Goren v. Buena High School Dist. of Cochise County

372 P.2d 692, 91 Ariz. 348, 1962 Ariz. LEXIS 300
CourtArizona Supreme Court
DecidedJune 29, 1962
Docket6761
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 372 P.2d 692 (Goren v. Buena High School Dist. of Cochise County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Arizona Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Goren v. Buena High School Dist. of Cochise County, 372 P.2d 692, 91 Ariz. 348, 1962 Ariz. LEXIS 300 (Ark. 1962).

Opinion

ROSS F. JONES, Superior Court Judge.

This is an appeal by respondent, Patricia M. Goren, Cochise County School Superintendent, from a peremptory writ of mandamus issued by the trial court in favor of petitioner, Buena High School District.

The proceedings below were not reported, therefore the facts herein (which are not in conflict) are taken from the briefs of the parties. On July 1} 1957, the Tombstone Union High School District was composed of two common (or elementary) school districts, to wit: Tombstone Elementary School District No. 1 and Buena Elementary School District No. 68. On July 18 the Board of Supervisors of Cochise County ordered that the Buena District be excluded from the Union High School District 1 and on August 6 an election was held in which a majority of the voters in the Buena District favored the establishment of a high school. 2 Shortly thereafter a high school site was chosen and on March 14, *351 1958 a re-exclusion was made by the County Board of Supervisors confirming the previous exclusion order; this was followed by another election on March 31, favoring the establishment of a high school district coterminous with the common school district. A transcript of the boundaries was filed twice with the board of supervisors and the county assessor on or before April 1.

On April 4 a resolution was adopted by the “Board of Education of the Buena High School District” 3 to submit to the electorate a proposed $50,000 bond issue, and on April 10 and thereafter notice was published by the County Board of Supervisors inviting bids for the issue. On April 10 also, a brokerage firm was employed as the district fiscal agent and a law firm employed in connection with the contemplated issue. By a contract dated April 19, an architect was employed to draw plans for the high school and on May 2 the electors • approved the $50,000 bond issue, proceeds from which were to be used in constructing, furnishing and equipping the school. On or about May 13 the district advertised for bids for the construction of the high school and on May 19 bids for the purchase of the bonds were opened. The bonds were issued and delivered to the most favorable bidder on June 4 and the proceeds therefrom deposited by the County Treasurer in the Buena High School Building Fund. Bids for construction of the building were received until June 6 at which time the most favorable bidder was chosen; a contract was entered into with him on July 1, although construction had begun on June 24.

Thereafter the district presented vouchers to the respondent County School Superintendent to have her draw warrants for the payment of fees to the attorneys, fiscal agent, architect, and contractor and for the expenses of publication. The vouchers were returned however with a notation to the effect that the obligations had been incurred before the district had come into existence, and that respondent was in doubt as to the power and authority of the board of education to obligate the district. Respondent then sought a declaratory judgment and the district a writ of mandamus. The trial court disposed of the matter by means of the writ because it was the “speedier” method, and ordered respondent to issue the warrants for payment from the district’s special building fund which held the proceeds from the bond issue. The trial court refused to stay the execution of the *352 peremptory writ and respondent has since appealed.

Respondent assigned five errors contending: 1) that A.R.S. § 15-402 (1956) 4 which provides that a transcript of the boundaries of each school district shall be filed on or before April 1 and become the legal boundaries on July 1 of each year; applies to high as well as to common school districts, 2) that a high school district does not become effective until the boundaries are legally fixed; 3) that the district had no authority to issue bonds or incur indebtedness until the boundaries became legally fixed; 4) that no funds were budgeted for school construction and a school district can incur no indebtedness and make no expenditures except in accordance with a budget; and 5) that even if the proceeds were validly in the building fund, some of the expenditures were nevertheless invalid because not expended for constructing, furnishing or acquiring a high school building.

Respondent’s contention that § 15— 402 is applicable to high school districts formed under §§ 15-501, subd. A and 15-502, as well as to common school districts, is correct. In Boyd v. Bell, 68 Ariz. 166, 178, 203 P.2d 618, 626 (1949), we said:

“Section 54-403 5 provides: ‘The county school superintendent shall, on the first day of July of each year, file with the board of supervisors a transcript of the boundaries of each school district within his county, * * *.’
"It has never been even suggested that this section does not include high school districts as well as common school districts(Emphasis added.)

Since the holding of the case was only that the provisions of what is now § 15-402, subds. B and C, dealing with a change in or enlarging of boundaries, applied both to common and high school districts, this language may be considered dictum. However, in view of the fact that the boundary filing and boundary changing provisions were in the same section when enacted 6 and have undergone no substantial change since, we adopt the reasoning of the court in Bell v. Boyd and hold that the provision *353 for filing a transcript of boundaries of each district, as well as the provisions concerning the change of boundaries, was meant to apply to both common and high school districts. Therefore since the transcript in the instant case was filed before April 1, 1958, the boundaries did not become the legal boundaries of the district until July 1, 1958.

As to respondent’s second contention, certainly the Buena High School District would have become effective upon compliance with §§ 15-501, subd. A and 15-502 unless § 15-402, subd. A could be read as postponing its effectiveness until July.l. Statutes dealing with the creation or alteration of school districts, however, are not to have requirements read into them which are not plainly expressed therein or necessarily inferred therefrom. 7 There is nothing in § 15-402, subd. A which expressly postpones the effectiveness of a school district until July 1, and no such intention can be inferred therefrom in view of the other sections affected by § 15-402 which do expressly set a date for effectiveness. Section 15-403, subd.

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Bluebook (online)
372 P.2d 692, 91 Ariz. 348, 1962 Ariz. LEXIS 300, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/goren-v-buena-high-school-dist-of-cochise-county-ariz-1962.