control of all lands, lots, school houses and buildings, school libraries and apparatus, and shall receive all moneys and other property belonging or in any way accruing to said district or to any part thereof, for the use and benefit of public schools therein, with full power to use and control the same in such manner as they think will best promote the interests of public schools and the cause of free education, not inconsistent with this act; and said board shall, also, be capable of receiving any gift, grant, bequest or devise of real estate, personal property or money, made for the use or benefit of public schools in said district; and all moneys accruing to said district for school purposes under any law of this State shall be paid over to the treasurer of said board of education.

§ 3. That, for the purpose of organization, the following persons, viz: Michael Noel, George P. Almstead, John Mann, John Ervin, Parker Elliott and Andrew G. Wallace, shall be and are hereby made and constituted a board of education for said district, until the first Monday of August, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, at which time the qualified electors of said district shall, upon the usual notice being given in the case of the election of school directors under the general law, elect six (6) members of said board, who with their successors in office, shall compose and constitute said board of education and first incorporators under this act, two of whom shall serve for one year, two for two years and two for three years. The time that each shall serve shall be designated on the ballots cast at such election; and annually thereafter there shall be chosen in the same manner two members of said board, each of whom shall serve for the period of three years and until their successors are elected and qualified. Such intermediate vacancies as may occur in said board shall be filled by the remaining acting members until the next annual election, when such vacancy or vacancies shall be filled by the electors of said district. Elections held in pursuance of this section shall be conducted in the manner prescribed by the general school law of this State for holding elections for school officers-three (3) members of board acting as judges.

§ 4. That said first mentioned board, within ten days after the taking effect of this act, shall meet, and after having taken an oath to properly and faithfully perform the duties as a member of such board of education and to support the Constitution of the United States and of the State of Illinois, organize, by appointing one of their number president and one clerk, and appointing some person, not of their number, treasurer, but who shall be a resident of the district. The said treasurer, who may be appointed by the first mentioned board, shall hold his office until the meeting of the first elective board shall meet under this act and until his successor shall be qualified. Thereafter the treasurer duly appointed by such board shall hold his office for two years and until his successor shall be qualified, but may be removed at any time by the board, for good cause; and every subsequent board, chosen or elected as herein provided, shall meet within ten days after their election and take an oath and organize in accordance with this act.

§ 5. Said board may hold stated meetings, at such time and places in said district as they may appoint-four members of said board at all such meetings constituting a quorum to do business-the president having a vote only in case of a tie. And special meetings may be called at any time by the president or any two members, by giving one day's notice of the time and place of such meeting: Provided, that if the president of the board shall be absent from any meeting thereof a temporary president shall be appointed; and said board may pass and enforce such by-laws, rules and regulations, for their own government and 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 and on written order of the president, countersigned by the clerk.

§ 6. All school lands, school funds and other real or personal estate, notes, bonds or obligations belonging to township fifteen (15) North, range eight (8) East of the third principal meridian, and township sixteen (16) North, range eight (8) East of the third principal meridian, in the county of Douglas and State of Illinois, held or owned for school purposes by said townships or either of them, shall be divided between the said Tuscola Union School District and the portions of said townships without said district in the proportion and manner following. to-wit: The school trustees of each of said townships shall, within thirty days after the taking effect of this act, appoint two commissioners, who are freeholders, one a resident of said school and the other a resident without the district, who, after being duly sworn to well and truly discharge their duties, shall ascertain the whole number of persons under the age of twenty-one years resident in that part of the said district taken from the township of which such commissioners are residents and the whole number of persons under twenty-one years in such township without said district and the whole number in such township, including such part of the district as may be in such township; and thereupon said trustees of schools of each of said townships, aforesaid, shall divide and apportion said funds, real estate, personal property, notes, bonds and obligations of said townships between the said district and the portions of each of said townships without said district, in proportion to the whole number of persons under twenty-one years of age in that part of said district lying in each township to the whole number of persons under twenty-one years of age in the whole of such townships: Provided, such division of real estate and personal property shall not include a division of the value of school houses, buildings, grounds and furniture belonging to any district from which the Tuscola Union School District is taken. Said trustees shall have power to supply any vacancy occurring among said commissioners, and compensate them for such services in such amounts as the said trustees shall deem proper and right. The report of the commissioners shall report the

number of persons so ascertained to be within the townships and district, as herein before directed, to the said trustees within....days from their appointment.

§ 7. Said trustees or other person or persons having control or custody of such funds, property, bonds or obligations shall, upon such division being made, pay over, assign, transfer and deliver to the board of education of Tuscola Union School District the portions of the personal property, notes, bonds and obligations to which such school may be entitled, and execute and deliver to said board of education the necessary deeds and conveyances for the shares of real estate due said district under such division; which funds and other personal property, real 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, subject only to the provisions of the general school laws of this State defining the powers and duties of trustees of schools.

§ 8. The board of education of said district shall prepare or cause to be prepared by the treasurer or clerk of the board, or other persons and furnished to the superintendent of the schools of Douglas county, on or before the first Monday of October, annually, a report, containing the same facts and statistics as are required to be embraced in the reports of township treasurers to the county superintendent of schools by the general school laws of the State of Illinois; and the said superintendent or other officer shall pay to the treasurer of said district its proportion of the school, college or 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 district 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 white person residing in said district over the age of six years and under the age of twenty-one years, and shall take the necessary provisions for continuing said schools in operation not less than eight months nor more than ten months in each year; and for the purpose of more successfully accomplishing this end, the said board shall have powerFirst-To rent, lease or purchase grounds and sites for school buildings.

Second-To hire, purchase or erect, in accordance with provisions of this act, 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 furniture, fixtures 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 the admission of pupils into the same and for promotion from one grade or department to another, and also to determine the text books 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 may dismiss any teacher at any time for incompetency, immorality or other good cause: Provided, that nothing herein contained shall be construed as to supersede the necessity of every teacher first procuring a certificate from the county superintendent of county schools, as is now required by the general law of this State.

Sirth-To lay off and sub-divide said district into as many subdivisions, for school purposes, as circumstances and the interest of schools therein may be thought to require, and from time to time change the same or create new ones.

Seventh-To appoint three persons, whose duty it shall be to conduct all examinations of pupils for admission to any department or grade of said schools, or for promotion therein, and to appoint other officers, committees or agents as they shall deem best or most conducive to the interest of said schools.

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

Ninth-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 puplic instruction in graded free schools in said district.

§ 10. The said board, in addition to the powers now given by law to school directors and the powers herein granted, shall possess all the powers and privileges of trustees of townships for school purposes, and shall be recognized and regarded by the county superintendent of schools, county clerk and all other officers of this State as possessing all the powers, privileges and rights of trustees of congressional townships of this State, and are hereby required to perform for said district all the duties of such trustees as well as those of directors, not inconsistent with this act.

§ 11. 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 levied and 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, upon the taxable property of said district, and have it collected in the same manner as other taxes are collected; which levy or tax shall not in any one year exceed two per centum of the assessed valuation of all the property in said district subject to taxation therein.

§ 12. Said board of education may, also, at any time when they may deem it necessary, borrow any sum or sums of money, for a time not exceeding one year and at a rate of interest not exceeding ten per centum, per annum, to be expended for general school purposes, for purchasing schoolhouse sites and for repairing and improving school buildings: Provided, that the total amount so borrowed and unpaid at any one time shall not exceed one per centum of the assessed valuation of the taxable property of said district.

§ 13. That when said board shall deem it necessary to purchase

or erect a schoolhouse or schoolhouses or other necessary buildings, for the use of said district, they shall call a meeting of the legal voters of said district, by giving at least ten lays' notice of the time and place and object of said meeting, by posting up or causing to be posted up at least three written or printed notices, in three of the most public places in said district; and the president of said board or in his absence one of the other members of said board shall act as chairman of said meeting, and after appointing some one of their number clerk, may determine, by a majority vote, upon the erection of a schoolhouse or schoolhouses or other buildings, and the amount of money to be raised for that purpose-said voting to be by ballot, and to be conducted in the same manner as other school elections are conducted; which moneys, so voted, shall be levied by said board in such amounts each year as the board shall deem best, and shall be collected in the same manner as other taxes for school purposes are collected: Provided, that such levy shall not exceed for any one year three per centum of the assessed value of the taxable property of said district; and the said board of education, for the purpose of raising the money so voted, may issue bonds, which shall be executed by the president and clerk of said board, in sums of not less than one hundred dollars each, bearing interest not exceeding ten per centun, per annum, and running for such times as said board may deem necessary-such time to be stated in the bonds issued: Provided, further, that such time shall not exceed seven years.

§ 14. All white persons over the age of six years and under the age of twenty-one years, residing in said district, shall be admitted into said schools free: Provided, said board may, at their option, have power to charge and collect a reasonable tuition fee from each pupil who pursues the study of any other language in said schools than the English language. And said board shall have power to admit persons who do not reside in said district or who are over twentyone years of age into such schools, upon such terms as the board may deem proper; but nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to prevent persons from being suspended, expelled or kept out of said schools altogether, for reasons herein before mentioned.

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

§ 16. Each treasurer appointed by said board of education shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, execute a bond, with two or more freeholders, who shall not be members of the board, as securities, payable to the Board of Education of Tuscola Union. School District, with a sufficient penalty to cover all liabilities which may be incurred, conditioned faithfully to perform all the duties of treasurer of said board according to law-said bond to be approved by a majority of the board, at a regular meeting, and to be delivered by a member for the board to the county superintendent of schools. of Douglas county. The penalty of said treasurer's bond shall be twice the amount of all moneys, notes, bonds, mortgages and effects liable to pass through his hands as such treasurer or to be in his