IV. Where Town Superintendents have improperly granted or annulled a certificate or qualification to a teacher; or have refused to grant or annul such certificate; and where they have undertaken to perform any official act, or refused to discharge any duty imposed by law or under its authority, in the inspection of teachers and visitation of schools.

V. Where Clerks of Districts, Clerks of Towns, or other ministerial officers, refuse to perform any duty enjoined by the Common School Act.

VI. Where any other matter under the said act, shall be presented, either in consequence of disputes between districts respecting their boundaries, or any other subject; or in consequence of disputes between any officers charged with the execution of any duties under the laws concerning Common Schools, or disputes between them any other person relating to such duties or any of them.

Under the 140th section "respecting School District Libraries," (No. 159.)

VII. Appeals may be made from any act or decision of trustees or school districts concerning the Libraries or the books therein, or the use of such books.

VIII. Any act or decision of the Librarian in respect to the Library.

IX. Any act or decision of any district meeting in relation to their school library.

X. Appeals also lies from the acts of Town Superintendents of Common Schools in withholding or paying over library money to any district.

BY WHOM APPEALS ARE TO BE MADE.

XII. The person aggrieved by the act complained of, only, can appeal. Generally every inhabitant of a district is aggrieved by the wrongful act or omission of a trustee or town superintendent, by which money or property is disposed of, or not secured for the benefit of the district. But no one is aggrieved by another being included in a tax list or rate-bill, although other inhabitants are by the omission of one who should be taxed; and appeals may be made by trustees, in behalf of their districts whenever they are aggrieved.

FORM AND MANNER OF PROCEEDING.

XIII. An appeal must be in writing and signed by the appellant. When made by the trustees of a district, it must be signed by all the trustees, or a reason must be given for the omission of any, verified by the oath of the appellant, or of some person acquainted with such reason.

XIV. A copy of the appeal, duly verified, and of all the statements, maps and papers intended to be presented in support of it,

must be served on the officers whose act or decision is complained of, or some of them; or if it be from the decision or proceeding of a district meeting, upon the district clerk or one of the trustees, whose duty it is to cause information of such appeal to be given to the inhabitants who voted for the decision or proceeding appealed from.

XV. Such service must be made within thirty days after the making of the decision, or the performance of the act complained of, or within that time, after the knowledge of the cause of complaint came to the appellant, or some satisfactory excuse must be rendered for delay.

XVI. The party on whom the appeal was served, must within ten days from the time of such service, answer the same, either by concurring in a statement of facts with the appellant, or by a separate answer. Such statement and answer must be signed by all the trustees, or other officers, whose act, omission or decision is appealed from, or a good reason on oath must be given, for the omission of the signature of any of them, verified by oath, and a copy of such answer must be served on the appellants, or some one of them.

XVII. So far as the parties concur in a statement no oath will be required to it. But all facts, maps or papers not agreed upon by them and evidenced by their signature on both sides, must be verified by oath.

XVIII. All oaths required by these regulations must be taken before a judge of a court of record, a commissioner of deeds, a justice of the peace, or a town superintendent.

XIX. A copy of the answer and of all the statements, maps and papers intended to be presented in support of it, must be served upon the appellants, or some one of them, within ten days after service of a copy of the appeal, unless further time be given by the state superintendent, on application, in special cases; but no replication or rejoinder shall be allowed, except by permission of the state superintendent, and in reference exclusively to matters arising upon the answer, and which may be deemed by such state superintendent pertinent to the issue: in which case such replication and rejoinder shall be duly verified by oath, and copies thereof served on the opposite, party.

XX. Proof or admission of the service of copies of the appeal, answer and all other papers intended to be used on the hearing of such appeal, must in all cases, accompany the same.

XXI. When any proceeding of a district meeting is appealed from, and when the inhabitants of a district generally are interested in the matter of the appeal, and in all cases where an inhabitant might be an appellant, had the decision or proceeding been the opposite of that which was made or had; any one of more of such inhabitants may answer the appeal, with or without the trustees.

XXII. Where the appeal has relation to the alteration or formation of a school district, it must be accompanied by a map, exhib

iting the site of the school house, the roads, the old and new lines of districts, the different lots, the particular location and distance from the school-houses, of the persons aggrieved; and their relative distance, if there are two or more school-houses in question. Also, a list of all the taxable inhabitants in the district or territory to be affected by the question; the valuation of the property taken from the last assessment roll, and the number of children between five and sixteen belonging to each person, distinguishing the districts to which they respectively belong.

XXIII. When the copy of the appeal is served, all proceedings upon or in continuation of the act complained of, or consequent in any way upon such act, must be suspended until the case is decided. So where any decision concerning the distribution of public money to one or more districts is appealed from, the town superintendent must retain the money which is in dispute until the appeal is decided. And where trustees have money in their hands claimed to belong to any person, or any other district, after the copy of an appeal is served on them in relation to such claim, they must retain such moneys to abide the result, and must not expend them so as to defeat the object of the appeal.

XXIV. Whenever a decision is made by the superintendent, and communicated to the town superintendent of common schools, respecting the formation, division or alteration of districts, he must cause the decision to be recorded in the office of the town clerk. All other decisions communicated to him, or to the trustees of districts, are to be kept among the official papers of the clerk of the town or district and handed over to his successors; and the district clerks are required to record all such as come to their hands in the district book kept by them.

NOTE. By a clerical error in the engrossment of the 16th section of Chap. 382 of the laws of 1849, section 132 of Chap. 480, laws of 1847, conferring appellate jurisdiction on the State Superintendent of Common Schools, was inadvertently repealed. The Superintendent has, however, continued to entertain appeals in accordance with the regulations above inserted, where such appeals have been submitted by the parties respectively, to his decision. A bill correcting the error in the act of 1849, passed the Assembly at its last session, and was supposed to have passed the Senate, at the time of the passing of these sheets through the press, in consequence of which, the original section (132) relating to appeals was restored. As there can be little doubt that this section will be re-instated at the ensuing session of the Legislature, it has been deemed expedient to retain that portion of the instructions relating to appeals, with this explanatory note.

PART IV.

LOCAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS,

RESPECTING

COMMON SCHOOLS.

ALBANY.

[Laws of 1844, Chap. 128.]

§ 1. The mayor and recorder of the city of Albany, and the Regents of the University residing in said city, shall, without delay, appoint nine persons, residents of the city of Albany, to be denominated a Board of Commissioners of the District Schools of the city of Albany, who shall be divided by lot into three classes, to be numbered one, two and three: the term of office of the first class shall be one year, from the first day of June next; of the second, two; and of the third, three years from that day: and three commissioners shall thereafter annually be appointed by the said mayor and recorder of the city of Albany, and the regents of the university residing in said city, in place of those whose terms of office shall expire, who shall hold their office for three years, and until their successors be duly appointed. In case of a vacancy in the office of either of the commissioners, during the period for which he or they shall have been respectively appointed, the said mayor and recorder of the city of Albany and the regents of the university residing in the said city, shall fill such vacancy, and the person or persons so appointed to fill such vacancy, shall hold the office only for the unexpired term so becoming vacant.

§ 2. Any member of said board of commissioners may be removed, for cause, from office, by a vote of two-thirds of the persons authorized by the preceding section to appoint such commissioners; and any vacancy so made shall be filled in the manner already provided.

§ 3. The board of commissioners shall have power to appoint one of their number president of said board, who shall have the powers usually incident to such office; and said board shall have power, and it shall be their duty, to appoint a secretary to said board, who shall perform such duties as the said board from time to time may direct, and who shall receive therefor such compensation, not exceeding one hundred and fifty dollars annually, as the said board shall provide, out of any moneys remaining unexpended in

the hands of said board.

§ 4. The board of commissioners shall have power, and it shall be their duty, to contract with and employ the teachers of the district schools of said city; to remove any teacher upon manifest neglect of duty, or upon violation of his or her contract; to appoint a collector for the said district schools; to make out rate bills and exempt indigent children therefrom; to select and introduce uniform class books into said schools; to supply indigent pupils with said class books, by using and appropriating for that purpose a portion of the library money, not exceeding three hundred dollars in any one year; to appropriate and use, for the purpose of keeping in repair the several libraries of said district schools, for increasing the same, and for purchasing maps and apparatus for said schools, a farther portion of said library money, not exceeding three hundred dollars annually; to provide for the instruction of the pupils of said district schools in vocal music, by appropriating a farther portion of said library money, not exceeding four hundred dollars annually; to secure, with whatever may remain unexpended of said library money, the education of such number of indigent pupils from said district schools, in either of the academies or in any normal school of said city, by paying for their tuition therein, as the common council of said city may sanction; but all children so educated shall have been members of said district schools for at least two years; and neither of such academies shall receive from the distribution of the literature fund, any sum for or on account of such pupils; and such academies shall, in their annual report to the regents of the university, state the number of such pupils taught therein; and no portion of said unexpended money shall be so appropriated until the ordinary expenses of said district schools for libraries and tuition are first satisfied; to visit the district schools as often as once a quarter; to hold a meeting of the board once a month, and at the quarterly meetings of said board to require the presence and reports of the several principal teachers of said schools; to make a semi-annual report of all the acts of said board to the common council, and to make and publish an annual report in two of the daily papers of said city; and generally to possess the powers, discharge the duties and be subject to all of the obligations of the several trustees and other school officers of the said city of Albany, as granted and imposed by the several acts now in force in relation to said district schools of said city.

§ 5. The board of commissioners shall have power, and it shall be their duty, to make such by-laws and regulations as may be necessary for the prosperity, good order and sound discipline of said district schools; for the se curity and preservation of the school-houses and other property belonging to said districts; and generally to carry into effect the provisions of the sev eral school acts of said city; and when said by-laws and regulations are sanctioned by the persons authorized by this act to appoint said commissioners, they shall take effect, and not before.

§6. All school moneys whatsoever, belonging to said district schools, whether received from the State, raised by tax, or collected on school rates, shall be deposited with the Chamberlain of said city, until drawn, from time to time, by duly certified orders of said Board of Commissioners; and said orders shall set forth the object of each payment, and be signed by the officers of said board. Provided always, that nothing in this act shall be so construed as to authorize said board to incur any obligation that shall increase the taxes of said city.

[Laws of 1845. Chap. 245.]

§ 1. The Board of Commissioners of the Albany district schools are hereby authorized to apply any library money, not expended under the fourth section of the act entitled, " An Act amendatory to the several acts relating to district schools in the city of Albany," passed April 8, 1844, either to the payment of teachers' wages, or to the contingent expenses of the district schools of said city.