Common School District No. 13 v. Board of County Commissioners

Idaho Supreme Court

Common School District No. 13 v. Board of County Commissioners

295 P.2d 695, 77 Idaho 505, 1956 Ida. LEXIS 330

CourtIdaho Supreme Court

DecidedMarch 28, 1956

DocketNo. 8291

StatusPublished

Cited by3 cases

This text of 295 P.2d 695 (Common School District No. 13 v. Board of County Commissioners) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Common School District No. 13 v. Board of County Commissioners, 295 P.2d 695, 77 Idaho 505, 1956 Ida. LEXIS 330 (Idaho 1956).

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Opinion

KEETON, Justice.

Wendell School District No. 232 is a Class B School District located in Good-ing County, and will hereinafter be referred to as the Wendell District. Common School District No. 13 of Gooding County is contiguous to and lies south of the Wendell District and will be hereinafter referred to as the Orchard Valley District.

At a special election held July 21, 1953, a plan to reorganize the Wendell District and Orchard Valley District into one school district was defeated. Thereafter a plan to combine portions of the Orchard Valley District with the Wendell District was submitted to the voters of the Wendell District and the voters within the portions of the Orchard Valley District proposed to be consolidated with the Wendell District, and carried. Voters living within the area of the Orchard Valley District not proposed by the plan to be consolidated with the Wendell District were prohibited from voting.

The Board of County Commissioners of Gooding County entered an order dated November 23, 1953, confirming the consolidation, effective immediately, which was approved by the State Board of Education. By the proceedings taken, four separate non-contiguous portions of the Orchard Valley District were made a part of a new school district to be known as Class A School District No. 232 of Good-ing County, State of Idaho. From the order of the Board of County Commissioners the trustees of the Orchard Valley District, and certain taxpayers, residents of that District, appealed to the District 'Court. On January 8, 1954, trial was had before the court and thereafter judgment entered confirming the order of the Board of County Commissioners, subject to certain exceptions and changes hereinafter discussed.

By the judgment the trial Judge eliminated from the proposed district certain lands proposed to be consolidated with the Wendell District, and included certain other lands within the area to be annexed, and re-established the boundaries of the portion of the Orchard Valley District to be consolidated with the Wendell District.

Appellants set forth numerous assignments of error and respondent assigns [509]*509certain designated “cross-assignments of error”. Respondent contends that on the appeal from the order creating the new district the order calling the election, dated October 27, 1953, was not before the District Court and is not now before this Court for review, contending that no timely appeal was taken from the order calling the election; that the only matters to be considered by the District Court and this Court are the proceedings of the Board of County Commissioners of November 23, 1953, creating the proposed new school district.

Section 33-519, I.C., a portion of the Reorganization of School Districts Act, provides for an appeal to the District 'Court from the order of the Board of County Commissioners.

The order of the Board of County Commissioners dated November 23, 1953, was the order attempting to create and establish the new school district comprising portions of the Orchard Valley District and all of the Wendell District. It was from this order that the aggrieved appellants appealed.

Such an appeal from the order of the Board of County Commissioners purporting to create and establish a new school district includes all proceedings leading up to the creation and establishment of such district. Until the new district was established by the County Commissioners, appellants were not aggrieved. On review of the order creating the new district such appeal encompasses the order calling the election (order of October 27, 1953). Therefore, in reviewing the proceedings from the order creating the new district the order calling the election may be reviewed as one of the interlocutory steps made prior to the time the final order of confirmation is entered.

It is the contention of appellants that the order of the Board of County 'Commissioners limiting the persons entitled to vote in the annexation proposal to persons residing within the area sought to be annexed to the Wendell District, and excluding the voters living in the portion not sought to be annexed, is not conformable to Sections 33-510 and 33-511, I.C., contending that when a part of the Orchard Valley District was sought to be cut off and consolidated with the Wendell District, all qualified voters living in the Orchard Valley District should have been permitted to vote. The parties admitted that had all such qualified voters been permitted to vote the proposal would have been defeated.

Section 33-510, I.C., provides that the Board of County Commissioners shall enter an order directing that the question of establishing the new proposed reorganization school district shall be submitted to the qualified voters of the territory or various territories affected thereby, and Section 33-51.1, I.C., provides that when a reorganization plan has been approved by the County Committee and the State Committee notice of the same shall be transmitted to the Board of 'County Commis[510]*510sioners. The Board shall then enter an order directing that the question of establishing such revised plan of reorganization shall be submitted to the voters of the territory or various territories affected thereby. It is the contention of appellants that all qualified voters residing in the Orchard Valley District are persons affected by the proposed plan.

Respondent contends that where, as here, a revised proposal of reorganization of school districts is submitted, only the qualified electors residing within the boundaries of the proposed new district are entitled to vote, thus limiting the qualified voters of the Orchard Valley District to those residing in the area sought to be consolidated and cites Section 33 — 511, I.C., as authority for the contention.

The part of the section cited to sustain respondent’s contention provides:

“Within ten (10) days after receipt of such notice, the board of county commissioners shall enter an order directing that the question of establishing such revised plan of reorganization and adjustments shall be submitted to the voters of the territory or various territories affected thereby, and at the same time shall forthwith call and cause to be held, in the manner and for the purpose specified in section 33-510, a special election of the qualified voters residing within the boundaries of the proposed new district as revised; and if a majority of the qualified voters, as determined in the manner prescribed by section 33-510, are in favor of the formation of the proposed new district, the board of county commissioners shall by order establish such district and perform other necessary duties relating thereto in like manner and with the same effect as is provided in section 33-510.” (Emphasis supplied.)

Where a reorganization plan proposes to take away portions of an existing common school district, the remaining portions of such district are territory affected by such reorganization, and the qualified voters within those portions of the school district not sought to be annexed are entitled to vote upon such reorganization plan. “Territory affected” as used in the statute means the whole of the district from which a part is sought to be taken. This construction is supported by the following cases: Appeal of Common School Districts Nos. 16, 45 and 94, Dakota County, 158 Minn. 317, 197 N.W. 742; In re Dahlgren, 134 Minn. 82, 158 N.W. 729; State ex rel. Ice v. Welch, 46 S.D. 14, 190 N.W. 77; Cummings v. Drake, 164 Ga. 251, 138 S.E. 156.

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