State ex rel. Ach v. Evans

90 Ohio St. (N.S.) 243
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedJune 11, 1914
DocketNo. 14466
StatusPublished

This text of 90 Ohio St. (N.S.) 243 (State ex rel. Ach v. Evans) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State ex rel. Ach v. Evans, 90 Ohio St. (N.S.) 243 (Ohio 1914).

Opinion

Wanamaker, J.

This is a suit in quo warranto, originally filed in the supreme court of Ohio by the relators, Samuel Ach and others, for the purpose of determining the respective rights of the relators and the defendants to be and constitute the board of education of the school district of the city of Cincinnati.

Two questions are here involved:

1. Is the Jung small school-board bill, as it is popularly known, as found in Sections 4698 to 4707, inclusive, and 4745, 4949, .4992 and 4997 of the General Code of Ohio, constitutional?

2. Whether or not the proceedings had by the [244]*244large, or old, school board of Cincinnati were regular and valid under and pursuant to said sections so as to make the small school board, composed of the relators, a legal and valid board ?

Excepting Sections 4949 and 4992, General Code, the foregoing sections were passed May 2, 1913.

The defendants claim that the Jung school-board act is unconstitutional by reason—

1. That it violates Section 26 of Article JI of the Constitution, which reads: “All laws, of a general nature, shall have a uniform operation throughout the state.” It is admitted of course that legislation pertaining to the public schools of Ohio is of a general nature and must have a uniform operation throughout the state. Does the Jung act violate this provision? It is claimed by the defendants that it does wherein it attempts to classify city school districts. That the legislature has the right to classify school districts as much as it has to classify municipalities, so long as it is agreeable to the constitution, there can be no doubt. That has been so often held in so many cases that it would be superfluous'to give any Ohio citations in support of it.

What is the classification provided for in these sections ?

First class: City districts having a population of less than fifty thousand persons.

Second class: City districts having a population of fifty thousand persons but less than one hundred and fifty thousand persons.

Third class: City districts having a population of one hundred and fifty thousand persons or more.

It would seem that some classification was nec[245]*245essary in order that the legislature shall properly exercise its functions under Article VI, Section 3, of the Constitution, which provides: “Provision shall be made by law for the organization, administration and control of the public school system of the state supported by public funds.” Manifestly an organization for a village school district should be radically different from the city school district in the larger cities of the state, and for that purpose a proper classification is essential. Our courts have repeatedly held that the matter of classification based on population is a proper standard, so long as such classification is not a false, unnecessary, arbitrary and evasive one. See Board of Health v. City of Greenville, 86 Ohio St., 1.

Now, can it be fairly said that these lines and limitations of fifty thousand, of one hundred and fifty thousand and those in excess of one hundred and fifty thousand are arbitrary, unreasonable and evasive ?

All the courts of all the states, including the federal courts as well, have laid down the sound rule that a legislative enactment is presumed in law and in fact to be constitutional; that such acts should not be declared unconstitutional by a court unless they be “clearly” so. Some of the courts have used the words “unless it be unconstitutional beyond a reasonable doubt.” Inasmuch as the Jung act operates uniformly upon all school districts in excess of one hundred and fifty thousand population, to-wit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo, how can it be said that it is “clearly-unconstitutional” upon that ground?

[246]*2462. The second objection raised by the .defendants-to the constitutionality, of the-act. relates ,to the “referendum” provision of the various sections of the act. These sections are as follows: • Section 4704, Section 4705, Section 4706 and Section 4707. The section specially complained of is Section 4705' which reads: “Said commission shall prepare and submit to the electors at the next general school election, if one occur not less than one hundred and twenty,days after the. passage of said resolution, otherwise, at the second general school election, Two or more plans for the organization of .the .board of’ education in such district, but in.no event shall less than two plans be submitted. Each plan shall provide for the number :of members, the length of term of the members and the organization of .the board; one plan so submitted shall provide for a board of-the same number and of the same organizations as the board existing in said district at the-time of -said election. Said plans shall be submitted to the elect-' ors of said district on a.separate ballot, bearing no . party designation and in such form as said commission may determine.”

Now, the act was. approved May 2, 1913. Being-subject to the general, referendum provision of the-constitution- it could not become a law until ninety days had elapsed, which would .be - substantially1 August 1, 1913.

Sections 4704 and 4705 provide for. ^..appointment of a commission of seven members to.prepare and submit to the electors at the riext general school election “if dne occur not less than one hundred and twenty days after the passage of said resolution,[247]*247otherwise, at the second general school election,” etc. The particular grievance of the defendants, which is alleged as the basis of the claim of unconstitutionality concerning the referendum provisions of the act, is that the one hundred and twenty days’ limitation, within which the referendum may not be held, renders by its own force these1 sections unconstitutional.

The constitutional provision relating to such a Referendum is' as follows: “Article VI, Section 3: 1 Provision shall be made by law for the organization,-administration and control of the public school system of the state supported by public funds: provided, that each school district embraced wholly or in-part within any city shall have the power by referendum vote to determine for itself the number of members and the organization of the district board ■of education, and provision shall be made by law ■ for the exercise of this-power by such school dis- ■ tricts.”

• Now, it has always been recognized as a proper exercise of legislative power for the legislature to determine for itself when the act or part thereof - shall] go into effect. This the legislature undertook to do by-putting into the act the “one hundred and ■ twenty ..day”'provision. The only limitation upon the legislature in this behalf would be a constitu- ■ t-ional limitation, and there is' none suggested in this ..case-

The. mere, suggestion by counsel that this necessarily carries a referendum election beyond the time of the-first regular November-election for members of the school' board cannot be used as the- basis of- a [248]*248claim of unconstitutionality. Statutes cannot be held unconstitutional upon the ground that somebody disagrees with the legislature as to the time at which an act should take effect. The legislature is presumed to have acted in good faith, and there is nothing in the record to overcome that presumption.

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90 Ohio St. (N.S.) 243, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-ach-v-evans-ohio-1914.