The Judge Says the School Board Can Spend the Building Levy on Anything It Likes
A resident of the newly annexed district sued to force Seattle's school money into bricks and mortar only. Judge Osborn dissolved the injunction, sustained the board's demurrer, and sent the plaintiffs back to rewrite their complaint.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The suit brought by J. W. Clise in behalf of the residents of the annexed district to test the legality of the board of education applying current expense money to the $50,000 which it is allowed to levy for sites and buildings, came up before Judge Osborn in the superior court yesterday.
The temporary injunction granted by Judge Osborn a few days ago restraining the county treasurer from paying out any portion of the moneys of the Seattle school district for any purpose other than the purchase of school sites and the erection of school buildings, was dissolved and the defendant's demurrer to the complaint sustained.
Judge Osborn held that the levy in controversy was not a specific one, and that the board of education was empowered to use the money derived from the levy for other purposes than the erection of school buildings and the purchasing of sites. The plaintiff was given five days in which to file an amended complaint. The case may ultimately be carried to the supreme court.
“Judge Osborn held that the levy in controversy was not a specific one, and that the board of education was empowered to use the money derived from the levy for other purposes than the erection of school buildings and the purchasing of sites.”
Then as now, the fight was over what a school levy actually buys: buildings, or the everyday running of a district. Seattle taxpayers have argued the same question in every bond and levy campaign since, and the answer has usually depended on which judge reads the statute first.
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