said city as shall be required of him by the rules and regulations to be made and established by the board; the president, secretary and treasurer shall hold their offices for the term of two years, and until their successors shall be elected and qualified; the secretary and treasurer shall be subject to removal for good cause by a vote of a majority of said board, and in case of such removal the board shall appoint a competent person to fill the vacancy. The treasurer shall give bond, with good and sufficient securities, to the city of Bloomington, such bond to be approved by said board, in such sum as the board shall determine, but to be in all cases as nearly as can be ascertained in double the amount of all moneys that will at any one time come into his hands and conditioned for the performance of his duties as such treasurer, and especially faithfully to keep and from time to time to pay over upon the order of the board all moneys that he shall receive as such treasurer; and for any breach of the conditions of said bond, as such, shall be prosecuted in the name of said city against the said treasurer, under the direction and supervision of the said board; and all moneys realized from a judgment recovered against any treasurer for a breach of the conditions of his bond shall go into the treasury of the board, to be used as other school moneys are used. The treasurer shall keep a true and accurate account of all moneys received and paid out by him, for what purpose, upon what and whose account, but he shall pay out no money except upon order of the board; for all money paid out he shall take and file, with the papers of his office, proper vouchers; he shall settle his accounts with the board at least once in each year and oftener if the board shall so require.

§ 3. The said city of Bloomington shall be exempt from the jurisdiction of the trustees of schools in the township in which said city of Bloomington is located, so far as common schools are concerned, and the school commissioner of McLean county shall, in the distribution of the school funds that may come into his hands, apportion so much of the school fund as the city of Bloomington may be entitled to, upon a pro rata distribution of said funds among the several townships of said county, to the said city of Bloomington; and upon the filing of the bond of the treasurer of the said board of education the said school commissioner shall pay over to the said treasurer the amount due said city. All taxes levied in accordance with the provisions of this act shall be paid over by the officer collecting the same to the treasurer of the board of education, and upon all moneys passing through his hands the said treasurer shall be allowed to retain two per centum. If any vacancy shall occur in the board of education between the times of the biennial election, by death, resignation or removal from the limits of the city, the remaining members of the board shall fill said vacancy by appointment, and the person so appointed shall hold his office until the next biennial election for members of the board. The said board of education shall be capable of contracting and being contracted with, suing and being sued,