49 Ark. 94 | Ark. | 1886
Fluty, in August, 1883, entered into a written contract with the directors of the school district, by the terms of which he undertook to build a school house, according to a certain plan and specifications agreed upon, at such point as the directors should designate. He was paid $190 in advance, and was to be paid the further sum of $307.50 on the 1st of February, 1885, the builder to retain a lien on the house for the deferred payment. The building was to be completed before June 1, 1884. For the due performance of this contract Fluty executed a bond, with sureties, in the sum of $1000. He laid the foundations of the building, and hauled some materials to the place designated. But some dissatisfaction existing among the inhabitants of the district about the location of the school house site, he quit work and referred the matter to the annual school meeting of May, 1884, offering to go forward with his contract if the meeting should approve the selection of the site, and vote a tax for building. But the meeting took no action in the premises.
The school district now brought an action on the bond against Fluty and his sureties. The defences were : First, that the directors, in locating the school house site, in making the contract and in taking the bond, had transcended their powers; that these proceedings were had in pursuance of an authority conferred at a special school meeting held on a certain day of June, 1883, whereas such authority could be lawfully given only at the regular annual school meeting, the time for which is fixed by law for the third Saturday in May; and, second, that the land upon which the contractor was directed to erect the house, was not the property of the school district; so that, if he had built the house, he would have no security for his outlay. To the defendant’s answer the court sustained a general demurrer. The cause was then submitted to the court, for the purpose, as we suppose, of assessing the plaintiffs damages by reason of the breach of the covenants contained in the bond; and there were a finding and judgment against the principal and sureties for $190, with lawful interest from the date that Fluty received that sum.
It is probable that a mechanic who builds a public school house has no lien for his work and materials, even though he may contract for one, as in this case. Such a lien can be enforced only by judgment, execution and sale of the property. But a school district is a public corporation and its property is not liable to seizure and sale. Mansf. Dig., sec. 2999 ; Leonard v. City of Brooklyn, 71 N. Y., 498; S. C., 27 Amer. Rep., 80; Loring v. Small, 50 Iowa, 271; S. C., 32 Amer. Rep., 136; Charnock v. District Township of Colfax, 51 Iowa, 70; S. C., 33 Amer. Rep., 116; Board of Education v. Neidenburger, 78 Ill., 58; Quinn v. Allen and the Board of School Directors, 85 Ill., 39.
But this matter of lien or no lien is unimportant in the present case. At the utmost it amounts only to a mutual mistake of law, not going to the essence of the contract, and furnishes no sufficient reason why Fluty should not be held to perform his contract, if it was valid.
So the law is written. And the reason is not far to seek. The qualified electors of the district are the corporators. They are also commonly the owners of the property, by the taxation of which a fund is to be raised for the support and maintenance of free schools. No burden can be imposed on the district without their concurrence. For convenience the law names a particular day for the transaction of such business. All are at liberty to attend and participate in the business. ' The meeting, when once assembled, may adjourn to another day.. But if no meeting is held- at the appointed time, none can be held afterwards, except for the election of a director. The purpose is to insure the attendance of all who are interested, either in the cause of education or in the matter of taxation, and also to prevent the inhabitants of the district from being harassed by frequent meetings, of which, by accident or design, some of them might have no notice.
It appears from the record that the annual school meeting was not held in this district on the third Saturday in May, 1883, on account of a freshet and high water. But the meeting, which attempted to confer authority for contracting for the building of the house, was held in June, pursuant to a call of the directors, of which notice was given, specifying the purpose of the meeting and the nature of the business to be transacted. It follows from what has already been said, that the proceedings of this special meeting, so far as they relate to the selection of a school house site and the building of a school house, were void; that the directors, in contracting with Fluty, were not the authorized agents of the school district, and that no recovery can be iiad upon the undertaking of Fluty and his sureties to build the house.
Reversed and remanded for further proceedings.