§18. It shall also be the duty of the trustees of the several school districts, in their annual reports thereafter to be made, to specify the number of children, between the aforesaid ages, residing in their respective districts on the last day of December in each year, instead of the number of such children between the ages of five and sixteen.

§14. This act shall take effect on the first day of May next; but nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to affect provisions already made in the several school districts for the support of schools therein under existing Jaws for the current year.

PART II.

STATUTES

RELATING TO

COMMON SCHOOLS,

INCLUDING

TITLE II. CHAPTER XV, PART I. REVISED STATUTES.

[Pursuant to the directions of the 10th section of the act of chap. 151 of the laws of 1851, there are inserted in this publication of the second title of chapter 15, all acts and parts of acts connected with the subjects of the said title, which are now in force; and where the provisions of that title have been altered by subsequent acts, such provisions have been varied in order to conform them to such alteration. The original number of each section is in all cases retained, whether it was a part of the Revised Statutes or was taken from some session law passed since 1828. In the latter case, there is a reference to a note at the foot of the page, which gives the particular chapter from which the section is taken, and its number is enclosed within brackets, in order to designate it more distinctly from the sections of the Revised Statutes, which are printed with the section mark only.

To facilitate references to them, the sections in this edition are also numbered continuously from the first to the last, without regard to the statutes from which they are taken. The index at the end refers to these numbers.]

TITLE II.

OF COMMON SCHOOLS.

ART. 1. Of the powers and duties of the superintendent of common schools, and of the apportionment of school moneys.

ART. 2.-Of the distribution of the common school fund.

ART. 3.-Of the powers and duties of town superintendents of common schools.

ART. 4. Of inspection and supervision by town superintend

ents.

ART. 5.-Of the formation and alteration of school districts; the powers of school district inhabitants; of the choice, duties and powers of school district officers; the assessment and collection of school district taxes; the annual reports of trustees; school district libraries.

ART. 6. Of certain duties of the county clerk.

ART. 7.—Miscellaneous provisions.

ARTICLE FIRST.

Of the Powers and Duties of the Superintendent of Common Schools, and of the Apportionment of School Moneys.

No. 1-1. There shall continue to be a superintendent of common schools, whose duty, among other things, it shal be, to prepare and submit an annual report to the legislature containing,

1. A statement of the condition of the common schools of the state:

2. Estimates and accounts of expenditures of the school moneys: 3. Plans for the improvement and management of the common school fund, and for the better organization of the common schools; and,

4. All such matters relating to his office, and to the common schools, as he shall deem expedient to communicate.

No. 2-[ 41.] The superintendent of common schools may designate and appoint any one of the clerks employed by him to be his general deputy, who may perform all the duties of the superintendent in case of his absence or a vacancy in his office.'

No. 3-[ 8.] The superintendent of common schools may appoint such and so many persons as he shall from time to time deem necessary, to visit and examine into the condition of the common schools in the county where such persons may reside, and report to the superintendent on all such matters relating to the condition of such schools, and the means of improving them, as he shall prescribe; but no allowance or compensation shall be made to the said visitors for such services. 2

No. 4-[ 10.] The superintendent of common schools, on such evidence as may be satisfactory to him, may grant certificates of qualification under his hand and seal of office, which shall be evidence that the holder of such certificate is well qualified in respect to moral character, learning and ability, to teach any district school within this state; which certificate shall be valid until duly revoked by the superintendent. 3

(1.) Laws of 1841, chap. 260, § 41. (2.) Laws of 1839, chap. 335, §8. (3.) Laws of 1843, chap. 133, §10.

No. 5-[§ 7.] Copies of papers deposited or filed in the office of the superintendent of common schools, and all acts and decisions by him, may be authenticated under the seal of the office of secretary of state, and when so authenticated shall be evidence equally, and in like manner as the originals. 4

No. 6[§2 & 3.3] The superintendent shall apportion the school moneys to be annually distributed amongst the several counties of the state, and the share of each county, amongst its respective towns and cities. Such apportionment shall be made among the several towns and cities of the state, according to the ratio of their population respectively, as compared with the population of the whole state, according to the last preceding census.

No. 7-8 6.] When the census or returns, upon which an apportionment is to be made, shall be so far defective, in respect to any county, city or town, as to render it impracticable for the superintendent to ascertain the share of school moneys, which ought then to be apportioned to such county, city or town, he shall ascertain, by the best evidence in his power, the facts upon which the ratio of such apportionment shall depend, and shall make the apportionment accordingly.

No. 8-[$ 2.] There shall hereafter be raised by tax, in each and every year, upon the real and personal estate within this state, the sum of eight hundred thousand dollars, which shall be levied, assessed and collected in the mode prescribed by chapter thirteen, part first, of the revised statutes, relating to the assessment and collection of taxes, and when collected shall be paid over to the respective county treasurers, subject to the order of the state superintendent of common schools. '

No. 9-[$ 3.] The state superintendent of common schools shall ascertain the portion of said sum of eight hundred thousand dollars to be assessed and collected in each of the several counties of this state, by dividing the said sum among the several counties, according to the valuation of real and personal estate therein, as it shall appear by the assessment of the year next preceding the one in which said sum is to be raised, and shall certify to the clerk of each county, before the tenth day of July in each year, the amount to be raised by tax in such county; and it shall be the duty of the several county clerks of this state to deliver to the board of supervisors of their respective counties, a copy of such certificate, on the first day of their annual session, and the board of supervisors of each county shall assess such amount upon the real and personal estate of such county, in the manner provided by law for the assessment and collection of taxes.1

No. 10-[§. 4.] The State superintendent of common schools shall, on or before the first day of January in every year, appor tion and divide, or cause to be apportioned and divided, one third of the sum so raised by general tax, and one third of all other

(4.) Laws of 1889, chap. 330, § 7. (1.) Laws of 1851, chap. 151, § 1,2.

chap

98

monies appropriated to the support of common schools, among the the several school districts, parts of districts and separate neighborhoods in this state, from which reports shall have been received in accordance with law, in the following manner, viz: to each separate neighborhood, belonging to a school district, in some adjoining state, there shall be apportioned and paid a sum of money equal to thirty three cents for each child in such neighborhood, between the ages of four and twenty-one; but the sum so to be apportioned and paid to any such neighborhood shall in no case exceed the sum of twenty-four dollars, and the remainder of such one-third shall be apportioned and divided equally among the several districts; and the state superintendent of common schools shall by proper regulations and instructions to be prescribed by him, provide for the payment of such monies to the trustees of such separate neighborhoods and school districts,

No. 11-[§5.] It shall be the duty of the state superintendent of common schools, on or before the first day of January in every year, to apportion and divide the remaining two thirds of the said amount of eight hundred thousand dollars, together with the remaining two-thirds of all other moneys appropriated by the state for the support of common schools, among the several counties, cities and towns of the state, in the mode now prescribed by law for the division and apportionment of the income of the common school funds; and the share of the several towns and wards so apportioned and divided, shall be paid over on and after the first Tuesday of February in each year, to the several town superintendents of common schools, and ward or city officers, entitled by law to receive the same, and shall be apportioned by them among the several school districts and parts of districts in their several towns and wards, according to the number of children between the ages of four and twenty-one years, residing in said districts and parts of districts, as the same shall have appeared from the last annual report of the trustees; but no monies shall be apportioned and paid to any district or part of a district, unless it shall appear from the last annual reports of the trustees that a school has been kept therein for at least six months during the year ending with the date of such report, by a duly qualified teach er, unless by special permission of the state superintendent of com mon schools; excepting also that the first apportionment of money under this act shall be made to all school districts which were entitled to an apportionment of public money, in the year eighteen hundred and forty-nine. 1

No. 12-[§ 11.] All the monies received or appropriated by the provisions of this act shall be applied to the payment of teach ers' wages exclusively. 2

No. 13-[87.] Whenever, in consequence of the division of a town, or the erection of a new town, in any county, the apportion

(1) Laws of 1851, chap. 151, § 3, 4.

(2.) Laws of 1851, chap. 151, § 11