ARTICLE VII.

Public Schools and Libraries.

CHAPTER I.

OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION.

SECTION 1. The School Department shall be under the control and management of a Board of Education, composed of five School Directors, who shall be appointed by the Mayor. They shall not be less than thirty years of age and must have been residents of said city and county for at least five years prior to such appointment. They shall receive no compensation. Said appointments shall be made without regard to politics, and by preference from heads of families, irrespective of sex; and the persons so appointed shall hold office for four years. Those first appointed shall immediately after their organization as a Board, so classify themselves by lot that two of their number shall go out of office at the expiration of one year, one at the expiration of two years, one at the expiration of three years, and one at the expiration of four years.

SEC. 2. Immediately after their appointment and qualification, they shall organize by electing one of their number President, who shall serve for one year and until his successor is elected; and shall elect a Secretary, who is not a member of the Board.

The Board of Education shall meet weekly, and at such other times as it may determine. It shall determine the rules of its proceedings, but the concurrent vote of three members shall be necessary to transact business, and the ayes and noes shall be taken when demanded by any member, and entered on the records of the Board.

SEC. 3. All sessions shall be public, but executive sessions may be held by unanimous vote, and the records. of the proceedings of the Board shall be open to public inspection.

SEC. 4. The Secretary of the Board of Education. shall have power to administer oaths and affirmations concerning any demand upon the Treasury and in all other matters relating to his official duties.

CHAPTER II.

OF SCHOOLS.

SECTION 1. The School Department shall comprise all the public schools of the City and County of San Francisco, and shall include Primary and Grammar Schools, and may, at the option of the Board of Education, include Evening, Deportment, Technical, Scientific, Cosmopolitan, High and Normal Schools.

SEC. 2. Instruction must be furnished free of expense to all children residing in said city and county, in such branches as the Board of Education may determine; said instruction must include the branches necessary for a common school education, and may include the higher branches taught in the Grammar, High and Normal Schools of the said city and county.

SEC. 3. All children between the ages of six and twenty-one, residing within said City and County, are entitled to receive the benefits of a common school education, and may be instructed in such higher branches of education as may be established or provided by the Board of Education; but said Board shall not establish or maintain schools for instruction in the higher branches of education until full and ample facilities are provided for instruction in the Primary and Grammar classes of the public schools, in the order herein named. Adults shall be entitled to free instruction in the Evening Schools.

SEC. 4. Said Board may establish Kindergarten Schools for the tuition of children between the ages of four and six years, and may provide for Kindergarten instruction in the Primary Grades.

SEC. 5. Upon the establishment of Kindergarten Schools, the teachers thereof, as far as practicable, shall be chosen from the corps of teachers actually engaged in kindergarten instruction in this city at the time of such establishment.

CHAPTER III.

OF THE POWERS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION.

SECTION 1. The Board of Education shall have power: 1. To establish school districts, having regard to population and growth of the city and county, and to fix and alter the boundaries thereof.

2. To establish and maintain public schools as provided for in this Charter, and to change, modify, consolidate or discontinue the same as the public good may require.

or

3. To employ, pay and dismiss such teachers and persons as may be necessary to carry into effect its powers and duties, and to fix, alter and approve their salaries and compensation; to withhold for good and sufficient cause, the whole or any part of the wages, salaries or compensation of any person persons employed as aforesaid; but no teacher shall be dismissed, except for sufficient cause which shall be determined by said Board after giving the accused teacher due hearing in his or her defense. Nothing herein contained shall curtail the right the right of the Board to engage teachers under special contracts or to establish rules for their appointment. No permanent appointment shall be made until after six months' probation in actual teaching in the Public Schools in this city and county.

4. The Board of Education shall not appoint any person to be a teacher in the primary or grammar classes of the schools of this city and county except upon competitive examination of those persons holding teachers' certificates, and who have been educated in the public school system of the State of California.

5. To grant and to revoke teachers' certificates.

6. To establish and enforce all necessary rules and regulations for the government and efficiency of the schools, and for carrying into effect the school system; to prevent and remedy truancy, and to reform truants; to compel the attendance at school of children between the ages of six and fourteen, without lawful occupation, found wandering about the streets or in public places during school hours.

7. To investigate charges against any person connected with or in the employ of the School Department; to administer oaths and take testimony in the conduct of such investigations; and to require the attendance of witnesses before the Board or any member or committee thereof. Any person summoned and refusing to attend. and testify shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and any person testifying falsely shall be deemed guilty of perjury.

8. To adopt or reject text books for the use of the schools; but such text books shall not be changed or modified within a period of four years after their adoption.

9. To provide for the School Department all supplies and material necessary for use in the schools, or in the offices of the Board or Superintendent, in the manner hereinafter provided; and to incur incidental expenses not exceeding two hundred dollars a month. All such materials and supplies shall be of California manufacture; provided, the cost shall not exceed the cost of imported articles.

10. To rent buildings or rooms for school purposes and furnish them with proper school furniture, apparatus and school appliances; to use and control such buildings as may be necessary for the requirements of the Department, and to insure such School property as may be deemed advisable.

11. To take possession of, receive, purchase, lease, and hold in fee, in trust for the City and County of San Francisco, any and all real estate, and all personal property, that has been or which hereafter may be acquired for the use and benefit of the schools of said city and county.

12.

On or before the first day of April in each year to appoint School Census Marshals, and notify the Superintendent of Common Schools of such appointment.

13. To sue, in the name of the Board of Education, for any and all lots, lands and property belonging to or claimed by the School Department of said city and County, and to prosecute and defend all actions at law or special proceedings or suits in equity concerning the enjoyment and possession of said lots, lands and property; and to require the services of the City and County Attorney in all actions, suits and proceedings by or against said Board of Education.

14. To establish regulations for the disbursement of all moneys belonging to the School Department or to the Common School Fund, and to secure strict accountability in the expenditure thereof; to provide for the prompt payment, on not later than the tenth day of each month in every year, of all salaries due and allowed officers, teachers and other employees of the School Department; and for this purpose the Auditor shall

annually segregate so much of the Common School Fund as shall not exceed thirty dollars for each pupil in average daily attendance in the public schools of said city and county during the preceding fiscal year; and the amount so segregated shall not be applied to the payment of any demand against said Common School Fund during any fiscal year, other than for salaries, until all the salaries for that fiscal year have been fully paid or provided for. Said Board shall ascertain, determine and transmit to the Auditor, on or before the first day of July of each year, an estimate of the amount required for such segregation within said limit of thirty dollars.

15. To dispose of and sell such personal property used in the schools as shall no longer be required. All moneys realized by such sales shall be paid into the Treasury to the credit of the Common School Fund.

16. To lease for the benefit of the Common School Fund, for a term not exceeding twenty years, any real property of the School Department not required for school purposes; but no lease for a term exceeding two years shall be made, except by an affirmative vote of not less than four members of said Board, approved by an ordinance of the Supervisors, passed by the affirmative vote of not less than nine members.

17. To receive and manage property or money acquired by bequest or donation in trust for the benefit of any school, educational purpose, or school library; and to carry into effect the terms of any bequest not in conflict with then existing laws or this Charter.

18. To do and perform such acts as may be necessary and proper to carry into effect the powers conferred upon such Board.

SEC. 2. The Board of Education shall procure all supplies necessary for the public schools. All supplies, books, stationery, fuel, printing, goods, material, merchandise, and every other article supplied to or for the public schools, or any of them, when the expenditure to be incurred exceeds five hundred dollars, shall be furnished by contract let by said Board to the lowest responsible bidder, after advertisement for ten days.

SEC. 3. Said Board shall annually, on the first day of May, or within five days thereafter, make a list of supplies estimated to be required by the School Depart