district or to a teacher employed in a public school in this state or to a superintendent of schools or other school officer that he is an agent, employee, or representative of the commissioner of education, the state education department, the regents, or of any other school officer. § 855. Forfeiture of amount of moneys lost by neglect. Whenever the share of school moneys or any portion thereof, apportioned to any town or school district, or any money to which a town or school district would have been entitled, shall be lost, in consequence of any wilful neglect of official duty by any school commissioner, town clerk, trustees or clerks of school districts, the officer guilty of such neglect shall forfeit to the town, or school district so losing the same, the full amount of such loss with interest thereon. § 856. Forfeiture of amount of penalty where suit is neglected. Where any penalty for the benefit of a school district, or of the schools of any school district, town, school commissioner district or county, shall be incurred, and the officer, whose duty it is by law to sue for the same, shall wilfully and unreasonably refuse or neglect to sue for the same, such officer shall forfeit the amount of such penalty to the same use, and it shall be the duty of his successor in office to sue for the same. § 857. No costs to plaintiffs in certain cases. 1. In any action against school officers, including supervisors of towns, in respect to their duties and powers under this chapter, for any act performed by virtue of or under the color of their offices, or for any refusal or omission to perform any duty enjoined by law, and which might have been the subject of an appeal to the commissioner of education, no costs shall be allowed to the plaintiff, in cases where the court shall certify that it appeared on the trial that the defendants acted in good faith. 2. The provision of subdivision one of this section shall not extend to suits for penalties, nor to suits or proceedings to enforce the decisions of the commissioner of education. § 858. Costs, expenses and damages a district charge in certain cases. 1. Whenever the trustees of any school district, or any school district officers, have been or shall be instructed by a resolution adopted at a district meeting to defend any action brought against them, or to bring or defend an action or proceeding touching any district property or claim of the district, or involving its rights or interests, or to continue any such action or defense, all their costs and reasonable expenses, as well as all costs and damages adjudged against them, shall be a district charge and shall be levied by tax upon the district. 2. If the amount claimed by them be disputed by a district meeting, it shall be adjusted by the county judge of any county in which the district or any part of it is situated. § 859. Payment of costs, charges and expenses by vote of district meeting. 1. Whenever such trustees or any school district officer shall have brought or defended any such action or proceeding, without any such resolution of the district meeting, and after the final determination of such suit or proceeding, shall present to any regular meeting of the inhabitants of the district, an account, in writing, of all costs, charges and expenses paid by him or them, with the items thereof, and verified by his or their oath or affirmation, and a majority of the voters at such meeting shall so direct, it shall be the duty of the trustees to cause the same to be assessed upon and collected of the taxable property of said district, in the same manner as other taxes are by law assessed and collected; and, when so collected, the same shall be paid over, by an order upon the collector or treasurer to the officers entitled to receive the same. 2. The provision of subdivision one of this section shall not extend to suits for penalties, nor to suits or proceedings to enforce the decisions of the commissioner of education. § 860. Appeal to county judge. 1. Whenever any officer mentioned in section eight hundred and fifty-nine shall have complied with the provisions of such section and the meeting shall have refused to direct the trustees to levy a tax for the payment of the costs, charges and expenses claimed by him, such officer shall immediately give notice to such meeting that he will appeal to the county judge of the county in which such district is located from the refusal of said meeting to vote a tax for the payment of such claim. 2. Within ten days after the refusal of the meeting to allow such claim such officer shall serve upon the clerk of the district. or, if there be no district clerk, upon the town clerk of the town an itemized statement of his claim, duly verified, together with a written notice that on a certain day named therein such officer will present such claim to the county judge for settlement. 3. The clerk upon whom such notice and claim are served shall file the same in his office and such notice and claim shall be subject to the inspection of any of the inhabitants of the school district. 4. The meeting at which notice of the intention of such officer to appeal to the county judge is given or any subsequent district meeting, duly called, may appoint one or more of the legal voters of such district or authorize the trustee to employ counsel to appear before the county judge at the time fixed for a hearing on such claim and protect the rights of the district upon such settlement. The expenses incurred in the performance of this duty shall be a charge upon the district and the trustees upon a presentation of the account of such expenses with proper vouchers therefor shall pay the same from any available funds in the district or include the necessary amount in a tax-list to be levied upon the district. 5. A refusal of the trustees to levy such tax for the payment of such expenses shall be subject to an appeal to the commissioner of education. § 861. Hearing before county judge. 1 Upon the appearance of the parties, or upon due proof of service of the notice and copy of the account, the county judge shall examine into the matter and hear the proofs and allegations presented by the parties, and decide by order whether or not the account, or any and what portion thereof, ought justly to be charged upon the district, with costs and disbursements to such officer. 2. Such costs and disbursements shall not exceed the sum of thirty dollars, and the decision of the county judge shall be final; but no portion of such account shall be so ordered to be paid which shall appear to such judge to have arisen from the wilful neglect or misconduct of the claimant. The account with the oath of the party claiming the same shall be prima facie evidence of the correctness thereof. The county judge may adjourn the hearing from time to time, as justice shall seem to require. § 862. Duty of trustees to carry out order. It shall be the duty of the trustees of any school district, within thirty days after service upon them or upon the district clerk of a copy of an order of the county judge and notice thereof to them or any two of them, to cause the same to be entered at length in the book of record of said district, and to raise the amount thereby directed to be paid, by a tax upon the district, to be by them assessed and levied in the same manner as a tax voted by the district. ARTICLE 33-A (Added by L. 1917, ch. 786, in effect June 8, 1917.) Board of Education in the Several Cities of the State Section 865. Board of education. 866. 867. 868. 869. 870. 871. 872. Board of education; eligibility; how chosen; term of office; vacancies. Meetings of board of education. Powers and duties of board of education. Superintendent of schools. Powers and duties of superintendent of schools. Appointment of associate, district or other super- 872-a. Retirement of employees of board of education. 873. Local school board districts. 874. 875. Bonds of employees. Buildings, sites, et cetera. 876. Purchase and sale of real property. Education budget. 877. 878. Tax election. 880. 881. Funds; custody and disbursement of. Continuation in office of boards, bureaus, teachers, principals and other employees. § 865. Board of education. 1. A board of education is hereby established in each city of the state. The educational affairs in each city shall be under the general management and control of a board of education to consist of not less than three and not more than nine members, to be chosen as hereinafter pro'vided, and to be known as members of the board of education. The number of members on the board of education of each city shall be as follows: a. A city having nine members or less on its board of education shall continue to have such number of members on said board as such board contains at the time this law goes into effect. b. A city having a population of one million or more shall have a board of education to consist of seven members. c. In all other cities of the state the number of members of the board of education shall be nine. 2. A board of education in office at the time this law goes into effect except as hereinafter provided shall continue in .office and possess the powers and duties of a board of education under this article until its successor shall be chosen as provided herein. 3. The provisions of this act shall apply to and govern the operation and administration of the public school system and other educational affairs in a city which is created after this act goes into effect. The authorities in charge of the operation and administration of the schools and other educational affairs of the school districts included within such city at the time the act creating such city goes into effect shall continue in charge thereof until the first Tuesday in May thereafter. On such first Tuesday in May a board of education consisting of .five members shall be elected at the annual school election in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. One member of such board shall be elected for one year, one member for two years, one member for three years, one member for four years, and one member for five years from the said first Tuesday of May. As their terms expire their successors shall be chosen for a full term of five years. [Added by L. 1917, ch. 786, in effect June 8, 1917.] § 866. Board of education; eligibility; how chosen; term of office; vacancies. 1. No person shall be eligible to the office of member of a board of education who is not a citizen of the United States and who has not been a resident of the city for which he is chosen for a period of at least three years immediately preceding the date of his election or appointment. 2. In a city having a population of one million or more and divided into boroughs, there shall be a board of education consisting of seven members. Two members of such board shall be residents of the borough having the largest population, two shall be residents of the borough having the second largest population, and one shall be a resident of each of the other boroughs in such city. The mayor shall appoint such members on the first Wednesday in January, nineteen hundred and eighteen, and in appointing them shall designate the terms of office of such members so that the term of one member shall expire on the first Tuesday in May, nineteen hundred and nineteen; one on the first Tuesday in May, nineteen hundred and twenty; one on the first Tuesday in May, nineteen hundred and twenty-one; one on the first Tues |