Redmond v. Lexington County School District No. Four

445 S.E.2d 441, 314 S.C. 431, 1994 S.C. LEXIS 129
CourtSupreme Court of South Carolina
DecidedJune 6, 1994
Docket24084
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 445 S.E.2d 441 (Redmond v. Lexington County School District No. Four) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of South Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Redmond v. Lexington County School District No. Four, 445 S.E.2d 441, 314 S.C. 431, 1994 S.C. LEXIS 129 (S.C. 1994).

Opinions

Toal, Justice:

This is an appeal of the trial court’s grant of the Defendants Lexington County School District No. 4 and members of the Board of Trustees’ motion to dismiss the Plaintiffs’ complaint for failure to state a cause of action under Rule 12(b)(6), SCRCP. We AFFIRM.

FACTS

The Plaintiffs, property owners in Lexington County School District No. 4 (District), filed a class-action suit against the District and the members of the Board of Trustees (Board) to prohibit the Board from entering into a lease-purchase agreement to build a new middle school.

The Board approved the lease-purchase agreement after a bond referendum was defeated by the electors of the District. The bond referendum was necessary to authorize bonded indebtedness in excess of the 8% limit of Article X, § 15 of the South Carolina Constitution. The Plaintiffs allege the Board’s decision to approve the lease-purchase method in effect nullified the vote of the electors of the District, and constituted an abuse of discretion.

The Plaintiffs additionally allege that the Board has not made necessary repairs to existing schools in the District, and that such repairs are ministerial, not discretionary duties mandated by S.C. Code Ann. § 59-19-90 (1990) and 24 S.C. Code Ann. Regs. § 43-180 (1992).

The Plaintiffs prayed for the following remedies: 1) a temporary injunction to prohibit the Defendants from entering into the lease-purchase agreement until such time as the tax base was adequate, and 2) a writ of mandamus to compel the Board to repair and renovate existing schools, including one school which had been closed due to structural defects.

[434]*434LAW/ANALYSIS

In Caddell v. Lexington County School District No. 1, 296 S.C. 397, 373 S.E. (2d) 598 (1988), this Court held that lease-purchase agreements do not constitute debt as that term is used in the South Carolina Constitution. Article X, § 15 of the South Carolina Constitution provides that voter approval is needed before any school district may incur general obligation debt in an amount in excess of 8% of the assessed value of all taxable property of such school district.

The Plaintiffs attempt to distinguish this case on the basis that although entering into such an agreement would not violate Article X, § 15, it would constitute an abuse of discretion. The Plaintiffs allege that 1) the tax base is not sufficient to support such an expansion, 2) existing schools have not been maintained due to a shortage of funds, 3) there is a possibility of a tax reassessment of a major corporate landholder in the District, and 4) the proposed site of the new school contains environmental hazards that would pose a risk to students.

In Caddell, the voters had on three occasions rejected referenda to authorize bonded indebtedness. The Plaintiffs argue that such a course would in effect nullify the vote of the electors of the District. As this Court pointed out in Caddell, however, “It is not the construction... for which voter approval is required ... [rjather, it is the creation of a general obligation debt . . . which requires the assent of the voters.” Caddell at 401-02, 373 S.E. (2d) at 600 (citing Gude v. City of Lakewood, 636 P. (2d) 691, 697 (Colo.1981)). Since lease-purchase agreements have not been designated general obligation debt by the legislature, voter approval is not required.

As Justice Finney recognized in his dissent in Caddell, the use of lease-purchase agreements in these circumstances appears to allow school districts to circumvent the spirit of the constitutional limitation on general obligation debt. But as we were constrained to conclude in Caddell, the legislature has not provided a similar limitation on lease-purchase agreements. However, it is apparent some members of the legislature are finding this resulting incongruity of concern, as evidenced by the South Carolina Senate’s recent passage of a bill which would require the amount expended for lease-purchase agreements to be counted towards the constitutional limita[435]*435tion on general obligation debt.1 If this bill is eventually passed by the House and signed by the Governor, the Defendants’ position will obviously not merit the same result reached in Caddell and in this case. Until the legislature has definitively spoken on this issue, however, we must apply the law as it currently exists.

South Carolina law provides that each school district shall be under the management and control of the board of trustees, subject to the supervision of the county board of education. S.C. Code Ann. § 59-19-10 (1990). Section 59-19-90, in particular sub-parts (1), (5), (7), and (9), provides the general powers and duties of the board of trustees as follows:

(1) Provide schoolhouses. Provide suitable schoolhouses in its district and make them comfortable, paying due regard to any schoolhouse already built or site procured, as well as to all other circumstances proper to be considered so as best to promote the educational interest of the districts;
*****
(5) Control school property. Take care of, manage, and control the school property of the district;
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(7) Control educational interest of district. Manage and control local educational interests of its district, with the exclusive authority to operate or not to operate any public school or schools;
*****
(9) Transfer and assign pupils. Transfer any pupil from one school to another so as to promote the best interests of education, and determine the school within its district in which any pupil shall enroll____

In Gamble v. Williamsburg County School District, 305 S.C. 288, 408 S.E. (2d) 217 (1991), this Court held that the standard of review in determining whether the Board properly exercised its discretion under § 59-19-90 is whether the [436]*436action measures up to any fair test of reason, and that a clear abuse of discretion is required to justify judicial interference. Id. at 290, 408 S.E. (2d) at 218. At issue in Gamble was whether the Board abused its discretion in closing a school. The Court held the only evidence of a disadvantage to students was that some students would have to travel farther. The Court held this was not an abuse of discretion and was within the Board’s power under § 59-19-90.

Similarly, the South Carolina Court of Appeals stated in Singleton v. Horry County School District, 289 S.C. 223, 345 S.E. (2d) 751 (Ct. App. 1986), that “[c]ourts will not interfere with the exercise of discretion by school boards in matters committed by law to their judgment unless there is clear evidence that the board has acted corruptly, in bad faith, or in clear abuse of its powers.” Id. at 227-28, 345 S.E. (2d) at 753.

Plaintiffs argue that bonded indebtedness would be less expensive than the lease-purchase method, and that had the voters been informed the Board was considering this alternative, they might have approved the bonds. In Sarrat v. Cash, 103 S.C. 531, 88 S.E. 256 (1916), however, this Court held that the power and duty of the trustees is continuing and inalienable. Id. at 535, 88 S.E. at 258. In Sarrat,

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Redmond v. LEXINGTON CTY. SCHOOL DIST.
445 S.E.2d 441 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 1994)

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Bluebook (online)
445 S.E.2d 441, 314 S.C. 431, 1994 S.C. LEXIS 129, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/redmond-v-lexington-county-school-district-no-four-sc-1994.