District Clerk and Treasurer.

§ 35

appointed to office of his election or appointment; and also to report to the town clerk of the town in which the school-house of his district is situated, the names and post-office addresses of such officers, under a penalty of five dollars for neglect in each instance.

6. To notify the trustee or trustees of every resignation duly accepted by the school commissioner.

7. To keep and preserve all records, books and papers belonging to his office and to deliver the same to his successor. For a refusal or neglect so to do, he shall forfeit fifty dollars for the benefit of the school or schools of the district, to be recovered by the trustees.

8. In case his district shall be dissolved, to obey the order of the school commissioner or commissioners as to the depositing the books, papers and records of his office in the town clerk's office.

9. To attend all meetings of the board of trustees when notified, and keep a record of their proceedings in a book provided for that purpose.

10. To call special meetings of the inhabitants whenever all the trustees of the district shall have vacated their office.

II. The records, books and papers belonging or appertaining to the office of the clerk of any school district, as in this section mentioned, are hereby declared to be the property of said school district respectively, and shall be open for inspection by any qualified voter of the district at all reasonable hours, and any such voter may make copies thereof.

§ 35. The treasurer of a school district shall be the custodian of all moneys belonging to the district from whatever source derived, and it is hereby made the duty of the trustee or trustees of such district to pay to such treasurer any and all moneys that may come into his or their hands belonging to such district derived from sales of personal or real property of the district, from insurance policies, from bonds of the district issued and sold by him or them, or from any other source whatsoever. The collector of such district shall pay over to such treasurer all moneys collected by him under and by virtue of any tax list and warrant issued and delivered to him. Such treasurer is hereby authorized and empowered to demand and receive from the supervisor of the town in which such school district is situated all public money apportioned to said district. It shall be the duty of such treasurer within ten days after notice of his elec

tion to execute and deliver to the trustee or trustees of such district, his bond in such sum as shall have been fixed by a district meeting or as such trustee or trustees shall require, with at least two sureties to be approved by such trustee or trustees, con. ditioned to faithfully discharge the duties of his office, and to well and truly account for all moneys received by him, and to pay over any sum or sums of money remaining in his hands to his successor in office. Such bond when so executed and approved in writing by such trustee or trustees shall be filed with the district clerk. No moneys shall be paid out or disbursed by such treasurer except upon the written orders of a sole trustee, or a majority of the trustees. Such treasurer shall, whenever required by such trustee or trustees, report to him or them a detailed statement of the moneys received by him, and his disbursements, and at the annual meeting of such district he shall render a full account of all moneys received by him and from what source, and when received, and all disbursements made by him and to whom and the dates of such disbursements respectively, and the balance of moneys remaining in his hands.

ARTICLE V.

OF PUPILS AND TEACHERS.

36. Common schools in the several school districts of this state shall be free to all persons over five and under twenty-one years of age residing in the district as hereinafter provided; but non-residents of a district, if otherwise competent, may be admitted into the school of a district, with the written consent of the trustees, or of a majority of them, upon such terms as the trustees shall prescribe; provided that if such non-resident pupils, their parents or guardians, shall be liable to be taxed for the support of said schools in the district, on account of owning property therein, the amount of any such tax paid by a nonresident pupil, his parent or guardian, during the current school year, shall be deducted from the charge for tuition.

$37. If a school district include a portion of an Indian reservation, whereon a school for Indian children has been established by the superintendent of public instruction, and is taught, the school of the district is not free to Indian children resident in the

School Trustees, Taxes and Annual Reports.

§§ 38-44

district or on the reservation, nor shall they be admitted to such school except by the permission of the superintendent.

§ 38. No teacher is qualified, within the meaning of this act, who does not possess an unannulled diploma granted by a state normal school, or an unrevoked and unannulled certificate of qualification given by the superintendent of public instruction, or an unexpired certificate of qualification given by the school commissioner within whose district such teacher is employed. No person shall be deemed to be qualified who is under the age of eighteen years. (As amended by chap. 264 of 1896, § 6.)

$ 39. No part of the school moneys apportioned to a district can be applied or permitted to be applied to the payment of the wages of an unqualified teacher, nor can his or her wages, or any part of them, be collected by a district tax.

40. Any trustee who applies, or directs, or consents to the application of any such money to the payment of an unqualified teacher's wages, thereby commits a misdemeanor; and any fine imposed upon him therefor shall be for the benefit of the common schools of the district.

841. Teachers shall keep, prepare and enter in the books provided for that purpose, the school lists and accounts of attendance hereinafter mentioned, and shall be responsible for their safekeeping and delivery to the clerk of the district at the close of their engagements or terms.

ARTICLE VI.

OF TRUSTEES, THEIR POWERS AND DUTIES; AND OF SCHOOL TAXES AND ANNUAL REPORTS.

42. The trustee or trustees of every school district, whether there is one, or are three trustees, as hereinbefore provided, shall constitute a board for each of said districts respectively, and each of said boards are hereby severally created bodies corporate.

$43. All property which is now vested in, or shall hereafter be transferred to the trustee or trustees of a district, for the use of schools in the district, shall be held by him or them as a corporation.

44. A board consisting of a sole trustee of the district shall have all the powers, and be subject to all the duties, liabilities and penalties conferred and imposed by law upon or against a board

of three trustees or any trustee or trustees, or the majority of the trustees of said board having three trustees of a district.

45. The trustee or trustees of a district compose a board, and every power committed to said trustees by this act must be exercised by the board. The board must meet for the transaction of business in accordance with notice of time and place. In a board composed of three trustees, when two only meet to deliberate upon any matter or matters, and the third, if notified, does not attend, or the three meet and deliberate thereon, the conclusion of two upon the matter, and their order, act or proceeding in relation thereto, shall be as valid as though it were the conclusion, order, act or proceeding of the three; and a recital of the two in their minute of the conclusion, act or proceeding, or in their order, act or proceeding of the fact of such notice, or of such meeting and deliberation, shall be conclusive evidence thereof. A meeting of the board may be ordered by any member thereof, by giving not less than twenty-four hours' notice of the same.

§ 46. While there is one vacancy in the office of trustee, the two trustees have all the powers and are subject to all the duties and liabilities of the three. And while there are two such vacancies, the trustee in office shall have all the power and be subject to all the duties and liabilities of the three, as though he were a sole trustee. When a vacancy or vacancies shall occur in the office of trustee, the first act of the board shall be to call a special meeting of the district to supply such vacancy or va

cancies.

47. It shall be the duty of the trustee or trustees of every school district, and they shall have power:

1. To call special meetings of the inhabitants of such districts wherever they shall deem it necessary and proper.

2. To give notice of special, annual and adjourned meetings in the manner prescribed in the sixth section of this title, if there be no clerk of the district, or he be absent or incapable of acting, or shall refuse to act.

3. To make out a tax-list of every district tax voted by any such meeting, or authorized by law, containing the names of all the taxable inhabitants residing in the district at the time of making out the list, and the amount of tax payable by each in. habitant, set opposite to his name, as directed in the seventh article of this title.

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4. To annex to such tax-list a warrant, directed to the collector of the district, for the collection of the sums in such list mentioned.

5. To purchase or lease a site or sites for the district schoolhouse or school-houses, as designated by a meeting of the district; and to build, or purchase such school-house or houses as may be so designated; and to hire rooms or buildings for such school purposes, and to keep in repair and furnish such schoolhouse or houses, rooms or buildings with necessary fuel, furniture, school apparatus, heating apparatus and appendages, and to pay the expense thereof by tax, but such expense shall not exceed fifty dollars in any one year, unless authorized by the district or by law.

6. To have the custody and safe-keeping of the district schoolhouse or houses, their sites and appurtenances.

7. When thereto authorized by a meeting of the district to insure the school-house or houses, and their furniture, and the school apparatus in some company created by or under the laws of this state, and to comply with the conditions of the policy, and raise the premiums by a district tax. If the district meeting shall neglect to make such authorization, it shall be the duty of the trustee or trustees to insure such school-house or houses, and their furniture and school apparatus, and the premiums paid shall be raised by district tax.

8. To insure the school library in such a company in a sum fixed by a district meeting, and to raise the premium by a district tax, and comply with the conditions of the policy.

9. To contract with and employ all teachers in the district school or schools as are qualified under the provisions of this act, and to designate the number of teachers to be employed; to determine the rate of compensation to be paid to each teacher and the term of the employment of each teacher, respectively, and to determine the terms of school to be held in their respective districts during each school year; but no person who is related to any trustee or trustees by blood or marriage shall be so employed, except with the approval of two-thirds of the voters of such district present and voting upon the question at an annual or special meeting of the district. Nor shall the trustees of any school district make any contract for the employment of a teacher for more than one year in advance. Nor shall any trustee or trustees, employ any teacher for a shorter time than ten