Glenham Independent School District No. 12 v. Walworth County Board of Education

98 N.W.2d 348, 78 S.D. 63, 1959 S.D. LEXIS 7
CourtSouth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 8, 1959
DocketFile 9773
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 98 N.W.2d 348 (Glenham Independent School District No. 12 v. Walworth County Board of Education) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering South Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Glenham Independent School District No. 12 v. Walworth County Board of Education, 98 N.W.2d 348, 78 S.D. 63, 1959 S.D. LEXIS 7 (S.D. 1959).

Opinions

SMITH, J.

The Glenham Independent School District No. 12 of Walworth County, South Dakota, embraces a congressional township and operates a grade and high school in the city of Glenham. Pursuant to section 20, Chapter 8 of Chapter 41, Session Laws of 1955, as amended by section 3, Chapter 62, Session Laws of 1957, electors in the northern portion of the district petitioned the County Board of Education of Walworth County for a change of boundaries of the district. The change of boundaries described in the petition involved the transfer to the adjoining Mobridge Independent School District of approximately the north thirty sections of the township, and the reduction of the territory of the Glenham district to the area of the city of Glenham, the C., M., St. P. and P. Railway right of way and approximately six sections of farm land. A resolution of the County Board granted the petition. From this action of the County Board separate appeals to the circuit court were prosecuted by, the Glenham district and the above named Walter Mindt and John F. Fiedler, residents and taxpayers of the 'deleted territory of the Glenham district. At the same time the above named Walter Schlomer and Frank Vojta, taxpayers and residents of the reduced area [66]*66of that district, instituted an action in circuit court praying that the County Board be restrained and enjoined from proceeding with the described change of boundaries of the district. Pursuant to the stipulation of counsel these several proceedings were ordered consolidated. After trial be novo in the circuit court a judgment was entered affirming the action of the County Board of Education. Prom that judgment the Glenham district and the respective individuals, above named, have appealed to this court.

Section 26 of Chapter 8 of Chapter 41, Session Laws of 1955 provides for an appeal by “Any party feeling aggrieved” b3r any decision made by the county board under Chapter 8 of Chapter 41 of the Session Laws of 1955. Having in view 1he differences in phrasing of this special provision for appeals under Chapter 8 of the above mentioned Ch. 41 and of the general provision for appeals from school decisions contained in section 44 of Chapter 9 of said Ch. 41, and looking to the Course of our decisions dealing with the phrase “persons aggrieved” in like appeal statutes, cf. Camp Crook Independent School District No. 1, Harding County v. Shevling, 65 S.D. 14 at page 24, 270 N.W. 518, at page 523, this court, of its own motion, has given some consideration to the intention of the legislature to grant a right of appeal to a school district from decisions of the county board dealing with the reorganization of districts. As all of the questions raised by the parties are before us in the appeal by the individuals above named we have determined to reserve the point for future decision in a cause wherein it has been briefed and argued by counsel.

In 1955 the 'legislature enacted a “Public School Law Revision Act” cited as Oh. 41, Laws of 1955. Chapter 8 of that act is entitled “School District Organization”. It is this chapter, as amended by the Laws of 1957, which is involved in the issues we are to consider. The section numbers we employ have reference to that chapter.

The legislature, by sections 7 to 12, inclusive, required each County Board of Education, with the assistance of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, to develop a [67]*67preliminary plan and, after public 'hearings, to adopt a “Master Plan” for the reorganization of school districts within the county. It defined the term “reorganization” by subsection 1 of section 1 to “mean and include the formation, consolidation, or subdivision of school districts or any alteration whatsoever of school district boundaries.” Subsequent sections of Ch. 8 prescribe the procedure for effecting reorganizations.

Section 5, which includes several subsections, in its original form reads in part as follows:

“Requirements and limitations for reorganization. Except for the reorganization of unorganized territory and the reorganization caused by an incorporated town or city extending its boundaries, any reorganization of school districts by either the electors or the county board must meet the following requirements and limitations for reorganization:
“1. No reorganization of school districts shall take place until the county or counties in which the reorganization is to take place has prepared a master plan which has been approved by the State Board of Education.”

By section 1, Ch. 60, Laws of 1957, the above quoted subsection 1 of section 5 was amended to read as follows:

“(1) Prior to the final adoption of a county master plan, as provided by law, school districts may reorganize; provided that each such proposed reorganization is approved by the county board of education and a majority of the qualified electors in each school district whose boundaries are affected by sutíh proposed reorganization, as evidenced by a petition for reorganization. Such petition shall be filed with the county auditor who shall certify that signatures on the aforementioned petitions represent a majority of the electors in each school district affected.”

[68]*68As we have indicated, the petition of the electors, and the change of boundaries resolution of the County Board of Education are founded on section 20, as amended by section 3, Ch. 62, Laws of 1957. That section reads as follows:

“Change of district boundaries. The county board shall have the power at its discretion upon proper petition as hereinafter provided to change any boundary of any school district within its county without a vote of any electors providing the boundary change does not create any more or any less school districts than those already in existence and providing such change meets* the requirements- and limitations for reorganization.
“All applications for a change in school district boundaries must be made to the county board of education in the form of a petition signed by over fifty percent of the electors residing in the area to be transferred by such boundary change. Any boundary change made under this section of the law shall not leave any school district with less than the minimum requirements of a school district as provided in this chapter.”

The first contention of appellants is that the amended subsection (1) of -section 5 is a limitation upon the operation of amended section 20. Although a master plan for the reorganization -of the school districts of Walworth county had been adopted, as provided by section 11, before a petition for the above described -change of boundaries conforming to amended section 20 had been filed and granted by the action of the County Board, it is the .position of the appellants that the action of the County Board was ineffective and void because the petition upon which they acted was not signed and filed by a majority of the- electors of “each school district whose boundaries- are affected by the proposed reorganization” as required by the amended subsection (1) of section 5.

The contention is untenable. The* intention revealed by the original subsection 1 of section 5 was that, except for [69]

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Bluebook (online)
98 N.W.2d 348, 78 S.D. 63, 1959 S.D. LEXIS 7, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/glenham-independent-school-district-no-12-v-walworth-county-board-of-sd-1959.