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APPEALS.

Section 497.

Directions Respecting Appeals.

All

Direction 1. An appeal to the state superintendent must be in writing and signed by the appellant or appellants, but no particular form of statement is necessary. that the state superintendent requires is a plain statement of the facts in the case. These may be written by anyone on legal cap paper. It is not necessary that they shall be typewritten. Direction 2.

The appeal should set forth the action or proceedings taken or had by the parties from whose decision the appeal is taken. The appeal should also give the reason or reasons why the action should be set aside. When the statements are finished there must be an affidavit to the effect that they are correct. A copy of the appeal must also be served upon the parties from whose action the appeal is taken. This party will generally admit service of the copy. This admission of service should be written upon the original appeal papers. If the party refuses to admit service an affidavit to the effect that a copy has been served must appear upon the original.

Direction 3. If the appeal is based upon the refusal of the supervisors, trustees, etc., to act, it is taken to the committee on common schools.

(a)

When the appeal relates to the creation of a school district or the alteration of school district boundaries.

(b) To the state superintendent in all other cases.

Direction 4. If the boards of supervisors, etc., have taken proceedings and have granted a hearing to the parties interested in the matter and have changed the boundaries of school districts or formed a new school district, or have refused to change the boundaries or to form the district, the appeal is placed before the committee on common schools in writing as referred to in Direction 2. In such case no oral hearing is granted by the committee on common schools.

Direction 5. Anyone feeling himself aggrieved by the decision of the committee on common schools is privileged to take an appeal to the state superintendent.

This appeal must be written following the direction in No. 2. If taken from the action of the committee on common schools after the supervisors have taken action, all the papers relating to the matter and filed with the committee must be filed with the state superintendent as a part of the appeal.

Direction 6. An answer to the appeal may be made by the party upon whom the appeal is served, or, if said party does not desire to answer, he is privileged to turn the papers over to some interested party or parties and they are privileged to make

answer.

Direction 7. This answer should be filed within 15 days after service of the appeal and a copy must be served upon the appellant. The answer must also be accompanied by an affidavit to the effect that the statements made therein are correct. Evidence of admission of service must also be placed on the answer.

Direction 8. In cases where district boundaries are affected a sketch map drawn upon a scale of one or two inches to the mile should be made a part of the appeal. This sketch map should show the boundaries of the district before any proceedings were had. The changes, if any, made by the action of the supervisors or the committee on common schools, as the case may be, should be indicated. If the supervisors, etc., refuse to make any change, the changes desired by the appellants should be marked.

Direction 9. The assessed valuation of each district interested should be given, approximately at least. Also the value of the territory which it is desired shall be attached or detached. The sketch map should show the location of the highways, schoolhouses, bridges, rivers, marshes, etc., and also the homes, as nearly as practicable, of the residents immediately interested by the changes of territory. The number of persons of school age resident in each district should be given and the number of children in the families living on the disputed territory. Direction 10. The following form of affidavit is suggested:

being duly sworn deposes and says that the statements made in the above appeal (or answer) all and several are true according to the best of his knowledge and belief and further that the accompanying map, list of children, valuation of property, etc., are correct.*

Subscribed and sworn to before me this

day of

19-.

Appellant.

Notary Public.

*In other matters than formation or alteration of districts, the latter part of the affidavit after the word "belief," may be omitted, or any needed change may be made. When several persons unite in making an appeal, the affidavits may be so changed as to admit the names of all the appellants, and each should sign the appeal and subscribe to each and every affidavit. When the action appealed from is the action of

3. A complete and correct copy of the appeal and affidavit, and all accompanying papers should be made, to which another affidavit should be attached, stating that they are correct copies of the papers in the case.

The form of the affidavit may be as follows:

A. B., being duly sworn, deposes and says that the above is a full and correct copy of an appeal, and all accompanying papers, designed to be sent to the state superintendent.

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This affidavit should be made upon the copy only-not upon the original appeal that is to be sent to the state superintendent. The copy should then be served upon the party from whose action the appeal is taken, either by handing it to him, or leaving it at his residence. If the appeal is from the action of the supervisors, the chairman of the board is a suitable party upon whom to serve the copy; if from the proceedings of a district meeting, upon the clerk or chairman of the meeting. It should not be served, however, upon an individual who did not sustain the action appealed from as in that case no answer is likely to be made.

The person serving the copy of appeal should carry with him the original appeal, so that the party from whose action the appeal is taken may, if willing, admit service of a true copy, by the following form indorsed upon the original appeal:

I, E. F., do hereby admit service of the above (or within) appeal. (Signed)

In case no such admission of service be made, the appellant will append to his appeal an affidavit of the following form:

A. B., being duly sworn, deposes and says that upon the day of 19, he did serve a true and verified copy of this appeal, and all accompanying papers, upon E. F., by handing the same to said E. F. (or by leaving it at his residence as the case may be).

(Signed)

Subscribed and sworn to before me this

day of

19-. "

C. D.,

Justice of the Peace (or Notary Public). 4. An appeal should be taken within thirty days from the performance of the act appealed from, or within thirty days after the action complained of has come to the knowledge of the appellant.

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1. The appellee has fifteen days in which to prepare his answer, and all the directions above given in reference to the preparation and service of a copy of the appeal papers, should be complied with in preparing and serving the answer upon the appellant, before it is forwarded to the state superintendent. The forms of affidavit

given above will answer in all cases for forms to be used by the appellee, by changing the words so that the affidavit shall refer to an "answer to an appeal," instead of to an appeal, and by signing it as appellee instead of appellant.

2. The answer to an appeal may be served upon any one of a number of appellants. When the town board of supervisors is a party, and papers have been served upon the chairman, if he is in favor of the party appealing, one of the other supervisors should make answer.

3. In case of neglect of the proper appellees to answer an appeal, any person having an interest in the matter may make answer to it, being governed in all cases by the same rules as would govern appellee.

Replication or Rejoinder.

A replication or rejoinder will be allowed, upon proof that new facts have come to the knowledge of the party wishing the rejoinder since the appeal or answer was submitted to the state superintendent, or that there are material errors in the statement of the other party.

several persons, it is sufficient to serve a copy of the appeal upon any one of the number, but it should always be served upon one not agreeing with the appellants, that an answer may be made.

When all the above directions are complied with, the original papers are ready to 'be forwarded to the state superintendent.

General Remarks.

If the appellant or appellee presents statements of other parties, these statements should be verified by the affidavit of the person making the same.

All decisions on appeal must be filed or recorded as the state superintendent shall direct.

No decision can be rendered on ex parte statements. No papers will be considered that are not properly verified, and properly served on opposing parties.

The propriety of leaving out of appeals all matters of a purely personal character, except as they may have a direct bearing upon the subject, is obvious.

As appeals are usually decided upon written and not upon oral evidence, it is not necessary or proper for either party to appear in person, expecting to be heard in the case, without the presence of the other party.

Particular care should be taken to follow the directions in regard to affidavits, serving copy, etc., so that it may not be necessary to send papers back for correction.

Not only must every paper presented in a case, by either party, be verified by affidavit, and a copy be served on the other side, but in making the copy, care must be taken to copy every affidavit as well as the statement which it verifies. If this is not done, the party upon whom such copy is served has no evidence that the original was $worn to.

If the appeal is not taken or the answer or rejoinder made within the prescribed time, the reasons for the delay must be given.

Appeals by Teachers.

Any person refused a certificate by the county superintendent of schools may make appeal to the state superintendent, according to section 452, using the following form: To A. B., County Superintendent of Schools for County:

Sir: You are hereby notified that I intend to appeal from your refusal to grant me a certificate, and I hereby ask you for your reasons for such a refusal, that I may present the same to the state superintendent with my appeal.

Respectfully yours,

The refusal is ordinarily for alleged want of learning. In this case the appellant will usually appear before the state superintendent for rëexamination. He should not come, however, without previous notice; but after notice to the county superin- . tendent, as above, and on obtaining the statement of reasons for refusal, he should forward the same to the state superintendent, notifying him of his desire for a reexamination, that a time may be fixed which may be convenient to both parties.

If the appellant and county superintendent mutually agree that the appeal shall be decided on the papers on which a certificate was refused, a reëxamination may not be

necessary.

If the refusal is for alleged want of ability to teach, or for alleged immorality, the appeal will be decided on the evidence submitted in writing by the parties. The papers should be made out and verified, and copies served, as provided under the Rules for Appeals.

In case a teacher's certificate is annulled, he also has a right of appeal. For this purpose the following form may be used:

To A. B., County Superintendent of Schools for

County:

Sir: You are hereby notified that I intend to appeal from your action in annulling my certificate, and I hereby ask for your reasons for such action, that I may present the same to the state superintendent, with my appeal.

Respectfully yours,

The directions given above, in regard to an appeal from a refusal to grant a certificate are to be followed, as far as applicable, in an appeal from the action of a superintendent in annulling a certificate.

Section 553m-1 to Section 553m-25, inclusive.

The

This statute demands study on the part of the school officers and electors. question of whether or not a county shall adopt a uniform system of textbooks for the schools must be decided by the members of the school district board when assembled at the regular county school board convention. If this question is presented to the county school board convention it should be presented in the form of a resolution and the resolution should be read and discussed before the vote is taken. Each district is entitled to one vote by its representative who may be present at the convention, no matter whether this representative is district clerk or some other officer. The vote must be taken by ballot. The ballot should have written or printed thereon "For County Uniformity of Textbooks," "Against County Uniformity of Textbooks." If a majority of the districts in the county or superintendent district vote in favor of county uniformity of textbooks, the members must immediately proceed to the election of a

(Eight

county board of education, to be composed of five persons, unless there should not be five properly qualified persons in the county. The board may then be composed of three persons. Each of the members of the board of education must have had at least five years of experience in teaching or in the supervision of public schools. months of teaching may for the present be construed as equivalent to one year's teaching.) The term of office of the members of the board of education is five years. Vacancies are to be filled regularly by the school board conventions and may be filled temporarily by the county board of education. It is the duty of the county board of education to select the textbooks for use in the schools. All cities and districts malutaining a free high school and all state graded schools of the first class are exempt from the operation of this statute. It applies, however, to the one-room common schools and to the state graded schools of the second class. Districts in which the free textbook system has been adopted are not required to adopt the textbooks adopted by the board of education until some change is made in the textbooks adopted for use in that particular district. Whenever any textbook furnished free is changed, however, a corresponding book of the uniform series must take its place. The state graded schools of the first class and the grades below the high schools are privileged to adopt the uniform series provided by the board of education and are also to secure the books for the same rates that are paid by the one-department schools. When textbooks are once introduced they must not be changed within five years from the date of the adoption. Additional and supplementary textbooks may be selected by the district boards of the different districts, but the supplementary books must not be used to the exclusion of the books adopted by the board of education. Suitable and convenient depositories are to be provided for the purpose of furnishing the books. The persons having charge of the sale of uniform adopted textbooks are to be governed strictly by the provisions of the act. It must be remembered that the only schools coming within the scope of this law are the one-department country schools, and the two-department state graded schools.

See also Sections 553m-101 to 553m-108 known as the uniform price textbook law.

TEXTBOOKS.

Section 553m-101 to Section 553m-108, inclusive.

These sections demand the attention of every school officer and board of education. This is especially true in all cases where the plan of furnishing free textbooks has been adopted. A pamphlet giving the names of publishers with price list of textbooks will be sent out by the state superintendent on or before the first day of June to be distributed to each school district in the state. The purpose of this statute is to regulate the sale of textbooks, prevent discrimination in prices and enable school officers to secure textbooks for the schools at the lowest rate. The textbook law will be found printed in the textbook pamphlet and it is the purpose of the office of the state superintendent to keep all school officers regularly informed with reference to textbook prices.

Sections 560 to 560n.

These sections relate to the $50 special aid given to one room rural schools of the first class and the special apportionment made to the teacher under certain conditions. Some 5,500 country schools have already taken advantage of the $50 law. Others should follow.

The teaching as required under section 560g-1, included among the sections named above, must be continuous or in consecutive years. If a person taught for one school year ending June 30, last in a district and another teacher was contracted with for the fall term or the whole of the succeeding year, but quits after teaching the fall term or part of the year and the former teacher is rehired, said former teacher is not entitled to consideration under this statute. The continuous service of such teacher must be computed from the date on which she began teaching after being rehired. The number of months of school provided for by the electors or the board of the district contitutes a school year for that special district. This aid cannot be paid to a teacher who is not energetic, progressive, businesslike, well-qualified academically, and a good disciplinarian,-in other words, "efficient," and neat in her work. The county superintendent must make the reports.

SUGGESTIVE FORMS FOR THE USE OF

TOWN AND SCHOOL OFFICERS.

No. 1

Form of order organizing a new school district, to be filed with the town clerk. It is hereby ordered and determined that [here describe the territory to be comprised in the district, by sections and parts of sections] shall hereafter constitute a school district, to be known as school district No. of the town of Given under our hands, this

(Signed)

day of

19-.

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NOTE. For form of order organizing joint district, see No. 6. If created from an old district (or districts), give the district number and description of territory taken therefrom.

No. 2.

Form of notice for the first meeting of a school district, to be delivered by the town supervisors to a taxable inhabitant of the district. day of

and

Having, on the 19-, formed a new school district, to be known as school district No. of the town of —, [or joint school district No. —, of towns of in case it be a joint district] comprising the following territory: [Here insert the description of the district, as in form No. 1], you are hereby directed to notify every qualified voter (man or woman) of said district to attend the first meeting thereof, which is hereby appointed to be held at the house of in said district, on the 19-, at o'clock in the -noon, by reading this notice in the hearing of each such voter, or in case of absence from his place of residence, by leaving thereat a written notice of the time and place of such meeting, at least five days before the time appointed for such meeting, and thereof to make due return. (See form No. 4.)

day of

Dated at

(Signed)

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NOTE. If it is a joint district, the notice must be signed by the supervisors of each town in which any part of the district lies and women as well as men must be notified.

No. 3.

Form of notice for first meeting, to be left at the residence of a voter when absent. To A. A.:

o'clock in the
(Signed)

By direction of the supervisors of the town of -, you are hereby notified that the first meeting of school district No. —, of recently formed, will be held at the house of in said district, on the day of 19-, at -noon. Your attendance is requested. G

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H

No. 4.

(Person appointed to give notice.)

Form of return to be endorsed upon notice received from town supervisors, on the

formation of a school district.

I hereby certify that I have notified the following named persons [here give the names in full], personally, and the following named persons [here insert names] by copy, according to the directions of the within notice.

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