the meeting to the director. It is the duty of the latter to preserve copies of all reports, and preserve and keep all books and papers belonging to his office. FORM OF NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING. NOTICE is hereby given that the annual meeting of school district No. of the township of -, for the election of school district officers, and for the transaction of such other business as may lawfully come before it, and deemed to be necessary, will be held , on Monday the A. D. 185 at o'clock in the at Dated this (Signed,) noon. day of day of A. D. 185. AB, Director. This notice must be posted in three of the most public places in the district, at least six days before the time of such meeting. [Six full days without any fraction of a day.] 1. Annual meetings may be adjourned from time to time, as may be necessary, in which case the following form of notice should be posted, as above required: Notice is hereby given, that a meeting of the qualified voters of school district No., of the township of will be held at day of ——, 185, at o'clock on the in the noon of said day, pursuant to adjournment of the annual meeting. Dated this (Signed,) day of 185. A- B-, Director. 2. The qualified voters present at any meeting lawfully assembled, may re-consider, rescind, alter or modify any proceeding, action, or vote taken at an annual meeting, provided no obligation has been incurred under such previous proceedings, votes or resolves. 2. The proceedings of a district meeting, either annual, adjourned or special, are not to be deemed illegal for want of due notice, unless it appears that the omission was wilful and fraudulent. 3. Trouble is sometimes made by the failure of the qualified voters present to exercise discretion in relation to organizing the meeting. Due allowance should be made for variation in time, and a reasonable time should be given for all the voters to assemble before proceeding to business. Fifteen minutes or half an hour, according to circumstances, might not be unreasonable. Any number, however few, may then proceed to the transaction of the business of the district, or they may, if they think proper, adjourn. The latter, in many instances, might be the prudent course. If the meet ing is unanimous in favor of the officers to be chosen, it will oftentimes save trouble by offering a resolution in writing, designating the officers and offices; but if a difference of opinion exists, it would be well to vote by ballot. All other business should be done by written resolutions, and if the result of the vote cannot be ascertained in the ordinary manner, it should be done by count or by taking the ayes and noes. For this purpose the clerk of the meeting should prepare a list of the legal voters of the district in a tabular form, embracing all the subjects voted on, similar to the following: NAMES OF VOTERS. TO CHANGE SITE. TO BUILD SC. H'SE. TO RAISE TAX. Noes. Ayes. Noes. Ayes. Noes. Ayes. The clerk should keep his minutes so that, before the meeting adjourns, they may be read and corrected, if necessary, and approved by the meeting; and after being signed by the moderator and clerk, they should be recorded in the record book of the district. These minutes should be in form as follows, varied to suit the circumstan ces: FORM FOR MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS TO BE KEPT BY THE DISTRICT CLERK. At an annual, special, or adjourned (as the case may be) meeting of the qualified voters of school district No. -, of the township day of, A. D. moderator presiding, (or of held at the on the 185, pursuant to public notice, the A B was chosen to preside, the moderator not being present,) and C-— D— was present as clerk, (or E- Fappointed clerk, in the absence of the director:) was Resolved, &c., [here insert the resolutions as passed,] If the vote was unanimous, Resolved, unanimously, &c. In case of a vote to designate or to change the site, two-thirds of the qualified voters present are necessary. In this case, after taking the vote as indicated above, the record should state substantially as follows: It having been moved and seconded that the present site of the school house in the said district be established, (or changed,) or that the same shall be, &c., [here describe the locality and premises, aecurately, and the question being taken by ayes and noes, (or by ballot or otherwise,) it was carried, two-thirds of the voters present voting therefor, as follows: Those who voted in the affirmative were as follows [Here insert names in full:] Those who voted in the negative were as follows: [Insert names.] Ayes, -; Noes, -; Total, The above form is given as a general guide, and of course may be varied as the director finds it necessary. SEC. 12. Special meetings may be called by the district board, or by any one of them, on the written request of any five legal voters of the district, by giving the notice required in the next succeeding section; and in all notices of special meetings the object of the meeting shall be stated. 1. The district board may call a special meeting without the written request required in this section. Any one of the district board may call a special meeting on such written request. A form of notice will be found below, in which it is provided that the object of the meeting shall be set forth in the request, so that any member of the board calling such meeting, may incorporate it, verbatim, in his notice. It is not optional with the member or members of the district board, to call a meeting or not, but they are bound to do so, upon the request of five legal voters. FORM OF WRITTEN REQUEST. To the district board of school district No. &c., one of the district board:] --* [or to A B The undersigned, legal voters of school district No., of the township of request you, in pursuance of section 12 of the primary school law, to call a special meeting of said district, for the purpose of Describe the objects of the meeting.] —, A. D. 185. Dated this day of SEC. 13. All notices of annual or special 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: and in case of any special meeting, called for the purpose of establishing or changing the site of a school house, such notice shall be given at least ten days previous thereto. FORM OF NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING. SCHOOL DISTROT NOTICE.-Notice is hereby given to the taxable inhabitants of school district No.- of the township of that in pursuance of a written request of five legal voters of said district, a special meeting of said district will be held at A. D. 185, at the the noon of said day. [Here describe the object in Dated the day of day of full.] (Signed,) 185. , on o'clock in AB The written request to the board, or any one of them, should be filed with the clerk and made a part of the record. The number of days designated for posting up the notice, either six or ten, as specified, should be full days. 1. A special meeting may adjourn from time to time, in which case like notices should be posted as are required in case of adjournment of annual meetings. When a special meeting has been called, and adjourns to a specified time and place, and at such time and place acts upon questions properly before it, under the notice, and again adjourns without day, or without specifying further time and place, the inhabitants cannot afterwards re-organize the meeting under the notice. 2. If a portion of the qualified voters, without reference to their number, at any meeting, assemble at the proper time and place, as designated in the notice, they may proceed to business. If they adjourn after transacting the business before them, and another portion of the qualified voters assemble after the vote to adjourn has been taken and carried, they cannot hold a subsequent meeting, re-organize, nor pass any vote, legally binding on the district, under the same notice. If, however, after the meeting has proceeded to business, there is an accession of legal voters, before an adjournment, any vote or resolution previously taken at the same meeting, may be reconsidered or rescinded, and the meeting may proceed to transact their business as a majority present shall determine. 3. The $1 tax, provided for in section 140, may be voted at a special meeting called for that purpose; but the district board cannot return such tax in any year to the supervisor, for such year, if voted after the annual meeting. The tax may be voted after the annual meeting, but it must be returned to the supervisor of the next suc ceeding year. This vote would be subject to be rescinded at the subsequent annual meeting. If it is not rescinded, it would be the duty of the district board to return the amount to the supervisor, as required in section 56. 4. A special meeting called for that purpose, may make a disposition of the public moneys, although the subject was acted upon at the annual meeting, under the same restrictions as the reconsideration of any other vote. If any obligation has been incurred, under the previous vote, the special meeting could not legally interfere with their former action in the premises. 5. A contract made with a teacher, by a director, as the law provides, (section 39,) cannot be annulled by vote at a special meeting. 6. A special meeting cannot determine any of the matters embraced in section 24. This duty is vested exclusively with the district board. 7. The qualified voters, at a special meeting, called under a notice specifying the object of the meeting to be to take measures to build a school house, have no power to designate a site. The object or objects of the special meeting must be fully and definitely stated in the notice. SEC. 14. No district meeting shall be deemed illegal for want of due notice, unless it shall appear that the omission to give such notice was wilful and fraudulent. 1. A change of the usual hour of holding a district meeting, for instance, a notice fixing the time at 5 o'clock P. M., instead of 6 o'clock, (the usual hour,) will not invalidate the proceedings of the meeting held under it, unless the qualified voters have previously designated some other hour than that mentioned in the notice, for the hour of meeting, and the notice was wilful and fraudulent. There is a customary hour, but the district board may fix the time and place of the meeting, and the inhabitants are bound to notice the time as affixed in the call posted up according to law. 2. As the proceedings of the district meeting may be called in question, in the course of legal proceedings relating to taxes, or contracts, or other matters of importance to the district and to individuals, the qualified voters should not transact business, if there is any reason to believe that the omission to give the notice was wilful and fraudulent. The only safe course is to run no hazard whatever, under such circumstances. |