Chap. 181.—An ACT to restrict the issuance of school warrants and the creation
of school indebtedness by the county school board and other school officials of
the county of Washington; to require the division superintendent of schools
for said county to countersign all school warrants; to require such superinten-
dent to give bond and to prescribe the liability of himself and his sureties under
certain conditions; to authorize the board of supervisors of said county to pro-
vide for the payment of certain floating indebtedness of the said county school
board by the issuance of new obligations therefor; to provide for certain levies
for the final payment of such obligations; to limit the purposes for which the
board of supervisors may make certain levies and the amount of such levies,
and to. provide for a referendum thereon in certain cases; to provide for the
refund of certain school funds to the town of Abingdon; and to repeal an act
of the general assembly entitled, an act to require the approval of the qualified
voters of the county of Washington on certain local questions; to prohibit the
board of supervisors of the said county from appropriating the county levy for
certain purposes, to require the division superintendent of schools and members
of the board of supervisors of the said county to be bonded, and to make them
liable on their official bonds in certain cases; and to limit the rates of levy in
the said county ; also, to authorize and direct the county school board of Wash-
ington county to borrow a sum not in excess of two hundred and fifty thou-
sand dollars and to issue its notes therefor, the proceeds to be used to pay the
existing school indebtedness of the school districts of the county and to replace
funds expended during the present year for indebtedness incurred during the
-Jast preceding year or years; and providing for the levy and collection of a
tax for the payment of the interest thereon and the principal thereof at ma-
turity, approved March 24, 1926, and all other acts and parts of acts in con-
flict with this act. [H B 357]
Approved March 22, 1932

Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia as follows:

1. Neither the county school board of Washington county nor
any member thereof, nor the division superintendent of schools of
said county, nor any other school officer of said county shall in any
fiscal year issue warrants, or create any indebtedness in any form,
against said county, for a total amount in excess of the funds avail-
able for school purposes for that year; nor shall any warrant pay-
able from any school fund or funds be issued in excess of the total
amount of money available in that fund, or funds, and actually on
hand and in the possession of the treasurer at the time such warrant
is drawn, taking into consideration all previously issued, outstand-
ing and unpaid warrants payable from said fund or funds. Said
school board of said county shall have no authority to issue war-
rants upon the county treasurer for the payment of anything except
items of operation and maintenance and repayment of future tem-
porary loans for the then current school year. Said division superin-
tendent of schools shall supply each member of the county school
board, at all monthly meetings, with an itemized list of all expendi-
tures made on account of his respective district during the preceding
month, and all indebtedness and obligations incurred.

No warrant for school purposes shall be valid unless and until
countersigned by the division superintendent of schools of said county.
Said division superintendent of schools shall enter into bond in the
penalty of five thousand dollars, with security approved by the clerk
of the circuit court of said county, conditioned upon the faithful dis-
charge of the duties of his office, and compliance with the provisions
of this act; and he, together with the surety on such bond, jointly and
severally, shall be personally liable upon such bond to the holders of
any warrants countersigned and issued in violation of this act, and
shall be personally liable on such bond to any party to whom any in-
debtedness is due, which was created by him or with his authority
in violation of this act.

2. The board of supervisors of Washington county is hereby
authorized to provide for the payment of the principal of certain
floating indebtedness of the Washington county school board and
unpaid interest thereon from the date of the respective obligations
at the rate of six per centum per annum payable semi-annually, until
paid. Said indebtedness consist of the following items:

(1) Certificate of indebtedness of the county school board of
Washington county, Virginia, dated the fourteenth day of May,
nineteen hundred and twenty-eight for the principal sum of six thou-
sand dollars with interest from its date, payable on or before January
first, nineteen hundred and twenty-nine to the order of said school
board and endorsed by it and held by the Farmers Exchange Bank,
of Abingdon, Virginia, and to be paid out of a special levy for the
Holston magisterial district of said county.

2. Certificate of indebtedness of county school board of Wash-
ington county, Virginia, dated the fourteenth day of May, nineteen
hundred and twenty-eight for the principal sum of one thousand dol-
lars with interest from its date, payable on or before January first,
nineteen hundred and twenty-nine to the order of said school board
and endorsed by it and held by the Farmers Exchange Bank, of Ab-
ingdon, Virginia, and to be paid out of a special levy for the North
Fork magisterial district of said county.

The said school board is hereby empowered to renew said certifi-
cates of indebtedness in denominations to be determined by said
board after crediting thereon any amounts available for the pur-
pose derived from previous special school indebtedness levies and
now in the hands of the treasurer of said county, which renewal cer-
tificates shall bear date January first, nineteen hundred and thirty-
two and be payable on or before five years from that date and shall
bear interest at six per centum per annum payable semi-annually.

The board of supervisors of Washington county, Virginia, shall
lay a special levy for Holston magisterial district sufficient to pay off
and retire the said indebtedness with interest, of the said district, at
its maturity ; and the said board shall likewise lay a special levy for
North Fork magisterial district sufficient to pay off and retire the
said indebtedness with interest, of said district, at its maturity.

The said certificates shall be paid only from the proceeds of said
special levy and shall not be paid by temporary loans or from any other
funds.

3. The board of supervisors of the said county is hereby prohib-
ited from appropriating any money out of the general county levy
to the support and maintenance of the schools in any school dis-
trict or in said county, or to the construction or maintenance of any
roads in said county, or in any district thereof. The board of super-
visors shall not lay a levy or tax for district school purposes, ex-
cept for the purpose of paying present existing school district in-
debtedness and for the future capital expenditures only. Said board
of supervisors may lay the levy for county school purposes at a
rate not in excess of one dollar and fifty cents on the hundred dollars
of the assessed valuation of property. If the board of supervisors
refuse to lay such a levy as is recommended and requested by the
county school board not to exceed one dollar and fifty cents on the
hundred dollars, then, on a petition. of not less than fifty tax payers
of the county, qualified to vote and requesting the same, the circuit
court of the county or the judge thereof in vacation, may, in its or his
discretion, order an election by the people of the county to be held
during the month of June to determine whether such levy shall or
shall not be fixed. .

4. Nothing contained in this act shall apply to the town of Ab-
ingdon, which is a separate school district, and the county school
levy collected within said town of Abingdon shall be refunded to the
treasury of said town. |

5. An act of the general assembly entitled an act to require the
approval of the qualified voters of the county of Washington on cer-
tain local questions; to prohibit the board of supervisors of the said
county from appropriating the county levy for certain purposes; to
require the division superintendent of schools and members of the
board of supervisors of the said county to be bonded, and to make
them liable on their official bonds in certain cases; and to limit the
rates of levy in the said county; also to authorize and direct the
county school board of Washington county to borrow a sum not in
excess of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars and to issue its notes
therefor, the proceeds to be used to pay the existing school indebted-
ness of the school districts of the county and to replace funds ex-
pended during the present year for indebtedness incurred during
the last preceding year or years; and providing for the levy and col-
lection of a tax for the payment of the interest thereon and the prin-
cipal thereof at maturity, approved March twenty-fourth, nineteen
hundred and twenty-six, and all other acts and parts of acts in con-
flict with the provisions of this act, are hereby repealed.

6. In the event any sentence, clause, paragraph or section of this
act be held unconstitutional or invalid, the same shall not in any way
affect the validity of any other sentence, clause, paragraph or sec-
tion thereof.

7. An emergency existing this act shall be in force from its
passage. ) ,