34 Ga. App. 93 | Ga. Ct. App. | 1925
(After stating the foregoing facts.)
Under the act of the General Assembly approved August 1, 1895 (Ga. L. 1895, p. 117), creating a local system of schools for the City of Abbeville (then a town), a board of education to be selected by the mayor and council was vested with the exclusive control of the general fiscal affairs of the school system thereby established; and where the mayor and council levied, collected, and paid over to the board in a given year or years the maximmn tax allowed by the act, liabilities, though legally incurred by the board of education, were chargeable only against these funds in the hands of the board and certain other funds paid over to the board from the State taxes. Appling v. City of Abbeville, 136 Ga. 772 (72 S. E. 31).
In the absence of allegations to the contrary, this court may assume, when considering the petition on demurrer, that during the years 1920 and 1921 the mayor and council collected and paid over the maximum tax alleged to have been levied for school purposes, it being presumed that these public officers have done their duty and complied with the law. Connolly v. Atlantic Contracting Co., 120 Ga. 213 (2) (47 S. E. 575); Loudermilk v. Stephens, 126 Ga. 782 (1) (55 S. E. 956); Ponder v. Shumans, 80 Ga. 505 (3) (5 S. E. 502); Scott v. McDaniel, 64 Ga. 780 (3).
The further fact that for a consideration of $13,000 the city sold to the consolidated school district its school buildings and property, including a part or all of the articles purchased from the plaintiff, would not render the city liable. It appears that the supplies were sold to the board on account, and that later a note was given therefor, which was long past due when the consolidation of the schools and the sale of the property took place. If prior to the sale the city was not liable, there seems to be no law which would make the city answerable merely by reason of the sale. The chose in action against the board only would not be thereby converted into an actionable claim against the city. The plaintiff retained no legal or equitable title to the property purchased from it. While the note representing the indebtedness re
In May, 1922, the schools of the City of Abbeville were consolidated with those of districts contiguous thereto, and by an act of the General Assembly approved August 1, 1922 (Ga. L. 1922, p. 452), the act of 1895 establishing a local system of schools for the City of Abbeville was repealed in toto. In the amendment to the petition it is alleged that thereafter, to wit, on October 10, 1922, the mayor and council made a tax levy for school purposes of one half of one per cent., this being but half of the rate allowed to be annually levied and collected by the City of Abbe-ville for schools, “the schools [of the city] being operated under the regular city school board for the spring term.” It is alleged that the city collected this tax and administered the fund through the mayor and council, and that “all of said school taxes were not paid out for school purposes,” implying that a part of the fund was diverted to other and improper purposes. Similar allegations were made with reference to a school tax levied in 1923. There being no liability at the time of the levies, none resulted by reason of the levies and the improper use of the funds derived therefrom, especially where it does not appear that the city expressly levied a tax for the purpose of paying the plaintiff’s claim, and that after the collection thereof the fund was still held by the city for that purpose. It is unnecessary to decide whether the mayor and council had authority to levy a tax for school purposes after the act creating the local system of schools had been repealed.
The principle laid down in the third headnote and third division of the opinion in Butts County v. Jackson Banking Co., 129 Ga. 801 (60 S. E. 149, 15 L. R. A. (N. S.) 567, 121 Am. St. Rep. 244), has no application to a case like the present.
Judgment affirmed.