Chap. 107.—An ACT to Provide for the Organization of County School
Boards and Prescribing the Powers and Duties of said Boards, and to
Amend and Re-Enact 40th Section of the Act entitled an Act to Estab-
lish and Maintain a Uniform System of Public Free Schools, ap-
proved July 11th, 1870.

Approved February 21, 1872.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly, That the county
superintendents 8f schools of each county of the state, or in
case there are two in a county, both of such superintendents,
together with the district school trustees in each county, in-
cluding those in cities of the second class, shall, for certain
purposes hereinafter specified, constitute 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 take, hold and convey property.
This board shall be subject to the higher authorities in like
manner as the district boards.

2. The county superintendent of schools for each county
shall be ex-officio president of the county school board, or if
there be two superintendents, the one first appointed shall be
president, and the other shall be vice-president of the board.
Should there be but one superintendent of schools in the
county, it shall be the duty of the county school board, at its
first mecting, and on the occurrence of a vacancy afterwards,
to elect one of its members vice-president.

3. It shall be the duty of the president to call meetings of

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the board whenever, in his judgment, such meetings are needed,

“and also whenever requested to do so by two chairmen of the

district boards in his county.

4. The county school board shall make and record, ina bound
volume, by-laws and regulations for its own government, and for
carrying out all duties imposed upon it by law; and it shall
keep, in another bound volume, a record of the proceedings of
each meeting. It may appoint a clerk at discretion, who shall
receive as compensation, two dollars per day for each day actu-
ally employed; which compensation, together with necessary
contingent expenses attending the transaction of business by
the board, may be paid out of any funds under the control of
the board.

5. The board shall hold a regular annual meeting between
the first and eighth of September, the exact day to be fixed by
the board itself, or in default thereof, by the president.

6. All money, bonds, stocks, debts, funds, effects and other
property, real or personal, now held by individuals by virtue of
their late office of school commissioner or overseers of the poor
of any of the counties of this commonwealth, except the county
of Loudoun, under any act heretofore passed by the general
assembly of Virginia, acquired by or derived from the sale of
Glebe lands, or from any other source, formerly belonging to
any of the said counties, 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 for public free school purposes,
and all donations by will, deed or other conveyance, heretofore
or hereafter made for school purposes, shall, on and after the
passage of this act, be vested in the said county school board

- of the said counties respectively, unless incopsistent with the

grant or devise, upon such terms and conditions for the secu-
rity of the same, as the 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 general 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: and provided further, that such dispo-
sition 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 administered; and all
such trustees are hereby required to render reports to the
county board whenever called on, and to aftord every facility
wanted by said board in order to obtain a full understanding |
of all the points connected with such administration; and 3
should such examination reveal any defect or irregularity in the f,
administration of such trust funds or other property, it shall ft
be the duty of the county school board to take immediate {;
measures for carrying the matter before the civil courts. In *
cases where donations or other funds have been set apart for
the education 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 thedonor. The county p
school board of any county may employ counsel and provide P
for and direct the payment of reasonable attorney's fees, when- f
ever 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 ¥F
no such fee shall be paid or allowed by such board unless and 2°
until the same shall have been approved by the court in which
such litigation was had: and provided further, that nothing ,
in this act contained shall be construed to apply to the twenty- ?
fifth clause of the will of Samuel Miller, deceased, or in any h
wise to affect or impair any rights or interests whatsoever,
either public or private, arising under said clause.

7. The county treasurer shall in all cases collect, disburse or
invest the funds placed under the control of the county school
board by the provisions of this act, in accordance with the di-
rection of said board, and shall receive such compensation as
the board may determine, provided that the same shall not be
less than one nor more than two per cent. upon the amount
received. For the proper application of all such funds, he and
his sureties upon his official bond shall be lable.

8. The fortieth section of the act approved July eleventh, 5
eighteen hundred and seventy, entitled an act to establish and ?
maintain a uniform system of public free schools, shall be :
amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

‘©§ 40. When real or personal property is, or has been, do- Ir
nated to any county for the benefit of public free schools °
within its limits, the same shall be vested in the county school
board of the county, and the same shall be managed and ap-
plied by the said county school board; and, when given to ay
school district, shall be vested in the trustees of the said
school district as a corporate body, and shall be managed and-
applied by the said school trustees of such district according
to the wishes of the donor, under regulations prescribed by F
the county school board; and in case of any change in the!
limits of the district, the county school board shall make pro- t
vision for the continued fulfilment of the purposes of such
donors as fat as practicable.”

9. It shall be the duty of the treasurer of the county to fur-1
nish for the use of the county board, at its annual meeting in {
September each year, a full report, together with his vouchers
and other official papers, which contain all accounts, evidences
of payments, and other transactions pertaining to the receipt
and disbursement of funds for public free school purposes
during the year next preceding ; and in like manner it shall be
the duty of the clerks of all the district boards to lay before
the county board at the annual meeting their official record
and account books, vouchers, contracts, deeds, and all other
official books and papers pertaining to the school business of
‘the year just closed. Upon the examination of these records,
accounts and other papers, should there appear to have been
any delinquency or irregularity in the acts of any treasurer,
district board of trustees, or of any officer or member thereof,
it shall be the duty of the county school board to make a min-
ute of the facts upon its records, and to take such other action
as the case or cases may require.

10. Should any county treasurer, or clerk of any district
school board, fail to produce and lay before the county board
his books and papers, as required in section nine of this act, it
shall be the duty of the clerk of the county board to enter
upon the minutes of that meeting a fine of five dollars against
every such delinquent treasurer or clerk, which amount shall
be deducted from the pay or percentage of such officer. More-
over, it shall be the duty of the county superintendent, before
sending his annual report to the superintendent of public in-
struction, to visit and examine the books and papers of every
such delinquent officer, and to make a special report thereon
in connection with his annual report. It is hereby provided
that the county board shall have power to remit the fine of five
dollars on the presentation of good and sufficient reasons for
so doing.

11. The county school board shall have power, and it is
hereby expressly made the duty of said board, in the event of
any delinquency or irregularity in the acts of any treasurer,
district board of trustees, or of any officer or member thereof,
to take such steps and institute such legal proceedings as may
be necessary and proper in order to secure a complete settle-
ment of the accounts of such treasurer, board of trustees, or
officer or member thereof, and a full and clear exhibit of the
transactions of said officer or board in connection with the re-
ceipts and disbursements of any funds for public school pur-
poses, and to compel the payment over of any balance that
may be in the hands of such treasurer, board of trustees, or
officers or member thereof. The county school board shall
have power, and it shall be the duty of said board, 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 trustees 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 they 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
action as may be necessary to compel the payment over of any
balances in the hands of the old trustees so removed, or to
correct any defect or irregularity whatever in the due adminis-
tration of such trust fund or other property. It is hereby
made 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.

12. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this are
hereby declared null and void.

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