12 He shall also have and execute such further powers and duties as he shall be charged with by the Regents. § 94-a Transfer of powers of State Board of Charities in relation to the New York State Schc ǝl for the Blind to the Commissioner of Education. All the powers of regulation, supervision and control heretofore exercised by the State Board of Charities upon, over and in relation to the New York State School for the Blind at Batavia, by virtue of the state charities law, are hereby transferred to and vested in the Commissioner of Education in addition to his other powers and duties, and the Commissioner of Education shall hereafter exercise and perform in relation to such state school for the blind all the powers and duties heretofore exercised and performed by the State Board of Charities relating to the regulation, supervision and control of such school under the provisions of the state charities law. Nothing herein contained shall in any way deprive the State Board of Charities of its powers of visitation and inspection in regard to said school for the blind as provided in the constitution nor affect in any way the fiscal control of said school now exercised under the state charities law by the fiscal supervisor of state charities. [Added by L. 1919, ch. 136, in effect July 1, 1919.] § 95 Removal of school officers; withholding publie money. 1 Whenever it shall be proved to his satisfaction that any trustee, member of a board of education, clerk, collector, treasurer, school commissioner, superintendent of schools or other school officer has been guilty of any wilful violation or neglect of duty under this chapter, or any other act pertaining to common schools or other educational institution participating in state funds, or wilfully disobeying any decision, order or regulation of the Regents or of the Commissioner of Education, said Commissioner may, by an order under his hand and seal, which order shall be recorded in his office, remove such school officer from his office. 2 Said Commissioner of Education may also withhold from any district or city its share of the public money of the State for wilfully disobeying any provision of law or any decision, order or regulation as aforesaid. § 96 Other powers. The Commissioner of Education shall also have power and it shall be his duty to cause to be instituted such proceedings or processes as may be necessary to properly enforce and give effect to any provision in this chapter or in any other general or special law pertaining to the school system of the State or any part thereof or to any school district or city. He shall possess the power and authority to likewise enforce any rule or direction of the Regents. § 97 Schools of union free school districts and cities. The schools of every union free school district and of every city in all their departments shall be subject to the visitation of the Commissioner of Education. He is charged with the general supervision of their boards of education and their management and conduct of all departments of instruction. § 98 Reports of school officers. The officers of the several districts and cities of the State and all other school officers shall make such reports and in such form from time to time in relation to the schools under their management and supervision as the Commissioner of Education shall require. § 99 County clerk and county treasurers to forward certain reports. 1 The county clerk of each county shall, upon the requisition of the Commissioner of Education, file with such Commissioner any reports of trustees of school districts and boards of education or the abstract of such reports made by school commissioners which have been filed in the office of such county clerk pursuant to the provisions of the Education Law, whenever it is necessary for the Commissioner of Education to obtain information or data contained in official reports which have been transmitted to the Education Department but which have been destroyed by fire or otherwise. 2 The county treasurer of each county shall, upon the requisition of the Commissioner of Education, forward to said Commissioner any original certificates relating to the apportionment of school moneys which the Commissioner of Education has filed in the office of such treasurer whenever it is necessary to obtain information on the apportionment of school moneys when the data relating thereto in the office of the Commissioner of Education has been destroyed by fire or otherwise. After securing such information as may be necessary from such certificates, the Commissioner of Education shall return the same to the treasurer of such county. [Added by L. 1911, ch. 159.] ARTICLE 5 School Districts Section 120 Existing districts continued 121 Formation of new district 122 Number and description of districts 123 Alteration by consent 124 Alteration without consent 125 Hearing of objections to order for alteration without consent 127 Special meeting of joint district to act regarding dissolution 133 Order creating consolidated district; effect 134 District quotas of consolidated districts. 134-a The bonded indebtedness of certain dissolved districts 135 Continuance of dissolved district for payment of debts 136 Deposits of records of dissolved district 137 Property of districts consolidated 138 Sale of property of dissolved district and disposition of proceeds 139 Collection and distribution of moneys due dissolved district 140 Fees of supervisor and town clerk 141 Notice of meeting for establishment of union free school district 142 Posting, publication and service of notice 143 Notice in case of adjoining districts 144 Expense of notice 145 Proceedings at meeting and effect of affirmative vote 146 Meeting to determine regarding reorganization as common school district 147 Result of vote for or against reorganization 148 Reversion to form of original school districts 149 School commissioner may require equality of partition 150 Effect of veto by school commissioner regarding subsequent meeting 151 Report of proceedings to Commissioner of Education 152 Distribution of moneys on dissolution 153 School property exempt from taxation 154 Application of funds obtained from sale of school property § 120 Existing districts continued. All school districts organized either by special laws or pursuant to the provisions of a general law are hereby continued and may be altered or dissolved as herein provided. § 121 Formation of new district. 1 A district superintendent may organize a new school district out of the territory of one or more school districts which are wholly within his supervisory district, whenever the educational interests of the community require it. If there is an outstanding bonded indebtedness chargeable against the district or districts out of the territory of which such new district is organized, the district superintendent shall apportion said indebtedness between such new district and the remaining portion of the district or districts out of which such new district is organized, according to the assessed valuation thereof, and the portion of the indebtedness so apportioned shall become a charge for principal and interest upon the respective districts as though the same had been incurred by said districts separately. 2 The district superintendents of two or more adjoining supervisory districts when public interests require it, may form a joint school district out of the adjoining portions of their respective districts. [Amended by L. 1912, ch. 294.] § 122 Number and description of districts. 1 Each school commissioner shall renumber the school districts of each town in his commissioner district from time to time and shall also number each new district and shall describe in metes and bounds each of such school districts. 2 The order of a school commissioner forming or numbering a school district and the written description thereof together with all notices, orders, consents and proceedings relating to the formation or alteration thereof shall be filed with the town clerk of the town in which such district is located. 3 Every joint district shall bear the same number in every school commissioner district of whose territory it is in part composed. § 123 Alteration by consent. 1 With the written consent of the trustees of all the districts to be affected thereby, the district superintendent may make an order altering the boundaries of any school district within his jurisdiction, and fix in such order a day when the alteration shall take effect. 2 With the written consent of the board of education of a union free school district having a population of five thousand or more, and employing a superintendent of schools, and the written consent of the board of education or trustees of a district in a supervisory district adjoining such union free school district, the district superintendent having jurisdiction may make an order altering the boundaries of such districts, and fix in such order a day when the alteration shall take effect. [Amended by L. 1914, ch. 154.] § 124 Alteration without consent. If the trustees of any district affected thereby refuse to consent, the school commissioner may make and file with the town clerk his order making the alteration, but reciting the refusal, and directing that the order shall not take effect until a day therein to be named, and not less than three months after the date of such order. § 125 Hearing of objections to order for alteration without consent. 1 Within ten days after making and filing such order the school commissioner shall give at least a week's notice in writing to the trustees of all districts affected by the proposed alterations, that at a specified time, and at a named place within the town in which one of the districts to be affected lies, he will hear the objections to the alteration. 2 The trustees of any district to be affected by such order may request the supervisor and town clerk of each of the towns, within which such districts shall wholly or partly lie, to be associated with the school commissioner. 3 At the time and place mentioned in the notice, such commissioner, with the supervisors and town clerks, if they shall attend and act, shall hear and decide the matter, and the decision shall be final unless duly appealed from. Such decision must either affirm or vacate such order, and must be filed with and recorded by the town clerk of the town in which the district to be affected shall lie, and a tie vote shall be regarded a decision for the purposes of an appeal on the merits. Upon such appeal the Commissioner of Education may affirm, modify or vacate the order of the school commissioner or the action of the local board. § 126 Dissolution or alteration of joint district. The majority of the school commissioners within whose districts any joint school district lies may make an order at a meeting duly called by one of such commissioners altering or dissolving such district. § 127 Special meeting of joint district to act regarding dissolution. 1 If a school commissioner, by notice in writing, shall require the attendance of the other school commissioners, at a joint meeting for the purpose of altering or dissolving a joint district, and a majority of all the commissioners shall refuse or neglect to attend, such commissioners attending, or any one of them, may call a special meeting of such school district |