28 S.E.2d 463 | Ga. | 1943
The board of education of Dodge County acted within the powers conferred on it by the Code, §§ 32-915, 32-1102, in consolidating Empire, a county line school, with Dodge High School, and the judgment denying mandamus absolute to compel the board to operate Empire school, upon the petition therefor by the trustees of said school, was not erroneous.
The petition alleged that the Empire School District was created several years ago by the concurrent action of the boards of education of the counties of Dodge and Bleckley. The school buildings are located in Dodge County. Since its creation, the school has been operated and maintained as a county line school under the supervision of the board of education of Dodge County. On March 3, 1942, the Dodge County board of education, passed an order consolidating all that portion of the Empire School District which lies in Dodge County with the Dodge High School District, the same to become effective at the end of the 1941-1942 school term. The Dodge County board of education, however, did operate and support the Empire school throughout the school term of 1942-1943. On September 7, 1943, the Dodge County board of education passed another order: "The board has determined that it is for the best interest of the school children of Empire Consolidated School District, . . that the school in said district not be operated during the school year 1943-1944 and future years. The board has further determined that it is for the best interest of the school children that they attend school in the Dodge High District. Therefore, it is herein ordered that no school be operated in the Empire School District in 1943-1944 and future years *136 and that the school children in said district attend school at the Dodge High School."
The Bleckley County board of education refused to pass an order consenting to the dissolution of the Empire School District, but it does not appear that such board has objected to the children of Empire School being taught at the Dodge High School. All the trustees of Empire school, three of them living in Dodge and two in Bleckley County, did object to the dissolution of the school.
At the hearing before the judge by consent without a jury, the evidence authorized a finding that Dodge High School was better equipped to educate the children, than Empire.
The exception is to an order refusing to make the mandamus absolute.
This court has held that the law vests full power and authority for the operation of schools in the county boards of education. Trustees may recommend, but the power to employ teachers is exclusively in the county board of education.Carter v. Johnson,
Counsel for the plaintiff in error recognizes the general power and authority vested in the county board to operate schools, but insists that the power to cease operation of a county line school is the power to destroy or abolish the same, which can only be accomplished by the concurrent action of the county board of education of each county, and that the board of education is attempting to do indirectly what it can not do directly. The answer to this contention is, that the facts of the instant case do not involve an attempt to abolish the county line school district. Stated another *137 way, this case involves the right of a county board of education, having supervision of a county line school, to cease operation of such school, and to order that all the pupils, regardless of which county they live in, be transported to another school in a different district.
While the order dated March 3, 1942, was objectionable under the ruling in McRae v. Grace,
Under the facts of this case the trial court did not err in refusing to make the mandamus absolute.
Judgment affirmed. All the Justices concur. *138