SECTION 274. When Organized: [7396] Every school district shall be deemed duly organized when the officers constituting the district board shall have been elected and qualified, and shall have signified their acceptance to the county superintendent in writing, which the superintendent shall file in his office.72 (Laws 1876, ch. 122, art. 3, sec. 1.)

SEC. 275. Body Corporate. [7397] Every school district organized in pursuance of this act shall be a body corporate, and shall possess the usual powers of a corporation for public purposes, by the name and style of school district No. (such a number as may be designated by the county superintendent), county (the name of the county in which the district is situated), state of Kansas, and in that name may sue and be sued, and be capable of contracting and being contracted with, and holding such real and personal estate as it may come into possession of by will or otherwise, or as is authorized to be purchased by the provisions of this act. (Laws 1876, ch. 122, art. 3, sec. 2.)

SEC. 276. Formation of Joint Districts. That section 7398 of General Statutes of Kansas of 1909, be amended to read as follows: "Sec. 7398. When it shall become necessary to form a school district lying partly in two or more counties, the county superintendents of the counties in which the said tract of country shall be situated, when application shall be made in writing to any one of them by five householders, residents

72. Officers elected at the first district meeting hold office only until the next annual meeting.

therem, shall, if by them deemed necessary, meet and proceed to lay off and form the same into a school district, issue notices for the first district meeting, and shall file the proper papers in their respective offices; provided, that whenever a resident of a school district desires his property attached to an adjacent district situated in another county, he may make application to the county superintendent of the county in which he lives and the county superintendent of the county in which such adjacent district is located to have his property attached to such adjacent district for school purposes, and such county superintendents, if by them deemed necessary and for the best interests of the applicant, shall attach the property of said applicant to the adjacent district; provided further, that no property shall be attached to an adjacent district situated in another county until notice has been given of an intention so to do and a hearing had as to the necessity or advisability of attaching such territory to the adjacent district. (Laws 1915, ch. 303, sec. 1.)

SEC. 277. Name of Joint District; Alteration of Boundaries. Such district so organized or having had adjacent territory in another county attached thereto shall be designated as joint district number counties of and the boundaries of such district shall not be altered except by the joint action of the superintendents of the several counties represented in said district. (Laws 1915, ch. 303, sec. 2.)

SEC. 278. Appeal to State Superintendent. That if in the alteration of or refusal to alter the boundaries of any joint school district or in the attaching or refusal to attach to a school district adjacent territory situated in another county, any person or persons shall feel aggrieved, such person or persons may appeal to the state superintendent of public instruction, and notice of such appeal shall be served on the superintendents of the several counties represented in said district within twenty days after the rendition by them of the decision appealed from, which notice shall be in writing, and shall state fully the objections to the action of the county superintendent, and a copy thereof shall be filed with the state superintendent of public instruction; and it shall be the duty of the county superintendent in whose possession are the papers connected with the action appealed from to transmit the same to the state superintendent of public instruction immediately upon being served with notice of appeal as hereinbefore presented; and thereupon the state superintendent of public instruction shall fix a time for the hearing of said appeal, and notify the several county superintendents interested, and the appellants, thereof; and his decision on said appeal shall be final, and shall be by him certified to the several county superintendents interested, and they shall take action in accordance therewith; and provided further, that each joint dis

trict, except in matters relating to the alteration of the boundaries thereof, shall be under the jurisdiction and control of the superintendent of that one of the counties represented in such district which has the largest amount of territory embraced within the boundaries of such joint district. (Laws 1915, cḥ. 303, sec. 3.)

SEC. 279. Joint-district Fund. [7399] Whenever it shall appear that any school district in this state lies or is in two or more counties it shall be the duty of the treasurer of the county or counties having the smaller amount of territory in said district to transfer to the treasurer of the county having the greater amount of territory of said district, before the 10th day of January, 1st day of July and 20th day of September of each year, all moneys in his hands belonging to said district, including all moneys for the payment of bonds or interest on bonds of said district; and the treasurer receiving said money shall issue therefor and forward to the treasurer so sending the money receipts in triplicate, one of which said treasurer shall file with the county clerk of the county, and the board of county commissioners thereof shall give said treasurer proper credit therefor. One of said receipts shall be sent to the county clerk of the county to which the money was sent, who shall charge the county treasurer with the amount thereof. (Laws 1889, ch. 226, sec. 1.)

SEC. 280. Annual and Special Meetings. That an annual school meeting of each school district, of each consolidated school district, of each union or graded school district, and of each school district for which the date of the annual meeting has been fixed by a special act of the legislature, shall be held on the second Friday in April in each year, at two o'clock p. m. Notice of the time and place of said annual meeting shall be given by the clerk by posting written or printed notices in three public places within the district at least ten days before said meeting.73 Special meetings may be called by the district board or upon a petition signed by ten legal voters of the district, but notice of such special meeting, stating the purpose for which it is called, shall be posted in at least three public places within such district ten days previous to the time of such meeting; provided, that the annual school meeting for union or graded school districts comprising the territory of two or more school districts shall be held at two o'clock p. m. on the Thursday immediately preceding the second Friday in April in each year. (Laws 1911, ch. 283, sec. 1.)

SEC. 281. Business of Annual Meeting at Special Meeting. [7403] Whenever the time for holding an annual meeting in any district shall pass without said meeting being held, the

73. A failure on the part of the district clerk to post the notices of the time and place of the annual meeting will not invalidate the proceedings of said meeting.

clerk, or, in his absence, any other member of the district board, within twenty days after the time for holding said annual meeting shall have passed, may give notice of a special meeting, by putting up written notices thereof in three public places within the district, at least five days previous to the time of meeting; but if such meeting shall not be notified within twenty days as aforesaid, the county superintendent may give notice of such meeting in the manner provided for forming new districts; and the officers chosen at such special meeting shall hold their offices until the next annual meeting, and until their successors are elected and qualified. (Laws 1876, ch. 122, art. 3, sec. 7.)

SEC. 282. Notice of Meetings. [7404] It shall be the duty of the clerk to give at least ten days' notice previous to any annual or special district meeting, by posting up notices thereof at three or more public places in the district, one of which notices shall be affixed to the outer door of the schoolhouse, if there be one in the district, and said clerk shall give the like notice of every adjourned meeting, when such meeting shall have been adjourned for a longer period than one month. Every notice for a special district meeting shall specify the objects for which such meeting is called, and no business shall be acted upon at any special meeting not specified in said notice. (Laws 1876, ch. 122, art. 3, sec. 8.)

SEC. 283. Qualified Voters. [7405] The following persons shall be entitled to vote at any district meeting: (1) All persons possessing the qualifications of electors as defined by the constitution of the state, and who shall have been in good faith residents of the district for thirty75 days next prior to the time of offering to vote at said election. (2) All female persons over the age of twenty-one years, not subject to the disqualifications named in section 2,76 article 5, of the constitution of the state, and who shall be residents in good faith in the district for thirty days next prior to the time of offering to vote at said election.77 (Laws 1889, ch. 123, sec. 1.)

SEC. 284. Challenge. [7406] If any person offering to vote at a school-district meeting shall be challenged as unqualified 74. Notices of special meetings must be posted as required by law. A failure to so post them will invalidate the action of the meeting.

75. Voters who have come into a district by reason of attachment of territory to said district, by disorganization of said voters' original district by any legal process, retain all rights of suffrage at school elections and meetings, regardless of the thirty-day restriction.

76. See section 171, General Statutes of 1909.

77. Naturalization. A woman of foreign birth who is the wife of a naturalized foreigner, but who has not herself taken out naturalization papers, is entitled to vote at any school-district meeting, provided she possesses the other necessary qualifications. The naturalization of the husband naturalizes the wife and all children who are under the age of twenty-one years.

by any legal voter, the chairman presiding shall declare to the person challenged the qualifications of a voter, and if such challenge be not withdrawn, the chairman, who is hereby authorized, shall tender to the person offering to vote the following oath or affirmation: "You do solemnly swear (or affirm) that you are an actual resident of this school district, and that you are qualified by law to vote at this meeting." Any person taking such oath or affirmation shall be entitled to vote on all questions voted upon at such meeting. (Laws 1876, ch. 122, art. 3, sec. 10.)

SEC. 285. Powers of District Meeting. [7407] The inhabitants qualified to vote at a school meeting lawfully assembled shall have power: First, to appoint a chairman to preside over said meeting in the absence of the director; second, to adjourn from time to time;78 third, to choose a director, clerk and treasurer, who shall possess the qualifications of voters; fourth, to designate by vote a site for a district schoolhouse; fifth, to vote a sum annually, not exceeding the limit fixed by law,79 as the meeting shall deem sufficient, for the various school purposes 80 and for the payment of any floating indebtedness of the district, and distribute the amount as the meeting shall deem proper in the payment of teachers' wages and to purchase or lease a site (provided, when not included within the limits of a town or village, said site shall not contain less than one acre), and to build, hire or purchase such schoolhouse,81 and to keep in repair and furnish the same with the necessary fuel and appendages, and to pay any floating indebtedness of the school district; sixth, to authorize and direct the sale of any schoolhouse, site or other property belonging to the district when the same shall not longer be needful for the use of the district; seventh, to give such direction and make such provision as may be deemed necessary in relation to prosecution or defense of any suit or proceedings in which the district may be a party. (Laws 1909, ch. 214, sec. 1.)

SEC. 286. Limitation of Levy. Section 9417 of the General Statutes of 1909 is hereby amended so as to read as follows: Sec. 9417. The authority of the qualified voters of any school

78. Adjournment. A district meeting has the right to adjourn from time to time, and if an adjournment is taken to a particular time, any business can be transacted at this adjourned session that might have been transacted at the regular meeting. No additional notice is necessary, unless the meeting shall have been adjourned for a longer period than one month. (See sec. 282.)

79. Limited to four and one-half mills, Laws 1911, ch. 268, sec. 2 (see sections 289, 292 and 364 of this book). For means of increasing this amount, see Laws 1909, ch. 245, sec. 27 (section 519 of this book). The levy must be made in money and not in mills.

80. More than one school may be established within a school district. 81. A tax may also be levied for the purpose of purchasing a district library. (See section 522 of this book.)