281 A.D. 419 | N.Y. App. Div. | 1953
This is a submission of a controversy as to the power of a central high school district to take over the education of seventh and eighth grade pupils, to the exclusion of the union free school districts included within the central high school district.
The defendant Central High School District No. 2 of the Towns of Hempstead and North Hempstead, Nassau County, was established by the Commissioner of Education in accordance with a resolution adopted on June 1, 1926, by the qualified electors of the four union free school districts which are parties to this submission, pursuant to sections 187 to 189-b of the Education Law then in force, as added by chapter 137 of the Laws of 1917 and as amended by chapter 451 of the Laws of 1924 and chapter 664 of the Laws of 1925.
Under the 1924 amendment, while the central high school district had the authority to establish a junior high school and to teach pupils in the seventh and eighth grades, it was not mandated to do so. The reference to pupils who had completed “ at least ” the first six elementary grades indicated that the central high school district could at its option go as low as the seventh grade in its instruction but that it was not required to go below the traditional beginning high school grade, the ninth grade.
In fact, the defendant Central High School District undertook only the traditional four-year program for its high school. The seventh and eighth grades continued to be taught by the component union free school districts. However, in other parts of the State, the central high school districts assumed responsibility for the instruction of seventh and eighth grade pupils. It was not clear under the 1924 statute whether this had the effect of excluding the component school districts from the field of seventh and eighth grade instruction. As a result, there occurred conflicts of authority between the central high school districts and the component districts.
To carry out these, recommendations, the joint committee proposed a bill to repeal sections 187 to 189-b of the Education Law and to amend section 189-g of the Education Law. The committee report (N. Y. Legis. Doc., 1944, No. 54, p. 365) explained the purpose of the bill, which ultimately became chapter 325 of the. Laws of 1944, as follows:
“ This proposed bill is designed to accomplish two things. First, it gives the central high school board jurisdiction over the pupils residing therein who have completed the work of the sixth grade. The present law failed to clearly define the sphere of influence of each board of education. This has led to misunderstanding and confusion between the central high school board and the boards of education in the school districts included in the central high school district.
“ Second, it repeals sections 187 to 189-b, inclusive; thereby eliminating the possibility of forming any future central high school districts. There are only five such school districts in the State. This type of school district reorganization is not satisfactory since it retains, as separate entities, all the school districts included in the central high school district.”
Section 189-g, as amended by chapter 325 of the Laws of 1944, read in part as follows: “ The board of education of central high school districts shall have jurisdiction over the pupils residing therein who have completed the work of the sixth grade and shall have the same powers and duties in respect to the school therein as a board of education of a union free school district has, under this chapter, in respect to the schools in such district.”
This section became section 1903 of the present Education Law, with immaterial changes of language, in the 1947 revision of the Education Law (L. 1947, ch. 820).
In the light of the explicit statement by the committee which sponsored the amendment, it is clear beyond question that the amendment was intended to vest in the central high school
Despite the adoption of the 1944 amendment, the defendant Central High School District did not undertake instruction in the seventh and eighth grades. On July 15, 1949, the Board of Education of Union Free School District No. 16 of the Town of Hempstead, Nassau County, one of the component districts, adopted a resolution giving notice <c that after September 1, 1950, it would not have facilities for students of the 7th and 8th grades ” and calling upon the central high school district to take over such instruction. Prolonged correspondence ensued with the Commissioner of Education and finally the commissioner held a hearing on notice and, on June 12, 1952, the commissioner made an order directing the defendant central high school district to “ assume jurisdiction of the instruction of the children of the seventh and eighth grades residing within the boundaries of said Central High School District ” and “ to furnish me with a plan or program under which it will carry out my directive herein ”. This is the order, the validity of which is in controversy here.
The plaintiff, and one of the defendant union free school districts which joins with the plaintiff, make two contentions: (1) that the central high school district has no right to assume jurisdiction over the pupils in the seventh and eighth grades without a further vote of the electors of the district and (2) that even if such jurisdiction were rightfully assumed by the central high school district, it would not be exclusive and that the union free school districts embraced within the central high school district would still be free to give instruction in the seventh and eighth grades.
As to the first contention, there is no statutory authority whatever for the holding of a further meeting of the voters to determine whether the central high school district should extend its teaching to the seventh and eighth grades. There
As to the plaintiff’s said second contention, it is true that it was not clear under the 1924 amendment whether the component school districts were precluded from continuing instruction in the seventh and eighth grades, upon the central high school district’s undertaking such instruction. That was one of the ambiguities in the statute which gave rise to the “ misunderstanding and confusion ’ ’ referred to by the Rapp-Coudert committee. If the statute had remained unchanged, the second contention of the plaintiff might have merit but, as has been pointed out above, in 1944 the ambiguity was removed and the function of teaching the seventh and eighth grades was allocated exclusively to the central high school district by vesting the district with jurisdiction over the pupils in those grades.
That the Legislature has the power to broaden the functions of a high school district or to make exclusive a function which had theretofore been nonexclusive is not open to serious question. The power of the Legislature over the educational system of the State is plenary. It may allocate functions among units of the educational system in accordance with its judgment as to what will best serve the educational interests of the State (N. Y. Const., art. XI, § 1; Matter of Bethlehem Union Free School v. Wilson, 303 N. Y. 107; Board of Education v. Board of Education, 76 App. Div. 355, affd. 179 N. Y. 556).
It may well be that if the electors of the union free school districts had realized that the new central high school district would ultimately be given exclusive jurisdiction over the seventh
It is true that ever since 1944 the defendant central high school district has been in default in the performance of its statutory duty and during that period, the union free school districts have been permitted to fill in the gap and to continue to provide instruction for the pupils in the seventh and eighth grades. But in view of the unambiguous language of the 1944 amendment, this cannot be considered a binding practical construction of the statute nor can it in any way lessen the force of the statutory mandate.
In the submission of controversy, the plaintiff union free school district states that it is willing “ to construct and maintain necessary facilities for children from the seventh through the twelfth grades ”, indicating its willingness not only to furnish instruction at the so-called junior high school level but also to provide a senior high school of its own as well. This expression of willingness cannot alter the statutory situation. A union free school district embraced within a central high school district obviously cannot be allowed to embark upon high school education on its own account; neither can it be allowed, under the present statute, to continue seventh and eighth grade instruction, once the central high school district has undertaken to perform its duty under the statute and to provide such instruction in a junior high school for the whole district.
The validity of the commissioner’s order is unquestionable. It merely restates the provisions of the statute and directs the defendant central high school district to perform its duty under the statute. The plaintiff’s attack, while in terms directed against the order, is really directed against the underlying-statute and, as we have already indicated, the statute is clearly constitutional and valid.
No question is before us as to the validity or propriety of any particular plan or program which may have been submitted to the commissioner. The stipulation states that no action has been as yet taken by the commissioner, either approving or rejecting the proposed program.
Foster, P. J., Bergan, Coon and Imrie, JJ., concur.
Judgment in favor of the defendants, adjudging and declaring that the order of the Commissioner of Education, dated June 12,1952, is valid, without costs. [See post, p. 1049.]