Montana Attorney General Opinion 15-13

Opinion No. 13 Schools-High Schools-Principal, Employment of. HELD: The board of trustees of a public high school cannot employ a principal of said school for a term to (~OllllnenCe six months after the term of the bOHrd exvires, and its attempt so to do is null and void. January 9, 1933. You ha"e requested an opinion from this office 011 the following matter: Tile board of trustees of the high school of Lincoln Oounty Illet on December 30, H)32, and employed Mr. G. W. Day, and entered into a contract with him as principal of the county high school for a two year term heginning July 1, 1003. The terms of office of two members of the board of high school trustees ex- pired on December 31, 1932, a day after the \)oard entered into the contract a bm'e referred to. Section 6 of Ohapter 148, Laws of H)31 , relating to high school boards, provides that they shall ha"e four regu- lar meetings in April, July, October, alld January of each year. A provision is also made for certain special meet- ings. You do not state whether this special meeting was regularly called and held or not, and we are not giving any ad- "ice on that but it might be well for vou to look the matter up and see if the meeting was regular according to statute, as that might settle the ques- tion wi thout further controversy if it dm'elops that the meeting was not regu- larly called and held. On the merits of the proposition, we have to advise that there is no specific statute in Montana controlling such a situation as you pre- sent but there are a great many deci- sions in the various states relative to Similar actions by boards of county commissioners and by school trustees, but Uwre is a great deal of conflict in the conclusions arriwd at by such de- cisions. We find no case in which a board of county commissioners, or a board of school trustees has been upheld in an action where such contracts were not performed or such materials furnished until after the expiration of the life of the board. ",Ve find a great many de- cisions where the actions of such boards have been upheld where such employ- ment or purchases have simply lappe(l oyer into the term of the new board. What we regard as -the most reason- able conclusion is indicated in the fol- lowing cases: "1.'he board of county commissioners has not the power to employ an attorney for a period of three years. The term to commence in the future, after the retirement of one mem- ber of the board as such contract is un- reasonable, impoSing as it does upon the three subsequent members, an attorney not of their hiring." Jay Oounty v. 1.'aylor, 123 Ind. 148, Note 7 L. R. A. 160. "In the absenc-e of some necessity or special Circnmstance showing that the public good required it, a contract by a board of county commissioners made just prior .to the expiration of their term of office, empleying a janitor for the court house for a period of time ex- tending into the term of their succes- SOl'S in office and which has the effect to forestall the action of such success- ors for a year, is calculated to be pre- judicial to .the public interest, and hence is against public policy and yoid." Franklin Co. y. RanCh, !) Ohio Circuit Oourt, 30l. "The authority of a prudential com- mittee to contract with teachers is to ha,"e a reasonable limitation measured hy the ob,ious purpose and object of their election. 1'0 say that they shall make no contract which shall be opem- ti ve beyond their offiCial term is too narrow; to say that they can contract for services which shall be rendered during the official term of their sue- c-essors is too "'ide a view of their authority." Ohittenden v. School Dis- trict No.1, 56 Vt. 551. 28 OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL "The hoard of trustees of a public school cannot employ a superintendent for a term to commence after the term of the board expires." Fitch Y. Smith, 5i N .. J. L. 526, 34 Atl. 1058, Xote L. R. A. 688. The yiews expressed in the foregoing citations, we regard as fair and equit- able. Undouhtedly the public good re- quires that one board composed of a memhership different from a new hoard Bmt is ahout to come into power, shall hilYe -the right and power to make cer- tain contracts and employ certain peo- ple to lap oyer into the term of the new hoard, this from the necessity of caring for the continuit~' of go\'ernment; but when tile old board undertakes to em- ploy anyone for a term of two years or e,en less. where such term does not hegin to run until the new board takes office, the old hoard is arrogating to itself a power that it has no right to ('xercise. In the case that you submit, the term of the olrl board expired on December ::\1, 1932. The new board assumed its duties on .January 1, 1933, and one of its regular quarterly meetings must be held in .January of each year. The prin- cipal. Mr. G. W. Day, was employed as principal for a term of two years, which term was to begin on July 1, 1933, a little more than six month after the new board tnkes office, and such new hoa I'd assumed its duties in ample time to make any proYision that it might de- ~ire for the employment of a prinCipal of the high school of Lincoln County. It is the conclusion of this office that the action of the old board in assuming to enter into such contract was an unwar- ranted abridgment of the rights and privi.leges of the new board and that the action of the old board is null and void.