CHAPTER XIV. SCHOOL SITES. PAGE 303. Power of school directors or controllers to enter upon and occupy sufficient ground for school sites......... 119 120 121 122 122 123 309. Power to discontinue proceedings under act April 9, 1867...... 123 310. Certain land owned by county may be taken for educational purposes......... 311. Damages, how secured.. ..... 123 123 312. Court of quarter sessions to appoint viewers. Duties of viewers. 124 313. Power of the school board to take public burial places............ 124 314. Court of common pleas to appoint viewers. Duties of viewers.. 125 315. Appeal from report of viewers 316. Procedure......... ...... 126 127 Power of school directors or controllers to enter upon and occupy sufficient ground for school sites. 303. Whenever the board of directors, or controllers of of any school district in this Commonwealth, shall be unable to procure such eligible sites, for the erection of school houses thereon, as they may deem expedient, by agreement with the owner or owners of the land, it shall and may be lawful for the board of directors, in behalf of the district, to enter upon and occupy sufficient ground for the purpose, which they shall designate, and mark off, not exceeding, in any case, one acre, and to use and occupy the same, for the purpose of erecting thereon a school house, with its necessary or convenient appurtenances; and for all damage done and suffered, or which shall accrue to the owner or owners of such land, by reason of the taking of the same, for the purposes aforesaid, the funds of the district, which may be raised by taxation, shall be pledged and deemed as security; and it shall and may be lawful for the court of common pleas of the proper county, on application thereto, by petition, either by the said school district, through the president and secretary of the board of directors, or by the owner or owners of said land, or any one of them, in behalf of all, to appoint a jury of viewers, consisting of three discreet and disinterested citizens of said county, who shall not be the owners of property or residents in the school district in which such land is taken, as aforesaid, and appoint a time not less than twenty nor more than thirty days thereafter, for said viewers to meet upon said land; of which time and place ten days' notice shall be given by the petitioners, to the said viewers and the other party; and the said viewers, or any of them, having been first duly sworn or af firmed, faithfully, justly and impartially to decide, and a true report to make, concerning all matters and things to be submitted to them; and having viewed the premises, they shall establish and determine the quantity and value of said land so taken, to be used for the purposes aforesaid, and after having made a fair and just computation of the advantages and disadvantages, they shall estimate and determine whether any, and if any, what amount of damages has been or may be sustained, and to whom payable, and make report thereof to said court; and if damages be awarded and the report be confirmed by the said court, judgment shall be entered thereon; and if the amount thereof be not paid within thirty days after the entry of said judgment, execution, to enforce the collection thereof, may be issued as in other cases of judgment against school districts; and each viewer shall be entitled to one dollar and fifty cents per day, for every day necessarily employed in the performance of the duties herein prescribed, to be paid by such district: Provided, That either party shall have the right to have re-viewers appointed by said court.' Sites for school houses. 304. The word "ground" in the act of April 9, 1867, Sec. 1, is synonymous with "land," and is not confined to such only as is bare for buildings. School directors may enter upon and occupy improved town lots. When a school district owns a lot, the directors may take beside, as much adjoining ground as is necessary for a site for a school house, if both together do not exceed one acre.2 I. Act April 9, 1867, Sec. 1, P. L. 51. 2. Ferree vs. the Sixth Ward Dist. of Allegheny, 76 Pa. 376, 1874. The school directors have the authority to condemn land for the purpose of enlarging school property upon which a school house is already erected.3 Location of school houses. 305. Mr. Justice Williams said: "The subject of the controversy in this case is the location of a district school house. Reduced to its simplest terms the question raised is whether the exercise of official discretion of a board of school directors shall be supervised and directed by a court of equity. If so, the selection of teachers and text books, the fixing of the rate for the levy of school and building taxes, the arrangement of the course of study, together with other similar duties, will be hereafter done subject to the opinion of the courts The administration of the school laws will in that case depend on the discretion of a chancellor, whose decrees will be enforced by injunction or mandatory order. Such a conclusion would do violence to the school laws, and to the well settled rules that fix the limits of official discretion. If an officer neglects or refuses to enter upon the discharge of a duty which the law imposes upon him, the courts will quicken or compel action by a writ of mandamus. If he goes beyond what the law requires, attempts that which is ultra vires, or abuses his discretion in any manner, the courts will restrain him by injunction. The ground intermediate these extremes is the legitimate range of official discretion, within which the officer, on whom the law has cast a duty, may determine the manner of its performance: Commonwealth vs. Cochran, 1 S. & R. 473; School Directors vs. Anderson, 45 Pa. 388; Schlaudecker vs. Marshall, 72 Pa. 200; Dechert vs. Commonwealth, 113 Pa. 229; Runkle vs. Commonwealth, 97 Pa. 328. In the case of school directors who neglect or refuse to perform an official duty, the court of quarter sessions has a summary jurisdic 3. Springboro School District's Case, 21 Pa., C. C. 23, 1852. Thompson vs. East Marlborough School Dist., I Ches. 493, 1874. tion and may remove them from office and appoint others to fill their places. For an abuse of discretion or an act contrary to law, the remedy is in the common pleas. But for a mistake in judgment as to the time or manner of performance of their official duties they are answerable to the constituency that elects them. They must act-their action must be within the legal limits that bound their powers. If they refuse to act, or go beyond the fair exercise of their discretion, the courts can exercise control over them. If neither of these conditions exist, but they proceed to the discharge of their duties, exercising their official discretion as to the manner, the courts cannot interfere. "But the learned counsel for the appellants seeks to induce action in this case by suggesting that a question of public health is involved. The bill alleges that the new location is less salubrious than the abandoned one, because more exposed to the winds of winter, and that pupils may suffer in health for this reason. It is more than doubtful whether the danger thus suggested is so obvious as to justify an exercise of the police powers in order to avert it, even if the fact was admitted to be as alleged But it is distinctly denied in the answer before us. There is nothing in this case therefore to prevent the application of the general rule already stated." 4 Review by the courts. 306. When a school board has made a selection for a location for a school house which was not the best place that might have been procured, the court will not interfere unless the directors acted arbritarily, beyond reason, or unless they were dishonest or had improper motives in making such selection 5 Report of viewers. 307. The Court said: "It is not necessary that the report of viewers in proceedings under the act of April 9th, 1867, P. L. 51, authorizing the selection of sites for school 4. Roth vs. Marshall, 158 Pa. 272, 1893. 5. Conney vs. Gardner, 16 Pa. C. C. 547, 1895. houses, be signed by all the viewers, a majority being sufficient to act. "6 School board acquires no fee. 308. Under the Act of April 9, 1867, P. L. 51, a school board acquires an easement only, and not a fee in land condemned, and when the land is abandoned for school purposes its use and occupation reverts to the owner of the fee, nor can the board under the right of eminent domain acquire title to the land by adverse possession, or by prescription. Power to discontinue proceedings under Act April 9, 1867. 309. Proceedings under the Act may be discontinued at any time before final confirmation of proceedings, or the taking of actual possession of land.8 Certain land owned by county may be taken for educational purposes. 310. Whenever any county shall have had, or may hereafter have, land conveyed to it, for its use, or to be appropriated to the public buildings thereof and for educational purposes, and there shall be more of such land than is necessary to be used and occupied for such public buildings, and more of such land than is so used and occupied, it shall and may be lawful for the directors or controllers of any school district to enter upon and occupy sufficient of such land for the erection of a public school house or houses, and to use and occupy the same for the purpose of erecting, and to erect thereon a public school house or houses with the necessary or convenient appurtenances.9 Damages, how secured. 311. For all damages done or suffered, or which shall accrue to the county holding or owning such land, by reason of the taking of the same for the purposes aforesaid, the funds of the district taking such land, which may be raised by taxation, shall be pledged and deemed as security.10 6. Jackson Township School District, 11, York, 15. 7. Lazarus vs. Morris, 29 Pa. C. C. 505, 1904. 8. Funk vs. Waynesboro School District, 3, Sadler Rep. 177, 1886. Act April 4, 1889, Sec. 1, P. L. 25. 9. |