Chap. 509.—An ACT to amend and re-enact chapter 66 of the Code of Virginia,
relating to public free schools for counties and to the literary fund.

Approved December 28, 1903.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That chapter
sixty-six of the Code of Virginia be amended and re-enacted so as to read
as follows:

CuHapter LXVI.

Of Public Free Schools for Counties and of the Literary Fund.

§ 1427. Efficient system of public free schools.—Be it enacted by the
general assembly of Virginia, That an efficient system of public free
schools shall be established and maintained in all the counties and towns
of the State.

§ 1428. Authorities for administering system.—The public free school

system shall be administered by the following authorities, to-wit: A
State board of education, a superintendent of public instruction, division
superintendents of schools, and district and county school boards. -
* $1429. State board of education.—The State board of education shall
be a corporation by that name, and shall consist of the governor, the
attorney-general, the superintendent of public instruction, and three ex-
perienced educators, to be elected quadrennially by the senate from a list
of eligibles, consisting of one from each of the faculties, and nominated
by the respective boards of visitors or trustees of the University of Vir-
ginia, the Virginia Military Institute, the Virginia Polytechnic Insti-
tute, the State Female Normal School at Farmville, the School for the
Deaf and the Blind, and also of the College of William and Mary (so
long as the State shall continue its annual appropriation to the last
named institution), together with two division superintendents of schools.
one from a county and one from a city, to be selected by the board com-
posed of the governor, the aitorney-general, the superintendent of public
instruction, and three experienced educators elected by the senate as
herein provided, said division superintendents to have powers and duties
identical with those of the other members, except participation in the
appointment of any public school official.

Terms of the members.—The term of the three members first electe!
by the senate shall be four vears from the first day of March, nineteen
hundred and three: provided, they continue so long on the list of eligi-
bles, and, within thirty days before the expiration of their term every
four vears thereafter, the senate shall elect their successors, whose term
shall be four years from the first day of March following their election.
The term of the two division superintendents first selected shall be twc
years from the first day of March, nineteen hundred and three: provided,
they hold the office of division superintendent so long, and, within thirty
days before the expiration of their term every two years thereafter, the
appointing board herein provided shall select their successors, whose
term shall be two years from the first day of March following their ap-
pointment.

Qualification Before entering upon their duties all the members of
the board, except the governor, the attorney-general, and the superin-
tendent of public instruction, shall take and subscribe the oaths pre-
scribed by the Constitution before any officer authorized to administer
oaths, and said officer shall certify the same; a minute of their qualifica-
tion shall be entered in the proceedings of the board, and the oaths shall
be returned as required by law as to the oaths of other State officers.

Vacancies in the board.—Any vacancy occurring during the term of
any member of the board, except that of the governor and the attorney-
general, shall be filled for the unexpired term by the board.

President of the board.—The superintendent of public instruction
shall be ex-officio president of the board, and in his absence the members
present shall elect a president pro tempore.

Quorum.—A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum for
the transaction of business.

§ 1430. Meetings.—Mectings of the board shall be held upon the call
of the president, or upon request of a majority of its members: provided,
that the president shall give due notice to all the members of the time of
holding the meetings. ‘The place of meeting shall ordinarily be the office
of the superintendent of public instruction.

§ 1431. Record.—A faithful record shall be kept of the proceedings of
the board, which shall be signed by the president, or, in his absence, by
the president pro tempore, and shall at all times be open to inspection.

§ 1432. Recovery of money due literary fund.—Any money which
ought to be paid into the public treasury to the credit of the literary
fund shall (unless other provision be made therefor) be recoverable, with
interest, by the board of education, by motion after fifteen days’ notice,
or by action in the circuit court of the city of Richmond. The second
auditor shall institute and prosecute the proccedings, after an order for
such motion or action shall have been made by the board.

The said board may appoint agents for the collection of its debts or
claims, and authorize them to secure payment thereof on such terms as
it may approve.

When estate of any person taken under execution, or for sale under
any decree or deed of trust, for any such debt or claim, will not sell for
the amount thereof, such agent may (under the direction of the board as
to the price) purchase such estate for the board. He shall immediately
report to it every such purchase, and the terms thereof.

The board may sell, or appoint an agent to sell, any estate so pur-
chased, who shall sel] at such time and on such terms as the board may
authorize. It shall take bond from such agent if any money is to come
into his hands. Any agent sclling land under this section shall, when
directed so to do by the board, execute a deed (with the resolution giving
such direction thereto annexed), conveying to the purchaser all the in-
terest which the board may have in such land.

For the service of any agent under this section, the board may allow
compensation, not exceeding in any case five per centum on the money
actually paid into the treasury.

§ 1433. Duties of State board of education.—The powers and duties
of the board shall be as follows:

First. To divide the State into appropriate school divisions, in the dis-
cretion of said board, comprising not less than one county or cily each;
but no county or city shall be divided in the formation of such divisions.
It shall, subject to the confirmation of the senate, appoint for each of
such divisions one superintendent of schools, who shall hold office for
four years. The board shall also prescribe the duties of such division
superintendent, and may remove him for cause and upon notice. When a
vacancy occurs during the reccss of the general assembly, it shall be filled
by appointment of the board for the unexpired term, and the appointce
shall continue in office until the expiration of thirty days after the first
meeting of the general assembly; but it shall not be lawful when the gen-
eral assembly is not in session for the said board to appoint as division
superintendent any person whose nomination has been previously rejected
by the senate.

Second. To prescribe the duties of the superintendent of public in-
struction.

Third. To approve the appointment of a first and a second clerk, and
such other employees as may be necessary for the office of the superin-
tendent of public instruction, upon the nomination of that officer, and to
fix their salaries. The first clerk, who is hereby required to serve also as
secretary of the board of education, may be allowed: for these extra ser-
vices such reasonable compensation as the board may deem just and pro-
per.

Fourth. To adopt by-laws for its own government, and to make all
needful rules and regulations for the management and conduct of the
schools. Such rules and regulations, when published and distributed,
shall have the force and effect. of law until revised, amended, or repealed
by the general assembly.

Fifth. To provide for examining teachers for the public schools of
the State bv the appointment of a State board of examiners, or by the
adoption of such other plans as the board of education may, in its dis-
cretion, deem wise and expedient.

The compensation and expenses of said board of examiners shall be
fixed by the board of education and paid as other expenses of the said
board are paid.

Sixth. To select text-books and educational appliances for use in the
public schools of the State, exercising such discretion as it may see fit in
the selection of books suitable for the schools in the cities and counties,
respectively.

Seventh. To guard by regulation against so great a multiplication of
schools in proportion to the funds provided as will tend to cause a low
grade of instruction in the schools, or in any other way impair their eff-
ciency.
Eighth. To approve or amend the plans of the superintendent of pub-
lic instruction for the organization and conduct of the summer normal
schools, to audit the accounts for the expenses of such schools, and is-
sue warrants for the payment thercof as other warrants are issued by the
said board.

Ninth. To decide appeals from decisions of the superintendent of pub-
lie instruction: provided, that all the facts and arguments in each case
shall be presented in writing and in such form as the board may pre-
scribe.

Tenth. To order the sense of voters to be taken in counties or dis-
tricts on all matters which may be properly so referred under the provi-
sions of the school law whenever deemed proper by the board.

Eleventh. To invest the capital and unappropriated income of the
literary fund in bonds of this State, or of the United States, or in
bonds of railroad companies secured by first mortgage whose market
value for six months preceding the investment has not been less than
ninety cents on the dollar. The said board may call in any such
investment, or any heretofore made, and reinvest the same as aforesaid
whenever deemed proper for the preservation, security, or improvement
of the said fund. Whenever, in accordance with this section, the board
shall invest as aforesaid in bonda of this State, no premium shall be re-
quired or paid on such investment. All securities for money belonging
to the literary fund shall be deposited with the second auditor for safe-
keeping, who shall return with his annual report a list thereof, with a
statement of their value.

Twelfth. To audit all claims which are to be paid out of the literary
fund, and to allow so much thereof as shall appear to be due: provided,
that not more than ten years shall have elapsed when by law such claim
might have been presented for payment. For any claims so allowed, cer-
tified by the seeretary and the presiding officer of the board, the second
auditor shal] issue his warrant on the treasurer, signed by the second au-
ditor and attested by one of his clerks. All money belonging to the liter-
ary fund shall also be received into the treasury on the warrant of the
sccond auditor, who shall also be the accountant of the said fund.

Thirteenth. To approve or amend the schemes prepared by the super-
intendent of public instruction for apportioning the money appropriated
by the State for public free school purposes among the several counties
and cities of the State.

Fourteenth. To determine the necessary contingent expenses of the
office of the superintendent of public instruction, including stationery,
postage, printing, furniture, and other charges; to examine the accounts
thereof; and, when approved, to issue warrants on the second auditor for
the payment of the same, said warrants to be signed by the secretary and
the presiding officer of the board.

Fifteenth. To punish division superintendents of schools for neglect
of duty, or for any official misconduct, by reasonable fines. to be deducted
from their pay; by suspension from office and pay for a limited: period, or
by removal from office.

Sixteenth. To appoint a board of dircctors, consisting of five members,
to serve without compensation, which shall have the management of the

101
802 ACTS OF ASSEMBLY.

State library (cxcept the law library), and the appointment of a libra-
rian and other employces thereof, subject to such rules and regulation:
as the general assembly shall prescribe.

Seventeenth. To observe the operations of the public free school sys-
tem, to regulate such matters as may arise in the practical administration
thereof not otherwise provided for, and to suggest to the general aseem-
bly any improvements deemed advisable therein and for which the said
board has no power to provide.

Eighteenth. To make a report to the general assembly at each regular
session, covering the annual report of the superintendent of public in-
struction, giving an account of the operations of the board for the two
school years immediately preceding the session of the general assembly.

Nineteenth. To perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law.

Twentieth. Such reasonable expenses as the members of the board, ex-
cept the governor, the attorney-general, and the superintendent of public
instruction, may incur in attending the meetings of the board, or any
committee thereof, shall be paid from the funds at the command of th:
board by warrant on the second auditor as other expenses of the board
are paid.

Superintendent of Public Instruction.

§ 1434. His election and term; his salary and traveling expenses: va-
cancy in office; qualificationThere shall be elected by the qualified
voters of the State on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November,
nineteen hundred and! five, and every four years thereafter, a superin-
tendent of public instruction, who shall be an experienced educator, and
whose term: of office shall commence on the first of February following
his election: provided, that the present incumbent of the office, or his
successor, shall continue in office until February first, nineteen hundred
and six.

His salary shall be fixed by the general assembly, and he shall be al-
lowed his necessary traveling expenses while engaged in the duties of his
office, to be approved by the State board of education, not to exceed in the
aggregate five hundred dollars in any school year.

Any vacancy occurring in the office within a regular term shall be
filled for the unexpired term by the State board of education.

Before entering upon the discharge of the duties of the office he shall
take and subscribe the oath prescribed for all officers of the State.

§ 1436. Duties of superintendent of public instruction.—He shall be
ex-officio president of the State board of education, by which his duties
shall be prescribed.

Division Superintendent of Schools.

§ 1437. Division superintendent; appointment; term of office; vacan-
cies; his qualification—Within sixty days before July first, nineteen
hundred and five, and every four vears thereafter, the State board of edu-
eation shall, subject to the confirmation of the senate, appoint one divi-
sion superintendent of schodls for each school division that the said board
may, in its discretion, establish according to law.
The term of office of the said division superintendent shall be four
years from the first day of July following his appointment: provided,
that the superintendents for counties and cities now in office, or their
successors, shall continue in office until July first, nineteen hundred and -
five.

The office of any division superintendent shall be deemed vacant upon
the refusal of the senate to confirm his nomination, his removal from the
division for which he was appointed, his resignation, or his removal from
office by the State board of education. Every division superintendent,
before entering upon the discharge of the duties of his office, shall take
and subscribe the oath prescribed for all officers of the State, which oath
shall be made and subscribed before the circuit court of his division, or
before the judge or clerk thereof in vacation. As soon as the oaths shall
have been taken, subscribed, and certified, a minute of the fact shall be
entered in the records of the said court, and a certificate of the clerk, set-
ting forth the qualification and its record, shall be furnished the super-
intendent of public instruction for record in his office.

§ 1438. His salary—The said superintendent shall receive, to be paid
in quarterly instalments out of the State school fund, on the warrant of
the board of education drawn upon the second auditor, thirty dollars for
every thousand of population under his jurisdiction for the first ten
thousand ; twenty dollars for every thousand in excess of ten up to and
including thirty thousand; and ten dollars for every thousand in excess
of thirty thousand; rejecting in each case fractions less than five hun-
dred: provided, that the pay of a supcrintendent shall not, in any case,
be less than two hundred dollars a year.

§ 1439. Powers and duties—The powers and duties of the division
superintendent shall be fixed by the State board of education.

County School Boards.

§ 1441. County school board, how constituted; to be a corporation.—
The division superintendent of schools, together with the district school
trustees in each county, including those in towns constituting separate
school districts, for certain purposes hereinafter specified, shall consti-
tute a body corporate, under the style of “the county school board of

county,” and may, in its corporate capacity, sue and be sued,
contract and be contracted with, and purchase, lease, take, hold, and con-
vey property. This board shall be subject to the higher authorities in like
manner as the district boards.

§ 1442. Officers of board.—The division superintendent of schools shall
be ex-officio president of the county school board, and it shall be the duty
of the said board, at its first meeting, and on the occurrence of a vacancy
afterwards, to elect one of its members vice-president.

§ 1443. Meetings of board.—It shall be the duty of the president to
call meetings of the board whenever, in his judgment, such meetings are
needed, and also when requested to do so by two chairmen of the district
hoards of the county.

$ 1444. By-laws, records, and clerk.—The county school board shall
make and record, in a bound volume, by-laws and regulations for its own
804 ACTS OF ASSEMBLY.

government and for carrying out all duties imposed upon it by law; and
shall keep, in said volume, a record of the proceedings of each meeting.
It may appoint a clerk, at discretion, who shall receive as compensation
three dollars per day for each day the board is in session, not exceeding
ten dollars per annum, which compensation, together with necessary ex-
penses and contingent expenses attending the transaction of business by
the board, may be paid out of any funds under the control of the board.

§ 1445. Annual mectings—The board shall hold a regular annual
meeting between the fifteenth day of July and the first day of August,
the exact date to be fixed by the board itself, or, in default thereof, by
the president.

§ 1446. Annual report.—The board shall make an annual report to the
superintendent of public instruction, through the division superintendent
of schools, on or before the tenth day of September of each year, which
shall give in detail its official acts for the year closing the thirty-first day
of July preceding.

§ 1447. Powers and duties of board.—First. Expenses of trustees.—
The county schoo] board may order any district school board of the county
to pay to each school trustee, except the clerk of the board, a sum not to
exceed five dollars in any one year to cover the expenses of said trustee
for attendance upon the mectings of the county and the district school
boards.

Second. Estimate of expenses.—It shall be the duty of the county
school board of each county, on or before the first day of July each year,
to prepare and file with the division superintendent of schools an esti-

mate of the amount of moncy which will be needed during the next
scholastic vear for the support of the public free school system of the
county, and at the same time, after carefully revising the estimates of the
district boards of trustees submitted to the county board in accordance
with the provisions of section fourteen hundred and sixty-six of this
chapter, to prepare and file with said superintendent separate estimates
of the necessary expenses of the public free schools in cach school dis-
trict of the county for the next scholastic year, which estimates shall be
submitted by him to the board of supervisors at a regular meeting.

Third. Apportionment of county fund.—The county school fund shall
be apportioned by the county school board among the several districts of
the county according to its judgment, having due regard to maintaining.
as far as practicable, a uniform term throughout all of the districts: pro-
vided, that such primary and grammar schools as may be established in
any school year shall be maintained at least four months of that school
year before any part of the fund assessed and collected may be devoted to
the establishment of schools of higher grade.

Fourth. Property vested in and managed by county board ; counsel.—
All money, bonds, stocks, debts, funds, effects, and other property, real
or personal, held by individuals by virtue of their office of school commis
sioner or overscers of the poor of any of the counties of this Common-
wealth, except the county of Loudoun, under any act heretofore passed
hy the general assembly of Virginia, acquired by or derived from the sale
of gle le lands, or from any other source, formerly belonging to any of the
said countic s, and applicable to school purposes; also such real or personal
estate in any of the said counties as belonged to the former board of the
literary fund, together with any other funds or property which was in
any manner set apart for school purposes, but which has been practically
abandoned or is without trustees; and any funds or property that may be
hereafter set apart solely for county school purposes, and all donations by
will, deed, or other conveyance, heretofore or hereafter made for county
school purposes, shall be vested in the said county school board of the
said counties, respectively, unless inconsistent with the grant or devise,
upon such terms and conditions for the security of the same as the cir-
cuit court of said county shall prescribe. The said board shall, when not
inconsistent with the terms of the grant or devise, invest and manage the
same, and apply the profits thereof for the purposes of education in the
same manner and under the same restrictions as the gencral school fund
of the State is applied under the general school law of the State, except
that the said boards are authorized to apply such portions of the profits
of the funds as in their judgment may be necessary to the erection of
school-houses in their said counties, respectively, or to the purchase of
school apparatus for the use of schools: provided, that such disposition
is not in conflict with the will of the grantor or testator. In cases where
funds or other property are held by trustees for purposes of common
school education, the county school board shall have power, and it shall
be its duty, to examine into the manner in which such trusts are admin-
istered; and all such trustecs are hereby required to render reports to
the county board whenever called on, and to afford every facility wanted
by said board in order to obtain a full understanding of all the points
connected with such administration; and should such examination reveal
any defect or irregularity in the administration of such trust funds or
other property, it shall be the duty of the county school board to institute
prompt proceedings for carrying the matter before the civil courts. In
cases where donations or other funds have been set apart for the educa-
tion of the poor, the county school board is authorized to receive and
apply the same in connection with the public free schools, in obedience to
the will of the donor. The county school board of any county may em-
ploy counsel and provide for and direct the payment of reasonable attor-
ney’s fees whenever such action may be necessary for effectuating the pur-
poses and objects of this section, or for the protection of the public schools
of the county, or of any school district thereof, from loss or detriment
from any cause: provided, that no such fee shall be paid or allowed by
such board unless and until the same shall have been approved by the
court in which such litigation was had: provided further, that nothing
in this law contained shall be construed to apply to the twenty-fifth
clause of the will of Samuel Miller, deceased, or in any wise to affect or
impair any rights or interests whatsoever, cither public or private, aris-
ing under said clause, or to any fund now held by the Charlottesville dis-
trict school board of Albemarle county, known as district number five.

§ 1449. Duties of county treasurer as to school funds: his pay.—The
county treasurer shall, in all cases, collect and disburse or invest. the
funds, placed under the control of the county school board by the pro-
visions of this chapter, in accordance with the direction of said board,
and shall receive such compensation as the board may determine: pro-
vided, that the same shall not be less than one nor more than two per
centum upon the amount received. For the proper application of all
such funds he and his sureties upon his official bond shall be liable.

School Trustee Electoral Board.

§ 1450. School trustee electoral board; composition; duties—In each
county there shall be a board, to be known as the school trustee electoral
board, which shall, until February first, nineteen hundred and four, be
composed of the county judge, the attorney for the Commonwealth, and
the division superintendent of schools; but after the first day of Febru-
ary, nineteen hundred and four, the said board shall be composed of the
attorney for the Commonwealth, the division superintendent of schools,
and a resident qualified voter, who is not a county or State officer, to be
appointed by the judge of the circuit court on or within thirty days after
the first day of February, ninetcen hundred and four, and every four
years thereafter. The said appointees shall qualify before the clerk of
the said circuit court, and shall serve for a term of four years from the
first day of March, nineteen hundred and four. Any vacancy occurring
within the term of the said appointee shall be filled by the said circuit
judge within thirty days thereafter.

§ 1451. Chairman and clerk.—The division superintendent shall be
chairman and the board shall elect one of its members clerk.

§ 1453. School trustees; their number and term.—There shall be three
school trustees for each school district, whose term: of office shall be three
years, respectively.

§ 1454. Terms of office; mode of filling vacancies, et cetera; qualifi-
cations of trustees.—The school trustee electoral boards shall appoint
school trustees for the several school districts in their respective counties
not more than thirty days before August the first, nineteen hundred and
four. The terms of office of school trustecs in office on the tenth day of
July, nineteen hundred and two, and of their successors now in office,
shall end on the first day of August, nineteen hundred and four, upon
which day the regular terms of the trustees chosen in July, nineteen
hundred and four, shall begin. The regular terms of such trustees shall
thereafter be three years; and their successors shall be chosen by the
several school trustee electoral boards not more than thirty days nor less
than ten days before the expiration of their regular terms: provided, that
the first appointments made under this section shall be for one, two, and
three years, respectively, and’ thereafter one trustee shall be appointed
annually in each district. Said boards shall fill vacancies occurring
within a regular term for the unexpired part thereof. No person who is
unable to read and write shall be appointed a trustee.

§ 1455. Power of board to declare and fill vacancies, and to determine
appeals.—The board shall furthermore have power, and it shall be its
duty, to declare vacant and: procced to fill the office of any trustee who
fails to qualify and to deliver to the clerk of this board his official oath
in the usual form within thirty days after he has been notified by said
clerk of his appointment. The board shall also vacate the office of any
and every trustee who fails to discharge the duties of his office according
to law. In the investigation of any such alleged failure, or in hearing any
case of appeal referred to it under this chapter, the electoral board shall
have power to issue summonses and rules to witnesses to appear before it,
and to require to be produced before it any official records, papers, or
books pertaining to the case, and for failure to obey such summons or
order the board may impose a fine not exceeding ten dollars for each
offense. The chairman of the board shall have power to administer an
oath to any witness appearing before it. The said board is hereby con-
stituted a permanent board of appeal to hear and determine all com-
plaints that may be referred to it under the provisions of section fourteen
hundred and eighty-seven of this chapter.

§ 1456. Meetings of board——Any member may call a meeting’ by giving
due notice to the other two members. Any two members shall constitute
& quorum ; a concurrence of a majority of the board in a duly assembled
ineeting shall be required to constitute a valid act.

§ 1457. Clerk of board; his duties ——It shall be the duty of the clerk
of the board to record all proceedings in a bound volume, which record
book, together with such stationery and postage as may be required for
correspondence with trustees, shall be paid for out of the county school
fund on the warrant of the said board: provided, the cost of the same
shall not exceed five dollars in any one year. The clerk shall furnish the
superintendent of public instruction with a list of the school trustees of
cach district of the county, their postoffices and date of appointment, and
such other information as may be called for. He shall promptly notify
the board when unexpected vacancies occur, and shall also notify the same
thirty days in advance of the expiration of regular terms of office, so that
the district boards may be kept full and no members left to hold over
unnecessarily. He shall promptly notify all trustees of their appoint-
ment, and also forward to the same blank copies of the official oath, to be
furnished by the superintendent of public instruction.

§ 1458. Appointment of trustecs by councils.—Nothing in this chap-
ter shall be construed as giving authority to said board to interfere in any
way with the appointment of school trustees by municipal councils or to
disturb in any way the law bearing on the action of said municipal coun-
cils in the premises.

§ 1459. Who cannot be trustee.—No federal officer, except a fourth-
class postmaster, and no supervisor, or county or State officer, or any
deputy of said officers, shall be chosen or allowed to act as district school
trustee.

§ 1460. Must be resident of district andi take oath.—Every school trus-
tee shall, at the time of his appointment, be a resident of the school dis-
trict for which he is appointed, and if he shall cease to be a resident
thereof his office shall be deemed vacant. Before entering upon the dis-
charge of the duties of his office he shall take and subscribe the oath pre-
seribed for officers of the State before the division superintendent of
schools, who is hereby authorized to administer said oaths, and who shall
certify the same to the clerk of the circuit court, and the said clerk shall
make in his record book a minute of the qualification of said trustee.
$1461. District school boards; quorum; chairman and clerk.—In each
school district there shall be a district school board, consisting of thre
trustees, who shall be appointed as prescribed by section fourteen hun-
dred and fifty-four of this chapter. In case the State board of education.
in redistricting any county, shall reduce the number of school districts, it
shall provide for vacating the offices of such trustees as may be necessary
to conform to the provisions of this section. Each board of school trus-
tees, any two of whom shall constitute a quorum, shal] appoint one of
their number chairman and another clerk.

§ 1462. Clerks of district boards to take census of school population:
their pay.—The clerk of each district school board, during the month of
June or July, nineteen hundred and five, and every five vears thereafter.
shall, in proper person or by deputies approved by the division superin-
tendent of schools, take a census of all persons between the ages of seven
and twenty years residing within the school district, and gather statistics
relating to the interests of cducation in said district, according to the
forms furnished by the superintendent of public instruction. The lists
thus prepared shall be submitted for careful revision to the district school
board as soon as may be after their completion, and shall at all times be
open to the inspection of any citizen. When so revised they shall be sub-
mitted, along with the other papers of the district, to the county board at
its annual meeting, and immediately thereafter delivered to the division
superintendent. For said service the clerk or his deputy shall receive
compensation out of the district school fund at the rate of three dollars
per hundred of the children listed by him, subject to abatement, on the
diseovery, before or after the settlement of the account, of errors or omis-
sions in the list, or to a fine, by the district board, as provided in section
fourteen hundred and seventy-four.

§ 1463. Clerk to take census of the deaf and the blind; his pay ; super-
intendents to transmit consolidated reports to the school for the deaf
and blind.—He shall, at the same time, also take a separate census of the
deaf and the blind persons between said ages residing within the school
district, giving the sex, age, and residence of cach, and return a copy
thereof to the division superintendent. For this service he shall receive
a compensation similar to that allowed for listing other children, and
out of the same fund. The superintendent shall consolidate the reports
of the county and transmit the same to the superintendent of the school
for the deaf and blind.

§ 1464. Clerks to keep record of proceedings of boards; accounts : open
to inspection —He shall keep in a bound volume a record of the proceed-
ings of the board, and in another book a cash account and a record of his
own official acts, and shall keep on file vouchers, contracts, and other
official papers; all of which shall be open to the inspection of the division
superintendent of schools and of every citizen of the district, and shall be
subject to such periodical examinations as shall be prescribed by the
State board of education.

$1465. To discharge other duties; their pay.—He shall discharge
such other duties in connection with the school business of the district as
may be required of him, and for his services may be allowed, out of the
district fund, an amount not exceeding two dollars for each school.

§ 1466. Power and duties of district boards of school trustees.—The
duties of district boards of school trustees shall be, in general, as follows:

First. ‘To explain, enforce, and observe the school laws, and to make
rules for the government of the schools and for regulating the conduct
of pupils going to and returning from school.

Second. To emplov teachers, and to dismiss them when delinquent,
inefficient, or in any wise unworthy of the position: provided, however,
that the authority hereby given shall be subject to review by the board
of appeal provided by section fourteen hundred and’ fifty-five of this
chapter: provided, also, that no district school board shall employ or pay
anv teacher from the public funds unless the teacher shall hold a certifi-
cate in full force issued or approved by the division superintendent for
the division within which such teacher is to be emploved. The members
of any district board who shall violate any of these provisions shall be per-
<onally responsible to such teacher for his salary.

Third. To suspend or expel pupils when the prosperity and efficiency
of the school make it necessary.

Fourth. To decide what children wishing to enter the schools of the
district should by reason of the poverty of their parents or guardians
receive text-books free of charge, and to provide for supplying them ac-
cordingly.

Fifth. To sec that the census of children required’ by section fourteen
hundred and sixty-two of this chapter is taken in the pr egan time and in
proper manner.

Sixth. To hold regular mectings at fixed periods, to be prescribed by
the State board of education, and special meetings when called by the
chairman or by two members.

Seventh. To call meetings of the people of the district for consulta-
tion in regard to the school interests thereof, at which meetings the chair-
man or some other member of the board shall preside, if present.

Eighth. On or before the fifteenth day of May, in each year, to pre-
pare and return to the president of the county school board, to be by him
laid before the board at its earliest meeting, an estimate of the amount
of money which will be needed in the district during the next school year
for providing school-houses, text-books for indigent children, and other
school appliances, and necessary expenses.

Ninth. To provide suitable school-houses with proper furniture and
appliances, and care for, manage, and: contro] the school property of the
district. For these purposcs it may lease, purchase, or build such houses,
according to the exigencies of the district and the means at its disposal.

Tenth. To visit the public free schools within the district from time to
time, and to take care that they are conducted according to law, and with
the utmost efficiency.

Eleventh. To provide for the pay of teachers and of the clerk of the
board, the cost of providing school-houses and the appurtenances thereto
and the repairs thereof, school furniture and appliances, necessary text-
books for indigent children attending the public free schools, and any
other papenne attending the administration of the public free school sys-
tem, so far as the same is under the control or at the charge of the school
district or its officers.

Twelfth. To examine all claims against the school district, and, when
approved, to pay the same: provided, that a record of such approval shall
be made in the proceedings of the board; and a warrant on the county
treasurer shall be drawn, signed by the chairman of the board and coun-
tersigned by the clerk thereof, payable to the person entitled to receive
such money, and stating on its face the purpose or service for which it is
to be paid, and that such warrant is drawn in pursuance of an order en-
tered by the board on the day of .

Thirteenth. To perform such other duties as shall be preseribed by
the State board of education or are imposed by other parts of this chap-
ter.

Fourteenth. To report on any matter when required by the division
superintendent of schools, and on or before the tenth day of August of
each year to make a report for the school year closing July thirty-first
preceding on all subjects embraced in the blank forms supplied by the
superintendent of public instruction.

Fifteenth. County, city, or district school boards and counties, citics,
towns, and districts may make appropriations to non-scctarian schools of
manual, industrial, or technical training, or to any school or institution
of learning owned or exclusively controlled by such county, city, town,
or school district or by such county, city, or district school boards. Said
boards may also provide for the introduction of manual or industrial
training and other special branches into any public school.

§ 1467. School districts; to be numbered or named and recorded.—
School districts in each county shall be numbered or named by the divi-
sion superintendent of schools thereof, and the name or number and boun-
daries thereof shall be recorded in the office of the clerk of the circuit
court, and shall be reported to the superintendent of public instruction
and be filed in his office.

§$ 1468. Each district a corporation ; how designated.—The school trus-
tees of each district shall constitute the district school board: and shall be
a body corporate under the name and style of the “school board of
district, number , of the county of ,” by which name it may
sue and be sued, contract and be contracted with, and purchase, take,
hold, lease, and convey school property, both real and personal.

§ 1469. Bounds of district; when towns may constitute separate dis-
tricts——Each magisterial district shall constitute a separate school dis
trict unless the State board of education shall provide for redistricting
any county where the interests of the schools require it.

A town of more than five hundred inhabitants may, if the council of
such town so elect, be constituted a single school district; and such coun-
cil shall have the power to appoint three school trustees to serve one, two,
and three years, respectively, and annually thereafter it shall appoint a
school trustee for said district to serve for three years: provided, that in
all cases in which a school district includes territory outside of the cor-
porate limits of the town, the trustecs shall be appointed by the school
trustee electoral board provided for in section fourteen hundred and
fifty of this chapter.

§ 1472. Officers and’ teachers not to have pecuniary interest in books,
and so forth, supplied to schools; exceptions ; not to discount warrant.—
First. School officials to have no interest in books, and so forth—No
ineinber cf the State board of education, nor any division superintendent
of schools, nor school trustce, nor any other school officer, nor any teacher
of a public free school, shall have any pecuniary interest, directly or in-
directly, in any contract for building a public free school-house, or in
furnishing material to a contractor for building such school-house, or in
supplying books, maps, school furniture or apparatus to the public free
schools of this State, or act as agent for any author, publisher, book-
seller or dealer in any such school furniture or apparatus, directly or in-
directly, receive any gift, emolument, reward, or promise of reward, for
his influence in recommending or procuring the use of any book, map,
school furniture or apparatus of any kind in any public free school of
this State. Any school officer or teacher who shall violate this provision,
besides being removed from his post, shall be subject to a penalty of not
less than ten nor more than five hundred dollars. Exceptions to the re-
quirements of this section may be made by the State board of education
in the case of a school officer or teacher being the author of any school
book or map, or the inventor of school furniture or apparatus, in which
case the State board of education may, in its discretion, make specific ar-
rangements whereby such school officer or teacher may, if his book, map,
or invention be adopted by proper authority, enjoy the benefits of the pro-
ceeds thereof without offense: provided, that no unfair advantage be al-
lowed: over other competitors in securing the adoption of the book, map,
or invention.

Second. School officers not to be interested in any contract for work
or supplies for schools, and so forth.—It shall not be lawful for any mem-
ber of a school board, or any officer of the public free schools, or any firm
in which said trustee or officer is interested, or any agent of such trustee
or officer, to be concerned in any contract with a public school board or a
committee of such school board for any work or labor ordered to be done,
or for goods, wares, or merchandise or supplies of any kind ordered by a
school board or a committee of such school board, except as provided in
first subdivision of this section. It shall be unlawful for any such trus-
tee or officer to sell, convey, or deliver any goods, wares, merchandise, or
supplies of any kind to a school board or committee of such board, or to
receive, directly or indirectly, any profit or emolument from any contract
with, or sale to, such board, or a committee thereof, except as provided in
this section. If any such contract or sale shall be made it shall be void,
and if such claim or bill be paid, the amount paid, with interest, may be
recovered by the county or district within two years after payment by
action or motion in the circuit court having jurisdiction over said county
or district.

Third. School officials forbidden to discount warrants.—It shall be un-
lawful for any county, district, or school officer, school trustee, or corpo-
ration officer in this Commonwealth to acquire by purchase, at less than
its face value, directly or indirectly, express or implied, any warrant or
other evidence of indebtedness issued by any board of supervisors or any
common council or board of aldermen of any county, city, or town in this
812 ACTS OF ASSEMBLY.

Commonwealth, or any warrant or claim issued by any of the public free
school officers or school boards of this State for the pay of teachers, or
the building of school-houses, or purchase of school books, school furni-
ture, or apparatus. Any such officer or trustee violating the provisions
of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon con-
viction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty dollars
nor more than five hundred dollars, and in the discretion of the jury may
be imprisoned in the county or corporation jail not more than six months;
and the judge of every circuit and corporation court in this Common-
wealth shall give this law specially in charge to every grand jury im-
paneled: therein.

§ 1473. Delivery of records, and so forth, to successors.—All school
officers going out of office shall deliver to their successors the records and
all official papers belonging to the office. In case of the refusal or failure
of any officer to do so, on demand by his successor, he shall forfeit: not less
than twenty-five nor more than one hundred dollars therefor, and a like
penalty for each month durng which he shall persist in withholding the
same.

§ 1475. Disposition of penalties ; how sued for.—All penalties and for-
feitures imposed by the school law upon a division superintendent or a
county treasurer of the county, and all penalties imposed upon the school
trustees or other district school officers, or upon teachers, shall be for the
benefit of the literary fund. The suit for such penalties shall be in the
name of the Commonwealth, and if prosccuted in a court of record it
shall be the duty of the attorney for the Commonwealth for the county to
conduct the same. It shall also be the duty of the attorney for the Com-
monwealth, and any school officer of the county, or of any school district,
as the case may be, to set such prosecution on foot: provided, that if a
penalty shall be inflicted for any such offense by any of the school au-
thorities, in pursuance of the school law, the party shall not be a second
time subjected to a penalty therefor.

Teachers.

§ 1476. Teachers to hold certificate of qualification—Every teacher of
a public free school shall hold a certificate in full force, issued or ap-
proved by the division superintendent of schools for the division within
which such teacher is to be employed.

§ 1477. To keep register and deliver same at close of term to clerk.—
Every teacher in a public free school shall keep a daily register of facts
pertaining to his school in such form as the superintendent of public in-
struction shall require, and shall be responsible for the safe-keeping and
delivery of the same to the clerk of the school board at the close of the
school term, or of the period of his service, whichever shall first happen.

§ 1478. Must enter into written contracts.—Written contracts shall be:
made by the district school board with all public free school teachers, -in
a form to be prescribed by the superintendent of public instruction, before
they enter upon their duties. Such contracts ‘shall be signed in dupli-
cate, each party holding a copy.

§ 1479. May suspend pupils.—A teacher of a public free school may,
for a sufficient cause, suspend pupils from attendance on the school until
the case is decided by the board: of schoo] trustees, which shall be with as
little delay as possible: provided, that in all such cases of suspension the
teacher shall report the facts in writing to the district school board, and
to the parent or guardian of the child suspended. :

§ 1481. Meeting of teachers to be encouraged ; summer schools. First.
‘Teachers’ meetings.—County or district school boards may encourage
meetings of teachers to be held from time to time in any county or school
district under such regulations as the division superintendent of ‘schools
may prescribe.

Second. Appropriation for summer schools—A sum not exceeding
two thousand five hundred dollars, payable out of any amount appro-
priated out of the general fund of the State for public free school pur-
poses, may be used annually by the board of education for the establish-
ment and maintenance of State summer normal schools for the better
equipment of the teachers in the public schools of this State.

Third. Purpose of summer schools——The purpose of said normal
schools shall be to familiarize the teachers in the public schools of this
State with more advanced methods of teaching and to furnish such addi-
tional academic training as will tend to promote the usefulness of the
public schools.

Fourth. How conducted.—The said summer normal. schools shall be
conducted under the general management of the board of education, and
shall be subject to the supervision of the superintendent of public in-
struction, who shell, from time to time, select the places of holding said
normal schools, the instructors therefor, and: regulate the course of in-
struction to be pursued therein.

Fifth. Terms and regulations.—The said normal schools shall be held
for a period of not less than four weeks in each year, beginning on such
day or days in the summer vacation of the public schools as may be desig-
nated: by the superintendent of public instruction. The sum hereby au-
thorized to be expended shall be applied exclusively to the payment of
instructors and to other necessary expenses incident to the conduct of
said schools: provided, that all claims for services of instructors and
other necessary expenses shall be subinitted to and be approved by the
board of education, and when so approved shall be paid by warrants of
said board, drawn on the second auditor, and a separate account of the
receipts and disbursements on account of the appropriation shall be kept
by eaid board.

§ 1482. School property of district to vest in district school board.—
The school trustees of each district shall constitute the district school
board, and shall be a body corporate under the name and style of the
“school board of district, number , of the county of rid
by which name it may sue and be sued, contract and be contracted with,
and purchase, take, hold, lease, and convey school property, both real and
personal. The title to all school property, both real and personal, belong-
ing to the district, shall vest in the said board.

§ 1483. How donations for schools in districts to vest— When real or
personal property is given to a school district it shall be vested in the
district school board and be managed and applied by the said board ac-

cording to the wishes of the donor: provided, that in case of any chans
in the boundaries of the district the county school board shall make pro
vision for the continued fulfilment of the purposes of such donor as far «
practicable.

§ 1484. Annual reports of treasurers and clerks of district boards
county board; records and papers.—It shall be the duty of the count:
treasurer to furnish, for the use of the county school board at its annua
meeting in July, a report for the school year closing next preceding sai
meeting, showing in detail all transactions pertaining to the receipt an:
disbursement of school funds for said school year, together with his books
vouchers, or other official papers which contain accounts or evidences »:
receipts or disbursements ; and likewise it shall be the duty of the clerk:
of the district boards to lay before the county school board, at the annua
meeting, their official record and account books, contracts, deeds, and al
other official books and’. papers pertaining to the school business of th:
year just closed. Upon examination of these records, accounts, or papers
should there appear to have becn any delinquency or irregularity in tl-
acts of the treasurer, or clerk of the county or district boards, or of ant
district board, or any member thercof, it shall be the duty of the court:
school board to cause a minute of the facts to be made in its records, au:
to take such other action as the case may require. It shall also be th
duty of the county school board to cause all warrants which have bex
presented and paid by the county treasurer at this settlement to be can
celled by some efficient cancelling device, after which the said warrant
shall be delivered to the division superintendent, who shall keep the sam:
on file at least twelve months before destroying them.

§$ 1485. Penalty for failure; superintendents to report on delinguen
officers—Should any county treasurer or clerk of any district schor
board fail to produce and lay before the county board his books and pu:
pers as required by the preceding section, it shall be the duty of the cler!
of the county board to enter upon the minutes of that meeting a fine «
five dollars against every such delinquent treasurer or clerk, whic:
amount shall be deducted from the pay or percentage of such officer.

It shall be the duty of the division superintendent, before sending Iv:
annual report to the superintendent of public instruction, to examine th:
books and papers of every such delinquent officer, and to make a specs
report thereon in connection with his annual report. The county boar
shall have power to remit the fine of five dollars on the presentation o
good and sufficient reasons for so doing.

§ 1486. Proceedings against officers, and so forth, to compel sett:
ments of accounts.—The county school board shall have power, an 3 i
shall be its duty, in the event of any delinquency or irregularity in uy
acts of any treasurer, district board of trustees, or of any officer or mem:
ber thereof, to take such steps and institute such legal proceedings as mai
be necessary and proper in order to secure a complete settlement of th.
accounts of such treasurer, board of trustees, or officer or member theres?
and a full and clear exhibit of the erungactions of said’ officer or board 1
connection with the reccipts and disbursements of any funds for publi
school purposes, and to compel the payment of any balance that may lx
in the hands of such treasurer, board of trustees, officer, or membe!
thereof. The county school board shall have power, and it shall be its
duty, to take such steps and institute such legal proceedings as may be
necessary and proper to secure a complete settlement of the accounts of
any trustecs to whom any funds or other property for the purposes of
common school education shall have been entrusted, and to secure a full
and proper administration of the said trusts; and to this end it may
apply to the courts for the removal, for good cause shown, of the old
trustees, and for the appointment of new trustees, either in place of those
so removed or to fill vacancies, and to institute such suits or actions as
may be necessary to compel the payment of any balances in the hands of
the old trustees so removed, or to correct any defect or irregularity what-
ever in the administration of such trust fund or other property. It shall
be the duty of the attorney for the Commonwealth to act as attorney for
the said county school board, and to institute such legal proceedings as
the said board may think proper and necessary.

§ 1487. Appeals.—Any five interested heads of families, residents of
the district, who may feel themselves aggrieved by the action of any dis-
trict school board, may, within thirty days after such action, state their
complaint in writing to the division superintendent of schools, who, if he
cannot within ten days after the receipt of the said complaint satisfac-
torily adjust the same, shall grant an appeal to the school trustee elec-
toral board, which shall meet in the district where such complaint origi-
nated, and shall summon witnesses and decide finally all questions at
issue. Any action taken or had by this board shall be recorded in its
minutes and also in the record book of the district board whose action is
reviewed.

§ 1488. Condemnation and purchase of land for school-houses.—If,
in the judgment of the district school board, the public interests demand
that a school-house be located on a particular spot, and! no equitable ar-
rangement for its purchase prove to be practicable, the board of trustees
shall be authorized, and it shall be its duty, to cause the desired parcel of
land to be surveyed by the county or other competent surveyor, and a plat
of the same to be filed, together with a general statement of the case,
with the clerk of the circuit court; and thereupon, on application of the
district school board, the same proceedings shall be had as are prescribed
by the laws relating to the exercise of the right of eminent domain: pro-
vided, that no parcel of land thus condemned shall exceed: one acre in a
town or five acres in the country: provided, further, that no dwelling,
yard, garden, or orchard shall be invaded, nor in an unincorporated town
any space within one hundred feet of a dwelling, nor in the country any
space within four hundred yards of a mansion house, without the con-
sent of the owner.

Whenever it shall be necessary for any county or district school board,
or other public officers of the county having authority for the purpose, to
purchase real estate or acquire title thereto, for public uses, the contract
therefor shall be in writing, and the evidence of title be submitted to the
cireuit court, or to the judge thereof in vacation, for approval, which
approval shall be entered of record by the clerk of the court. No such
contract shall be valid unless and until the title to such real estate be thus
approved ; and if the court or judge refuse to approve the same, the dis-
approval shall be recorded in like manner.

§ 1489. Construction of school-houses; condemnation of unsuitable
buildings.—No school-house shall be contracted for or erected until the
plans therefor shall have been submitted to and approved in writing by
the division superintendent of schools, and no public school shall be al-
lowed in any building which is not in such condition and provided with
such conveniences as are required by a due regard to decency and health;
and when a school-house appears to the division superintendent of schools
to be unfit for occupancy, it shall be his duty to condemn the same and
immediately to give notice thereof, in writing, to the chairman of the
district school board, and thenceforth no public school shall be held
therein, nor shall any part of the State or county fund be applied to sup-
port any school in such house until the division superintendent shall
certify, in writing, to the district school board that he is satisfied with
the condition of such building and with the appliances pertaining thereto.

§ 1490. District not to reccive funds until it provides school-houses,
and so forth.—No school district shall receive any part of the county or
State funds until it has made proper provision for school-houses, furni-
ture, apparatus, text-books for the indigent children, and all other means
and appliances needful for the successful operation of the schools.

§ 1491. When State funds paid for school purposes in districts —No
State money shall be paid for a public free school in any school district
until there is filed with the division superintendent a written statement,
signed by the chairman and clerk of the board of district school trustees,
certifying that the school has been kept in operation for five months
during the current school year, or that arrangements have been made
which wili secure the keeping of it in operation that length of time: pro-
vided, that in case of the unavoidable discontinuance of a school before
the expiration of the time required, the State board of education shall be
allowed to relax the requirements of this section, and to decide the case
on its merits.

§ 1492. Who admitted to public schools; provision for children of ad-
joining districts; separate schools for white and colored—The public
free schools shall be free to all persons between the ages of seven and
twenty vears residing within the school district; and the State board of
education shall have power, and it.shall be its duty, to make regulations
whereby the children of one district may attend school in an adjoining
district, cither in or out of the county: provided, that white and colored
persons shall not be taught in the same school, but shall be taught in
separate schools, under the same general regulations as to management,
usefulness, and efliciency.

§ 1493. Qualifications of preceding scction—The preceding section
is subject to the following qualifications :

First. Any person domiciled in this State who is a taxpayer in any
county, town, or school district of the State, although not resident of said
county. town, or school district. may send his children, as if he were such
resident, to any public free school therein, subject to the laws regulating
publie free schools in said county, town, or school district; and any guar-
dian who is a taxpayer as aforesaid for his ward or wards shall be en-
titled to the same privilege for them, if they are domiciled in Virginia:
provided, that children whose parents or guardians do not reside in a city
shall be received into the public schools of such city only upon such terms
and conditions as may be prescribed by the school board thereof.

Second. The school board of any district bordering on another State
which grants the same privilege to the State of Virginia may, in its dis-
cretion, admit into its schools, free of tuition, persons of school age re-
siding beyond the limits of this State, but near thereto, if their parents
or guardians pay taxes in the said district.

Third. Attendance shall be upon the school in the district nearest to
the residence of the pupils, unless otherwise ordered by the district school
board, subject to the regulations of the State board of education.

§ 149+. Admission of persons between twenty and twenty-five years of
age.—Any board: of district school trustees may, in its discertion, admit
as pupils into any of the public free schools of its district persons between
the ages of twenty and twenty-five years on the prepayment of tuition
fees, under regulations to be prescribed by the State board of education :
provided, the admission of such pupils will not, in the opinion of the dis-
trict board, impair the usefulness and efficiency of such school.

§ 1495. Minimum required for a school—A minimum number of
pupils, under regulations to be prescribed by the State board of education,
shall be required in order to form a public free school.

§ 1496. Exclusion of persons with contagious diseases, or who have not
been vaccinated.—Tcachers shall require of the pupils cleanliness of per-
son and good behavior during their attendance at school and on their way
thither and back to their homes.

Persons suffering with contagious diseases shall be excluded from the
public free schools while in that condition. Every teacher and pupil
shall, within thirty days after entering a public free school, furnish a cer-
tificate from a reputable physician certifying that such teacher or pupil
has been successfully or properly vaccinated, or is entitled to exemption
by reason of peculiar physical condition: provided, that nothing in this
section shall preclude a school board from requiring immediate vaccina-
tion in‘case of an epidemic of small-pox, or the annual revaccination of
those who have not furnished certificates of proper vaccination: provided,
further, that the operation of so much of this section as concerns vacci-
nation may be suspended in whole or‘in part by the school board of any
city or county.

Should any children who attend the public free schools be unable to
pay for vaccination, they shall be vaccinated with genuine vaccine mat-
ter at the cost and expense of the town or county, and provision shall be
made therefor by the council of the town or by the board of supervisors
of the county.

§ 1497. What to be taught in schools.—In every public free school
shall be taught orthography, reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, geog-
raphy, physiology and hygiene, civil government, drawing, history of the
United States and history of Virginia. In teaching “physiology and
hygiene approved text-books shall be used, plainly setting forth the effects
of alcohol and: other narcotics on the human system, and such effects shall

103
be as fully and thoroughly taught as are other branches of the said las
named subjects.

§ 1498. Provision for intermediate grades of instruction.—For th
purpose of encouraging an intermediate grade of instruction betwee
that of the grammar school and that of the college, any county sche
board or any district school board may, under regulations to be prescribe
by the State board of education, establish and maintain schools of hight
grade, or in any public school provide for instruction in any branche
necessary to qualify pupils to teach in the public schools or to enter in
stitutions of higher education: provided, that for instruction in suc
higher branches the board may require a fee to be paid monthly or quar
terly in advance, not to exceed two dollars and fifty cents per month fo
each pupil.

§ 1499. Higher branches not to interfere with elementary.—The estat
lishment of such schools of higher grade or the introduction of suc
higher branches shall not be allowed to interfere with regular and eff
cient instruetion in the elementary branches.

§ 1500. When more than one teacher to be employed.—In schoo:
having not less than forty pupils enrolled, with an average attendance
thirty, two teachers may, in the discretion of the district schoo] board
be employed, the whole time of one of whom shall be devoted to instruc
tion in elementary branches. -

§ 1501. Text-books, change of.—No text-books which may hereafte
be adopted for use in any public free school in the State of Virginia sha’
be changed or substituted until the same shall have been used for a peri«
of not less than four years.

§ 1502. Preference to be given to graded schools.—In all localitie
where the number of children is sufficient, preference shall be given
under suitable regulations, to the establishment of graded schools.

$ 1503. How number of schools regulated —The number of schools it
the State shall be according to the funds available, and for this purpos
the district school boards are authorized to provide for the consolidatint
of schools and the transportation of pupils.

§ 1504. Multiplication of schools to be guarded against—Ii shall b&
the duty of the board of education to guard, by regulation, against s«
great a multiplication of schools. in proportion to the funds provided, a:
will tend to cause a low grade of. instruction in the public free schools.

§ 1505. The literary fund—There shall be set apart as a permanent
and perpetual literary fund the present literary funds of the State, the
proceeds of all public lands donated by congress for publie school pur-
poses, of all escheated property, of all waste and unappropriated lands, o'
all property accruing to the State by forfeiture, and all fines (except
where it is otherwise expresely provided) collected for offenses commit.
ted against the State, donations made for the purpose, and such other
sums as the general assembly may appropriate. The same shall be known
as “the literary fund,” and shall be invested and managed by the State
board of education as prescribed by the eleventh subdivision of section
fourteen hundred and thirty-three of this chapter. The principal of the
said fund shall always remain unimpaired and entire, and the annual in-
come arising therefrom shall be, and is hereby, dedicated: exclusively to
the support and maintenance of public free schools in this State. It shall
be the duty of the auditor of public accounts, annually, to pay over, in
money, according to the usual forms and general provisions of law, all
that portion of the annual revenue of the State which is set apart for
public free school purposes.

The proceeds of all fines collected for offenses committed against the
State and directed by section one hundred and thirty-four of article nine
of the Constitution of Virginia to be set apart as a part of a perpetual
and permanent literary fund shall be paid and collected only in lawful
money of the United States, and shall be paid into the treasury to the
credit of the literary fund, and shall be used for no other purpose what-
soever.

§ 1506. Of what schoo] funds to consist.—The funds applicable annu-
ally to the establishment, support, and maintenance of public free schools
in this State shall consist of—

First. State funds, embracing the annual interest on the literary fund,
all appropriations made by the general assembly for public free school
purposes, that portion of the capitation tax provided for in the Consti-
tution to be paid into the State treasury and not returnable to the coun-
ties, and such tax on property, not less than one mill nor more than five
mills on the dollar, as the general assembly shall, from time to time,
order to be levied. ‘These funds shall be applied exclusively to the main-
tenance of primary and grammar schools. ,

Second. County funds, embracing such tax as shall be levied by the
board of supervisors in pursuance of this section, and donations, or the
income arising therefrom, or any other funds that may be set apart for
county school purposes.

Third. District funds, embracing such tax as shall be levied by the
board of supervisors of the county for the purposes of the school district
in pursuance of this section, such dog tax as shall be applied to school
purposes by the board of supervisors, and donations, or the income aris-
ing therefrom, or any other funds that may be set apart for district school
purposes.

The board of supervisors of each county, on or before the fourth Mon-
day in July of each year, or as soon thereafter as practicable, or when the
division superintendent of schools shall file with the said board the esti-
mates made by the county and district school boards in actordance with
section fourteen hundred and sixty-six of this chapter, shall levy a tax of
not less than seven and a half nor more than twenty cents on the hun-
dred dollars of the assessed value of the real and personal property in the
county for the support of the public free schools of the county, and a tax
of not less than seven and a half nor more than twenty cents on the hun-
dred dollars of the assessed value of the real and personal property in any
school district for district school purposes: provided, that should the
board of supervisors fail to make a levy sufficient to raise the amounts
estimated by the county school board as necessary for county and district
school purposes, respectively, it shall, upon a petition in writing from
the county school board praving for a reference of the question of such
increased levy to the qualified voters of the county or of the district, as
the case may be, submit the question and the amount of the increase to
the qualified voters of the said county for the increase in the county levy,
or to the qualified voters of the said district as to the increase in the dis-
trict levy: provided, however, that the total levy for county and district
school purposes shall not exceed fifty cents on the hundred dollars of tle
assessed value of the taxable property in both the county and the district:
provided, further, that no such increased levy shall be made unless a ma-
jority of the qualified voters voting at the election shall vote in the affirma-
tive. In towns that constitute single school districts the council, instead
of the board of supervisors, may make the levy for district school pur-
DOSES.

§ 1507. Approximate apportionment and disbursement of State funds.
The auditor of public accounts, on or before the fifteenth day of Septem-
ber of each year, shall make a calculation of the gross amount of all funds
applicable to public free school purposes for the ensuing year, which cal-
culation shall be based upon the land and property books of the several
commissioners of the revenue for said year; and when said books have
not been received in time, he shall base said’ calculation upon the commi+
sioners’ books of the next preceding year. He shall report to the superin-
tendent of public instruction, not later than the fifteenth day of Septem-
ber in each year, ninety per centum of the gross amount of all the funds
found to be applicable to public free school purposes for the current year
as an approximate basis for distribution; whereupon, under the direction
of the board of education, there shall be furnished to the auditor a dis-
tributive statement of the amounts due the several counties and cities in
the State upon this approximate basis. Upon receipt of such statement
the auditor shall issue his warrant upon the treasurer of the State, in
favor of each division superintendent of schools, for the amount each city
or county is entitled to receive under such statement, which warrant.
when endorsed by the division superintendent to the treasurer of the
county or city, as provided by the following section, shall be paid by th-
treasurer of the State, or shall be accepted from such county or city
treasurer as cash in all settlements for public revenue made by him with
the auditor, as far as paid by the warrants provided for in section fifteen
hundred and nine of this chapter.

§ 1508. Division superintendent to endorse and deposit warrant with
treasurer.—The division superintendent. of schools shall, upon the receipt
of such warrant, endorse the same to and deposit it with the treasurer of
the county, together with a written statement showing the amount to be
placed to the credit of each school district.

§ 1509. Treasurer to pay warrants.—All warrants drawn by district
school boards upon the State school tax fund shall be paid by the treas-
urer out of any State funds collected by him. But in no case shall he pay
out a greater sum for any district than the amount of State school funds
apportioned to said district.

§ 1510. County boards to compare warrants——At the annual meeting
in August, in each year, the county school boards shall compare the war-
rants issued by each district board with those paid by the treasurer. and,
through the division superintendent of schools, report the result to the
superintendent of public instruction.

$1512. Distribution of residue of State funds.—Should there be
found, upon the collection of the taxes, an amount greater than the ap-
proximate amount hereinbefore provided, due to the public free schools
of the State for any one year, then the excess due the schools shall be dis-
tributed as provided by section fifteen hundred and seven, and nothing in
the school law shall be construed to interfere with the same.

§ 1514. Assessment of school taxes; district taxes to be kept separate ;
duty of auditor as to land and property books.—All taxes imposed for
publie free school purposes, whether by the State or by or for any county,
or by or for any school district, shall be assessed at the same time and in
the samc manner as are State and county taxes for ordinary purposes ;
and in any county or district where such tax has been levied by the board
of supervisors of the county, it shall be the duty of the commissioners of
the revenue therein to extend such tax in the copies of their land and
property books which they return to the treasury of the county. Where
two or more school districts are included in the same commissioner’s dis-
trict, it shall be his duty, when he extends the schoo] tax in his land and
property books, to keep separate the tax for cach school district, indi-
cating by name or number the district wherein thé property is taxed.
It shall be the duty of the auditor of public accounts to have the land and
property books prepared with three columns, one for entering the county
school levies, one for entering the district school levies, and the third for
entering the name or number of the school district wherein the property
is taxed.

§ 1515. County treasurers to receive and disburse school moneys; to
collect school levies and keep separate accounts; their compensation.—
All school moneys to be disbursed in any county shall be received, kept,
and disbursed by the county treasurer thereof, subject to similar respon-
sibility as in case of other funds by law committed to him. It shall be
his duty also to receive and collect all taxes levied or ordered by the board
of supervisors of his county for public free school purposes therein, at
the same time and in the same manner, and subject to the same pro-
visions, regulations, restrictions, and penalties as are or may be prescribed
by law for the receipt and collection of county levies for other and ordi-
nary purposes. He shall keep the district funds in separate accounts
from those of the State and county; but his books shall show whence and
on what accounts the moneys were ‘severally derived, and by what order,
on what account, and to whom the disbursements were made. He shall
make disbursements only in pursuance of a warrant, in writing, from the
proper authority, in manner and form as prescribed in this chapter. For
receiving, collecting, and disbursing levies imposed for and by countics
or school districts, he shall be entitled to the same compensation allowed
him by law for receiving, collecting, and disbursing county Icvies, and for
other ordinary purposes. His compensation for disbursing moneys ap-
portioned to the county from the State funds, for public free school pur-
poses, shall be a commission of not exceeding two per centum on the
amount thereof, to be fixed by the county school board.

§ 1516. Requisition by treasurer for State funds; to notify superin-
tendent when received.—At the proper time each division superintendent

of schools shall notify the county treasurer in writing that the State
money apportioned to the county in cash is ready for distribution, where-
upon the county treasurer shall forthwith make requisition in due form
upon the second auditor for the amount specified; and as soon as the
money has been received into the county treasury, it shall be the duty of
the treasurer to inform the division superintendent of the fact.

$1517. Claims against school districts, how audited and warrants is-
sued.—For the pay of public free school teachers, of the clerks of boards
of district school trustees, the cost of providing school-houses and the
appurtenances thereto and the repairs thereof, school furniture and ap-
pliances, necessary text-books for children attending the public free
schools in cases where the parent or guardian is unable, by reason of
poverty, to furnish them, and any other expense attending the public
free school system, so far as the same is under the control or at the
charge of the school district or its officers, it shall be necessary first to
obtain from the board of school trustees of the district concerned an order
approving the claim and directing it to be paid, which shall be duly re
corded in the proceedings of the said board; whereupon a warrant shall
be drawn, signed by the chairman of the said board and countersignel
by the clerk thereof, pavable to the order of the person entitled to receive
such money, and stating on its face the purpose or service for which it is
to be paid, and that sucly warrant is drawn in pursuance of an order of
the board.

§ 1518. Treasurer’s accounts, how rendered and examined.—The
county treasurer shall, on the first day of December of cach vear, or
within ten days thereafter, make to the division superintendent of
schools, on blanks to be furnished by the superintendent of public instrue-
tion, a report showing the amount collected on account of the State.
county, and district school levies, respectively, prior to the first day of
December of said vear, on which no penalty is due, and also the balance of
each of said levies uncollected, and upon which the penalty of five per
centum: is to be added, and showing the number and amount of warrants
on the State, county, and district funds presented for payment from cach
district, respectively, the number and amount of such warrants paid by
the treasurer, and the balance of State, county, and district funds on
hand, and to what districts due. If any treasurer shall fail to comply
with the provisions of this section it shall be the duty of the county school
hoard to impose a fine of not less than one dollar, nor more than five dol-
lars a day for each day of such delinquency, the said fine to be deducted
from any pay or percentage of such treasurer.

The treasurer of every town constituting a single school district may
perform like duties, he subject to like fines and penalties, and be entitled
to the same rate of compensation as the treasurer of a county.

§ 1519. How salaries of superintendents paid.—The salaries of divi-
sion superintendents of schools, so far as payable by the State, shall be
paid out of the bulk of the State school funds as distinguished from the
appropriations from the same to the several counties.

§ 1520. Unexpended school funds, how disposed of.—All sums of
money derived from State funds which are unexpended in any year in
any public free schoo] district shall go into the general school fund of the
State for redivision the next year; and all sums derived from county or
district funds unexpended in any year shall remain a part of the county
or district funds, respectively, for use the next year. But no sums de-
rived from county or district funds shall be subject to redivision outside
of the county or district, respectively.

2. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby re-
pealed.

3. This act shall be in force from its passage.