44 Iowa 564 | Iowa | 1876
I. It appears from the evidence that the defendant had procured.organs for all the schools of the city excepting the school in the fourth ward. At a meeting of the board it was decided to purchase an organ for the school in the fourth ward. The plaintiff furnished the instrument at the instance of the superintendent of the schools. The principal question in the case, and the one which, in our opinion, is decisive of the rights of the parties, is as to the power of
Section 1766 provides that persons desiring to pass an examination as teachers shall be examined as to their competency to teach orthography, reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, English grammar, physiology and history of the United States; and section 1767 of the Code provides that if the examination be satisfactory a certificate to that effect shall be given. Section 1758 prohibits the employment of any one to teach a public school, which receives its distributive share of the school fund, unless he shall have a certificate.
Section 1717 provides that each district township at the
Having found that the power existed, it will certainly be conceded that a musical instrument is properly connected with a musical education so as to be denominated apparatus in the language of the statute above quoted.
Presuming as we do that there was unappropriated contingent fund on hand, the mere provision that payment should be made for the organ on the first of June following the purchase does not necessarily imply that there was no unappropriated contingent fund, nor that a debt was contracted within the meaning of the statute. For aught that is shown, there may have been at the time of the purchase an unappropriated contingent fund lárgely in excess of the value of the organ.
The fact that no record of the action of the board was made would not invalidate the contract which was authorized to be made, especially as the organ was placed in the school-room and put in use by the district. Corporations may make contracts, either written or verbal, within the scope of the powers granted by their charters. Baker v. Johnson County, 33 Iowa, 151; and see Athearn v. Ind. Dist. of Millersburg, Id., 105.
Affirmed.