COMMON SCHOOLS.

See EDUCATION; MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS.

22. County commissioners to furnish adjusted val- provide competent teachers.

130. Three auditors to be elected in each independ- to be taught. Term.

18 April 1857 § 1. P. L. 263.

Removal.
Vacancies.

228. Repealing clause.

229. Monthly report of teachers.

230. Teachers to be paid for attendance at county institute.

231. Compensation to be based on daily attendance. 232. Amount of compensation.

XXIII. TEACHERS' INSTITUTES. 233. Organization of teachers' institutes. 234. Roll of members. Appropriation for lectures, books, &c. Attendance of teachers. Penalty for neglect. 235. Accounts of superintendents. 236. Report of adjournment.

237. Teachers to be allowed wages whilst attending institutes.

238. Superintendents to give certificates.

XXIV. SCHOLARS.

253. Not oftener than six years in cities of the second and third classes.

254. Price lists to be furnished and adopted.

255. Awarding of contracts.

256. Penalty for violation.

257. Books and supplies to be furnished free of cost. Return at close of annual term. 258. Separate account to be kept.

XXVII. SCHOOL LIBRARIES.

259. Establishment of district libraries. 260. Purchase of books. Annual accounts. 261. Title. Larceny of books, &c., punished. Burglarious entry.

262. Use of books regulated. Liability for lost books. Evidence of issue.

263. Rules and regulations to be established.
264. Librarian and assistant.

265. School libraries and purchase of books.
266. Use of school libraries.

267. Title. Issue list.

268. School directors may receive bequests for libraries.

I. Department of common schools.

1. The department of common schools shall be detached and remain separate from the office of the secretary of the commonwealth, and a superintendent of comSuperintendent of mon schools shall be appointed by the governor, every third year, by and with the common schools to advice and consent of the senate, and shall hold his office from the first Monday be appointed. of June, for and during the term of three years, if he shall so long behave himself well, and he shall be liable to be removed from office by the governor for misbehavior or misconduct, at any time during his term; and any vacancy that may occur in said office of superintendent shall be supplied by a new appointment Governor to com- for the unexpired term of the former incumbent: Provided, That in the event of municate causes of any such removal, the governor shall, at the time, communicate his reasons therefor, in writing, to the superintendent thus displaced, and also to the senate, if in session, and if not, within ten days after their next meeting. (d)

removal.

(d) The constitution of 1874, art. IV. § 20, provides, that the superintendent of public instruction shall ex

ercise all the powers and perform all the duties of the superintendent of common schools, subject to such

P. L. 263.

2. The superintendent first appointed under this act, shall hold his office 18 April 1857 § 2. from the first Monday in June, Anno Domini 1857; and shall receive an annual salary of fourteen hundred dollars, payable quarterly.

Salary.

3. The superintendent of common schools, and his successors in office Ibid. § 3. appointed under this act, shall furnish the same security, exercise the same func- Security. tions, and be charged with the same duties and responsibilities that are now by law required of and devolved upon the superintendent of common schools. 4. I. He shall decide without appeal, (e) and without costs to the parties, all 8 May 1854 § 46. controversies or disputes that may arise or exist among the directors or controllers

Duties, &c.

P. L. 627.

of any district, between directors or controllers of adjoining districts, or between To settle controcollectors or treasurers and directors or controllers, concerning the duties of their versies. respective offices; the facts of which controversies or disputes shall be made known to him by written statements, by the parties thereto, acting in their official capacities, verified by oath or affirmation, if required, and accompanied by certified copies of all necessary minutes, contracts, orders or other documents.

school laws.

5. II. He shall, whenever required, give advice, explanation, construction To give informaor information to the district officers, and to citizens, relative to the common tion relative to school law, the duties of common school officers, the rights and duties of parents, guardians, pupils and all others, the management of the schools, and all other questions and matters calculated to promote the cause of education.

tion.

6. III. He shall sign all orders on the state treasurer for the payment of To sign orders for such moneys to the treasurers of the several school districts as they may be en- state appropriatitled to receive from the state, and for all other moneys to be paid out of the appropriation to common schools made by this act.

for distribution.

7. IV. He shall prepare blank forms for the annual district reports, with To prepare forms; suitable instructions and forms for conducting the various proceedings and details and forward them of the system, in a uniform and efficient manner, and forward the same to the county superintendents; who shall distribute them to and among the proper district officers of their respective counties.

8. V. He shall prepare and submit to the legislature, an annual report, con- To make annual taining a full account of the condition of the common schools in the state, the reports to the legislature. expenditures of the system during the year, estimates of the sums requisite for the ensuing year, the whole number of pupils, the cost of teaching each, the number of districts, plans for the improvement of the system, and all such matters relating to the concerns of common schools, and to the duties of his office, as he may deem it expedient to communicate.

9. VI. He shall provide a seal, with suitable device, for the use of the depart- To procure a seal ment of common schools, by which copies of papers deposited or filed therein, and and appoint clerks. all official acts and decisions, may be authenticated, under said seal; and when so authenticated, shall be evidence equally, and in like manner, as the originals: he may also designate and appoint one of the clerks employed by him to be his general deputy, who may perform all the duties of superintendent of common schools, in case of his absence, or a vacancy in his office.

10. VII. He shall have the power of removing any county superintendent for To remove county neglect of duty, incompetency or immorality, and to appoint another in his stead superintendents in until the next triennial convention of directors.

certain cases.

8 May 1855 § 9. P. L. 511.

be the official organ

11. The Pennsylvania School Journal shall be recognized as the official organ of the department of common schools, of this commonwealth, in which the current decisions made by the superintendent of common schools shall be published, Pennsylvania free of charge, together with all official circulars, and such other letters of explana- School Journal to tion and instruction as he may find it necessary or advisable to issue from time to of the department. time, including his annual report; and the superintendent is hereby authorized to subscribe for one copy of said School Journal, to be sent to each board of school directors in the state, for public use, and charge the cost thereof to the contingent expenses of the department of common schools.

II. State appropriation.

P. L. 61.

12. It shall be the duty of the commissioners of each county to ascertain 17 April 1865 § 1. triennially, with the assistance of the respective assessors, the exact number of taxable citizens residing in each school district, in their several counties, and to Basis of distribucertify the same, under their hands and seals of office, to the superintendent of tion of state appropriation, common schools, who is hereby directed to adopt the number of taxables thus how fixed. certified to him, as the basis of distribution of the state appropriation; which said certificate shall be prepared and transmitted, on or before the first Monday of June. in every third year, commencing with the first Monday of June, Anno Domini 1865.

13. And if the commissioners of any county shall neglect to forward such cer

changes as shall be made by law. By § 8, he is to be appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of two-thirds of all the members of the senate, for the term of four years.

8 May 1854 § 47. P. L. 628.

(e) See decisions of the superintendent, collected in 2 Wh. Dig. 604-13. He has no authority to decide a question of contested election. Mershon v. Baldridge, 7 W. 500.

8 May 1854 § 47. tificates on or before said day, the superintendent may, in such case, adopt the number of taxables set forth in the next preceding certificate or return.

P. L. 628.

Failure to forward
certificates.
Ibid. § 48.
Errors, how
corrected.

Ibid. § 49. When new district is formed,

14. If any error in the certificate of taxables shall occur, whereby a district shall receive more or less of the state appropriation than is justly due said district, the county commissioners shall have authority, and they are hereby required, immediately to forward to the superintendent a correct list of taxables, and the superintendent shall thereupon make it the basis of the appropriation due said district. 15. Whenever any new district shall be formed in any county of this commonwealth, it shall be the duty of the commissioners thereof to certify to the superintendent of common schools, before the commencement of the next sucnumber of taxables ceeding school year, the number of taxable inhabitants therein, and also the old distrets, to be number in the district or districts from which it was taken, separately, according to the last preceding triennial enumeration of taxables made for school purposes, so that the whole number in such new district, and in that or those out of which it was taken, being added together, shall be neither greater nor less than the number that was therein before the change was made, and according to the last triennial certificate or return of taxables thereof made by said commissioners.

therein and in the

certified.

9 April 1868 § 1. P. L. 76.

Non-accepting dis

tricts which have

put schools in operation to be enti

tled to back appropriations.

Ibid. § 2. And those that

16. All school districts in this commonwealth, previously non-accepting, which have put in operation a system of common schools, according to law, at any time since the year 1860, are hereby declared entitled to the same state appropriations for school purposes which they would have received had they complied with the law in reference to common schools, during and since that year; and the superintendent of common schools is authorized and required to pay out of the appropri ation to common schools for the year 1869, by warrants upon the state treasury, all sums found to be due to such districts by the provisions of this act.

17. All school districts in this commonwealth, now non-accepting, which shall put in operation a system of common school according to law, on or before the shall do so prior to year 1870, shall be entitled to all the state appropriations for school purposes they

1870.

12 April 1878 § 1. P. L. 13.

Additional state appropriation.

23 May 1891 § 1. P. L. 114.

State appropriations to districts

formed after trien

nial assessment.

Ibid. § 2. Basis of distribution.

8 May 1854 § 28. P. L. 623.

Assessment of school tax.

Amount thereof.

would have received during and since the year 1860; and the superintendent of common schools is authorized and required to pay out of the appropriations to common schools for the year following that during which any such district shall put the school system in operation, by his warrant upon the state treasury, in favor of such district, the whole amount to which it would be entitled as herein provided.

18. Whenever the commissioners of any county of this commonwealth shall certify, under their hands and seals of office, to the superintendent of public instruction, that more taxable citizens actually resided in any school district of their respective counties, at the time of the last triennial enumeration of taxables, than were then certified and returned by them, in compliance with the act of April 17th, 1865, the superintendent of public instruction shall draw his warrant upon the state treasurer for whatever additional state appropriation such district or districts may be entitled, under the distribution made for the year or years for which such incomplete enumeration was returned: Provided, That under this act, no district shall be entitled to additional appropriation, for any year preceding 1870, and hereafter, for no year prior to the year in which the next preceding triennial enumeration of taxables was made.

19. The superintendent of public instruction be and he is hereby authorized to draw his warrant for the payment of the amount or portion of the state appropriation to common schools equitably due school districts formed after any triennial assessment, by reason of rapid growth of population, and which under the present law can get no portion of the state appropriation until after the next succeeding triennial return of resident taxables.

20. That the basis of distribution in such cases, shall be the number of resident taxables as shown by the next preceding annual assessment, and returned by the county commissioners to the department of public instruction.

III. School taxes.

21. The school directors or controllers of every district (g) shall, annually, on or before the first Monday of May, (h) and by the votes of not less than a majority(i) of the members of the board, determine the amount of school tax which shall be levied on their district, for the ensuing school year, which shall, together with such additional sums as the district may be entitled to receive out of the state appropriation and from other sources, be sufficient and necessary to keep the schools of the district in operation, not less than four(k) nor more than ten months in the year.(1)

(g) See act 14 April 1863, as to Allegheny city. P. L. 434.

(h) If, for any cause, the directors have not levied the tax, within the time specified, they may levy it at a future period. 2 Wh. Dig. 610, pl. 86. After the tax has been so levied, no other tax can be assessed by the directors for the same year. Ibid. 610, pl. 85. By act 22 April 1863, the school tax is not to be levied,

until after the organization of the new board of directors, nor before the 1st July; but this act does not extend to the cities of Philadelphia, Reading and Lancaster, nor to the county of Allegheny. P. L. 523.

(i) A tax levied by the votes of less than four directors is illegal, and cannot be enforced. 2 Wh. Dig. 610, pl. 84.

(k) To be kept open five months in each year, ex