241 P. 787 | Okla. | 1925
The plaintiff in error was the plaintiff below, and the defendant in error was the defendant. The parties will be referred to herein as plaintiff and defendant, as they appeared in the trial court.
The plaintiff commenced his suit in the district court of Garfield county to recover damages in the sum of $2,025, for failure to perform a written contract. The plaintiff alleges that on the 3rd of March, 1923, he entered into a contract with the defendant Consolidated School District No. 1, Garfield county, Okla., to render services in defendant's school as teacher and superintendent through a school term beginning in September, 1923, for nine months, ending in 1924, at the agreed price of $225 per month; and that on May 29, 1923, he was notified by the school board that his services would not be required and the board would not carry out the contract. A copy of the contract is attached to and made part of the petition. The prayer is for judgment for $2,025 with interest at 6% per cent. per annum from the 29th of May, 1923. The contract seems to be the usual form of teacher's contract, except an addendum, as follows:
"It is further mutually agreed between the parties hereto that if the services of the teacher, Russell Harp, should become unsatisfactory to the board of education, by unanimous vote of said board this contract may be canceled and said teacher, Russell Harp, hereby agrees to abide by the action of said board."
Both the contract and the addendum were signed by both parties to the contract. On the part of the defendant, the instrument was signed by "Carl Anderson, Member," "D. W. Ward, Director," and "C. S. Marsh, Clerk." In the instrument these parties are designated "Board of Education of Ind. Con. School Dist. No. 1, Garfield County, Oklahoma." After preliminary matters, not necessary to notice here, answer to the petition was filed. In the answer it is specifically denied that the school district is a "consolidated school district," but at the time the instrument relied upon by the plaintiff was executed, the district was "independent school district of the town of Waukomis," and the incorporated town of Waukomis, with attached territory was "maintaining a four years high school, fully accredited with the State University," and the board with which the plaintiff dealt is legally designated "The Board of Education of the Town of Waukomis"; and the school district is controlled by the statutes controlling and governing independent school districts. It is denied in the answer that plaintiff entered into a contract with such board as teacher or superintendent; and it is alleged that the contract made with the plaintiff was prematurely made, wholly unauthorized, illegal, void, and not binding upon the board of education of such independent school district; that if the district was ever bound by the contract, it was canceled and abandoned by the district as provided in the contract and by law. Some other defensive matters are alleged, not necessary to state here. The plaintiff moved to strike out of the answer the portion thereof making reference to the character of the school district as being different from that designated in the petition. This motion was overruled and plaintiff excepted.
The case was called for trial and the defendant obtained leave of the court to file a verified denial of the corporate existence of consolidated school district No. 1, Garfield county. The plaintiff moved to strike such denial and other portions of the answer, and the motion was overruled and plaintiff excepted. By way of reply plaintiff specifically denied that the district is an independent school district; and alleged that it had held itself out to be "consolidated school district No. 1 and had contracted in that name, and is estopped to claim that it is in fact an independent school district."
The plaintiff introduced his evidence and rested. Defendant demurred to plaintiff's evidence, and the demurrer was sustained and judgment rendered for defendant. The plaintiff appeals and presents several assignments of error for reversal. It seems that there is only one question here which it will be necessary to consider in the disposition of this appeal. That question is whether or not the town of Waukomis and territory included in the school district constitute an independent school district. If it was such school district at the time the contract on which plaintiff relies was made it seems that the contract was unauthorized because prematurely made. The trial court found, in substance and effect, from plaintiff's evidence that he was dealing with an independent school district in making the contract; and the contract was prematurely made and was unenforceable. Section 10404, Comp. Stats. 1921, provides what shall constitute an independent school district. The statute is: *50
"Independent school districts in cities and towns. Each city of the first class, and each incorporated town maintaining a four years high school fully accredited with the State University, shall constitute an independent district and be governed by the provisions of this article."
Thus, it would appear that when a municipal corporation is raised to a city of the first class, it automatically becomes an independent school district for school purposes; also when an incorporated town establishes and maintains a four-year high school fully accredited with the State University, such incorporated town becomes an independent district for school purposes, and is controlled by article 10, chap. 86, Comp. Stats. 1921 (sections 10404-10461). The plaintiff's testimony was to the effect that he had taught the year previous in the school of the town of Waukomis, and that the school was conducting a four-year high school course fully accredited with the State University; also that the town of Waukomis had been an incorporated town for five years with a regularly organized town government. It seems that plaintiff's evidence established every fact required by the statute for the town of Waukomis to become and be an independent school district.
It being established that the incorporated town of Waukomis was an independent district, we should examine the statutes to see what authority the school board has in hiring teachers and a superintendent of its school. After the annual school meeting, or after a biennial election of the school officers, the members of the school board are authorized to organize the board at the regular meeting in May (section 10413, Comp. Stats. 1921); after such organization, the board is empowered to elect or hire teachers or a superintendent for the school. The statute provides that such election or hiring of the educational staff shall be done after the first Monday in May (section 10418, Comp. Stats. 1921). This section as it now appears is amendatory of the acts of 1913. It makes some important changes not necessary to analyze here. In the act of 1910, on the same subject, the board was empowered to hire a superintendent and teachers, whose employment was subject to the will of the board.
In Farley v. Board of Education of City of Perry,
It seems that the plaintiff's evidence conclusively showed that he was not entitled to recover damages for breach of the contract. He, in fact, had no contract of employment when the new organization refused to ratify and repudiated the contract. The newly organized board of education was acting within its rights and gave the plaintiff timely notice of its repudiation of the contract.
It was not error to sustain the demurrer to plaintiff's evidence. It is not necessary to examine the other matters discussed in plaintiff's brief. There is no reversible error. We recommend that the judgment be affirmed.
By the Court: It is so ordered.