heretofore

boundaries of the same as circumstances shall render proper; and each district shall be composed of contiguous territory and be in as compact a form as may be. Districts hereto- Districts fore organized shall remain and have the same boundaries as organized. at the time of the passage of this act, subject to change hereafter in the discretion of the township board.

inhabitant

voters.

SEC. 2. Whenever the township board of any township Notice to shall form a school district therein, it shall be the duty of on formation the clerk of such board to deliver to a taxable inhabitant of district. of such district a notice in writing of the formation of such district, describing its boundaries and specifying the time and place of the first meeting, which notice, with the fact of such delivery, shall be entered upon record by the clerk. The said notice shall also direct such inhabitant to notify Notice to qualified every qualified voter of such district, either personally or by leaving a written notice at his place of residence, of the time and place of said meeting, at least five days before the time appointed therefor; and it shall be the duty of such inhabitant to notify the qualified voters of said district accordingly, and said inhabitant, when he shall have notified the qualified voters as required in such notice, shall endorse thereon a return showing such notification with the date or Return, dates thereof, and deliver such notice and return to the show. chairman of the meeting, to be by him delivered to the director chosen at such meeting, and by said director recorded . at length as a part of the records of such district.

what to

districts,

SEC. 4. Whenever it shall be necessary or convenient to Fractional form a district from two or more adjoining townships, the how township boards, or a majority of them, of each of such ad- formed. joining townships, may form such district, to be designated as a fractional district, and direct which township clerk shall make and deliver the notice of the formation of the same to a taxable inhabitant thereof, and may regulate and alter such district as circumstances may render necessary in the same manner that other districts are altered. The an- Annual nual reports of the director of such district shall be made reports, to the clerk of the township in which the schoolhouse may be situated, and the township board of such township shall number said district.

where made.

districts

SEC. 5. Every such school district shall be deemed duly when organized when any two of the officers elected at the first deemed meeting shall have filed their acceptances in writing with the duly director, and the same shall have been recorded in the minutes organized. of such first meeting. Every school district shall in all When cases be presumed to have been legally organized when it presumed shall have exercised the franchises and privileges of a dis- organized. trict for the term of two years; and such school district and its officers shall be entitled to all the rights, privileges and immunities, and be subject to all the duties and liabili

ties conferred upon school districts by law. Any school dis- Organization, trict shall lose its organization as follows:

how lost.

Lack of qualified persons.

Failure to maintain school.

Resolution, declaring dissolution.

Director's record of first meeting prima facie evidence.

School

district, a body corporate.

Name and style.

Power of.

Alteration of district boundaries by township board.

Posting notice.

Joint boards.

May detach and attach property.

(a) Whenever there are not three or more persons in such district qualified under the law to hold district offices;

(b) Whenever such district shall fail to maintain school for the time required by law for a period of two successive years either within its own boundaries or by providing for the education of the children in other districts. Upon the happening of either condition, the township board, or joint board, if such district be fractional, shall declare by resolution such district dissolved and shall immediately attach the territory thereof, in whole or in part, to other districts already organized and make an equitable distribution of the money, property and other material belonging to such district among the districts to which the territory thereof shall be attached, in accordance with the provisions hereinafter stated.

SEC. 6. The record of the first meeting made by the director shall be prima facie evidence of the facts therein set forth and of the legality of all proceedings in the organization of the district prior to the first district meeting; but nothing in this section contained shall be so construed as to impair the effect of the record kept by the township board as evidence.

......

SEC. 7. Every school district organized in pursuance of this chapter, or which has been organized and continued under any previous law of the State or Territory of Michigan, 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 number (such number as shall be designated in the formation thereof by the township board), of (the name of the township or townships in which the district is situated)," and in that name shall be capable of suing and being sued, of contracting and being contracted with, and of holding such real and personal estate as is authorized to be purchased by the provisions of law, and of selling the same.

SEC. 8. Whenever the township board shall contemplate an alteration of the boundaries of a district, the township clerk (and for meetings of boards to act in relation to fractional districts, clerks of the several townships interested) shall give at least ten days' notice of the time and place of the meeting of said board and the alteration proposed, by posting such notice in three public places in the township or townships, one of which notices shall be in each of the districts that may be affected by such alteration. Whenever the township boards of more than one township meet, they shall elect one of their number chairman, and another clerk thereof.

SEC. 9. The township board may in its discretion detach the property of any person or persons from one district and attach it to another; except that no land which has been taxed for building a schoolhouse shall be set off into another school

district for the period of three years thereafter, except by the consent of the owner thereof; and no district shall be divided into two or more districts without the consent of a majority of the resident taxpayers of said district, and no Division into two or more districts shall be consolidated without the con- districts. sent of a majority of the resident taxpayers of each district.

two or more

person not

organized

SEC. 10. The township board may attach to a school dis- Attaching trict any person residing in a township and not in any or- in any ganized district, at his request; and for all district purposes, district. except raising a tax for building a schoolhouse, such person shall be considered as residing in such district; but when set off to a new district, no sum shall be raised for such person as his proportion to the district property.

director of

alteration.

SEC. 11. In all cases where an alteration of the boundaries Notice to of a school district shall be made, the township clerk shall, district within ten days, deliver to the director of each district affected by affected by the alteration a notice in writing, setting forth the action of the township board and defining the alterations that have been made.

etc.

SEC. 12. When a new district is formed in whole or in Division of districts part from one or more districts possessed of a schoolhouse possessed of or entitled to other property, the township board at the time schoolhouses, of forming such new district, or as soon thereafter as may be, shall ascertain and determine the amount justly due to such new district from any district out of which it may have been in whole or in part formed, as the proportion of such new district, of the value of the schoolhouse and other property belonging to the former district, at the time of such division; and whenever by the division of any district, the When may schoolhouse or site thereof shall no longer be conveniently apportion located for school purposes and shall not be desired for use proceeds. by the new district in which it may be situated, the township board of the township in which such schoolhouse and site shall be located may advertise and sell the same, and apportion the proceeds of such sale and also any moneys belonging to the district thus divided among the several districts. erected in whole or in part from the divided district.

sell and

how

deducted.

SEC. 13. Such proportion shall be ascertained and deter- Proportion, mined according to the value of the taxable property of the ascertained. respective parts of such former district at the time of the division, by the best evidence in the power of the township board; and such amount of any debt due from the former Debt district, which would have been a charge upon the new had it remained in the former district, shall be deducted from such proportion: Provided, That no real estate thus set off, Proviso. and which shall not have been taxed for the purchase or building of such schoolhouse, shall be entitled to any portion thereof nor be taken into account in such division of district property.

Appeal, how taken from action of township board.

Board of appeals, who to constitute.

Notice to township clerk, what to state.

Appellants to file written statement.

Bond; amount of.

Township board, when to file

transcript of proceedings,

etc.

CHAPTER IX.

SECTION 1. Whenever any five or more tax paying electors having taxable property within any school district shall feel themselves aggrieved by any action, order or decision of the township board or joint boards with reference to the formation or any division or consolidation of said school district, they may, at any time within sixty days from the time of such action on the part of said board, appeal from such action, order or decision of said board to the county commissioner of schools and a circuit court commissioner of the county in which such school district is situated. The county commissioner of schools and circuit court commissioner shall constitute a board of appeals for all such cases and shall be entitled to the usual fees provided by statute for circuit court commissioner. When an appeal shall be filed with the board of appeals herein provided for, said board shall serve notice on the clerk of the township board or the clerks of the joint boards who have made the decision appealed from, and said clerk or clerks shall notify the several members of such board of such appeal. The notice to the clerk and township board shall state the day and hour when such appeal will be heard, and it shall be the duty of said board of appeals to review, confirm, set aside or amend the action, order or decision of the township board or boards thus appealed from; or if in its opinion the appeal is frivolous or without sufficient cause it may summarily dismiss the same.

SEC. 2. Said appellants shall, before taking such appeal, make out and file with the board of appeals a written statement, to be signed by said appellants, setting forth in general terms the action, order or decision of the township board with respect to which the appellants feel themselves aggrieved, and their demand for an appeal therefrom to the board of appeals, and shall also cause to be executed and signed by one of their number, and by two good and suflicient sureties to be approved by the board of appeals, a bond to the people of the State of Michigan in the penal sum of two hundred dollars, conditioned for the due prosecution of said appeal before said board, and also in case of the dismissal of said appeal as frivolous by said board for the payment by said appellants of all costs occasioned by reason of said appeal.

SEC. 3. Upon the filing of such appeal papers and bond with the said board of appeals and after notice by the board of appeals to the township board from whose decision appeal is taken, said township board shall within ten days there after make out and file with the said board of appeals a full and complete transcript of all its proceedings, actions, orders or decisions with reference to which the appeal is taken and of its records of the same; also said bond and appeal papers

and all petitions and remonstrances, if any, with reference to the matters appealed from, and upon the filing of the same with said board of appeals the said board shall be deemed to be in possession of the case, and if the return be deemed by it insufficient the board may order a further and more complete return by said township board, and when such return shall by it be deemed sufficient it shall proceed with the consideration of the appeal at such time or times, within ten days after such return in such manner and under such affirmation, amendment or reversal of the action, order or decision of the township board appealed from, as in its judgment shall seem to be just and right; or if it deem the appeal to be frivolous it may summarily dismiss the same. Approved April 14, 1909.

[No. 32.]

AN ACT to repeal section three of chapter thirteen of act one hundred sixty-four of the public acts of eighteen hundred eighty-one, entitled "An act to revise and consolidate the laws relating to public instruction and primary schools, and to repeal all statutes and acts contravening the provisions of this act," being section four thousand seven hundred sixty-seven of the Compiled Laws of eighteen hundred ninety-seven; and to amend sections one, three, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven and thirteen of chapter eleven, and sections four, five and eight of chapter thirteen of said. act, being sections four thousand seven hundred fifty-two, four thousand seven hundred fifty-four, four thousand seven hundred fifty-six, four thousand seven hundred fifty-seven, four thousand seven hundred fifty-eight, four thousand seven hundred fifty-nine, four thousand seven hundred sixty, four thousand seven hundred sixty-one, four thousand seven hundred sixty-two, four thousand seven hundred sixtyfour and sections four thousand seven hundred sixty-eight, four thousand seven hundred sixty-nine and four thousand seven hundred seventy-two of the Compiled Laws of eighteen hundred ninety-seven.

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

and sections

SECTION 1. Section three of chapter thirteen of act one Section hundred sixty-four of the public acts of eighteen hundred repealed eighty-one, entitled "An act to revise and consolidate the laws amended. relating to public instruction and primary schools, and to repeal all statutes and acts contravening the provisions of this act," being section four thousand seven hundred sixty