185 Wis. 599 | Wis. | 1925
The following decision was announced January 26, 1925:
By the Court. — Peremptory writ of mandamus denied, and temporary injunction vacated. An opinion will be filed later.
The following opinion was filed February 10, 1925:
The decision of this court denying the peremptory writ of mandamus and vacating the temporary injunction was filed on the 26th day of January, 1925. It will be the function of this opinion to state the grounds upon which that decision was based. We appreciate, at the outset, that the original jurisdiction exercised by this court in these proceedings is not easy to justify, and it is quite probable that such jurisdiction has here been extended to its uttermost limits. While the subject matter of the action (taxation and education) is in its nature publici juris, yet it is local in scope and can hardly be said to affect the sovereignty of the state, its franchises and prerogatives, or the liberties of its people. State ex rel. Rinder v. Goff, 129 Wis. 668, 109 N. W. 628. We were rather persuaded to exercise original jurisdiction because the subject matter of the action did involve public interests, though local in scope, and for the more persuasive reason that the remedy afforded by an action in the circuit court seemed quite ineffective.
By sec. 40.20, Stats., the respective town clerks are required to deliver to the district clerk of joint school districts' a statemént of the valuation of real and personal property in
In order to determine whether the outlying territory is now a part of the Joint District, it is necessary to consider, first, whether the order made by the county committee on common schools was effectual to attach such territory to said Joint District, and second, whether anything has occurred since to restore the districts affected by that order to their original integrity.
The principal argument made against the validity of the order of the county committee on common schools is that the committee exceeded its authority in attempting to include territory not prayed for by the petition, and because the
The formation of school districts, however, is not a direct legislative function. Sec. 3, art. X, of the state constitution requires the legislature to “provide by law for the establishment of district schools, which shall be as nearly uniform as practicable.” From the very beginning of state government the power to form school districts has been conferred upon town boards — official bodies which are nearest to those who are interested in the formation of school districts. The legislature has not attempted to set up any required standard or to make the action of the town board dependent upon the existence of any facts or circumstances. The town board has been permitted to exercise its discretion and form school districts that will in its best judgment promote the .cause of education. From the earliest days the appeal from the decision of the town board in such matters to the state superintendent has been authorized. In State ex rel. Moreland v. Whitford, 54 Wis. 150, 11 N. W. 424, the power of the state superintendent in this respect was challenged as being unconstitutional. This court there held that his power was quasi-judicial in nature and that it did not offend against any constitutional provisions.
By comparatively recent legislation the county committee on common schools was created and an appeal from the town officers acting upon a change of school district boundaries was authorized to that body, the appeal to be tried “in the manner, within the time and with the same result as in case of trial on appeal to the state superintendent.” The power thus conferred upon the county committee on common schools is the same as that conferred upon the state superintendent, and as there is no constitutional objection to the exercise of this power by the state superintendent, there can be none to the exercise of the same power by the committee
The order of the committee on common schools was confined to the exact territory mentioned in the petition, with the exception of twenty-five acres. It annexed to the Joint District twenty-five acres not mentioned in the petition. It is claimed that in so doing it exceeded its jurisdiction. Without considering the question whether the county committee had jurisdiction to annex any territory other than that described in the original petition, we are of the opinion that, in any event, it does not invalidate the order of the county committee so far as it related to the territory described in the petition. The twenty-five acres thus affected constituted such an insignificant proportion of the total territory annexed that it cannot be thought that the action of the committee in annexing the territory described in the petition was in any manner influenced by the inclusion of the twenty-five acres not therein described. Should a proper action be brought by some one interested in the twenty-five acres to test the validity of the annexation, a question would be presented which we do not feel it necessary to consider at this time. Nothing appears in the return of the respondents to indicate the invalidity of the annexation order by the county committee on common schools, and we must hold that the territory described in the petition was properly annexed to and became a part of the territory of the Joint District.
We now come to consider the question of whether that territory is still a part of said joint school district. Upon the passage of ch. 329 of the Laws of 1923 it was assumed by all interested that all districts affected by the order of annexation were restored to their former boundaries and their original status and integrity. That provision, however, was unconstitutional and void and had no effect whatever upon the territory annexed to said Joint District. State ex rel. Joint School Dist. v. Nyberg, 183 Wis. 215,
While the foregoing establishes the legal duty of the defendant town clerks to make the certificate which these proceedings are brought to compel, we have nevertheless concluded that the writs should not issue. While as a rule the writ of mandamus should issue to enforce a clear legal right, it is a discretionary writ and may be withheld where its issuance will work confusion or lead to inequitable results. In this case the original school districts proceeded to reorganize in the best of faith and with the acquiescence of the school district officers of the Joint District. They functioned during the school year of 1923-1924. In some districts the schoolhouses were repaired, and in one district the sum of $3,000 was borrowed to improve the schoolhouse. Both county and state authorities approved their existence as fully independent school districts. They received both state and county aid for the school year 1923-1924. They have entered upon another school year. They
For these reasons, the court announced its decision on the 26th day of January, 1925, denying the peremptory writ of mandamus and dismissing the petition.