Was the School Board's Building Spree Illegal?
A taxpayers' league claims the local school board has overstepped its constitutional authority by plunging the district into massive debt to fund new construction.
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.
Members of the Taxpayers' League have had under serious consideration the legality of the board’s plan to purchase land and erect a high school. Feeling that it would increase the tax burden upon the people, the league asked for an opinion upon the subject. It is the belief of the league that the board has incurred an indebtedness of $55,000 against the district, which is unwarranted. Under Article 8 of the constitution, the authority to incur indebtedness is limited to a percentage of the taxable property of the district, and the board cannot legally go beyond this amount. Furthermore, the board has no authority to purchase a school site or build a house except upon direct authorization by the electors of the district. The board of directors has created an indebtedness against the district beyond the limit of the funds on hand or of funds to be derived during the current school year, which appears to be a direct violation of the Code of Public Instruction.
“It is the intention of our school law that no indebtedness whatever beyond the current funds of the district should be incurred by the board of directors.”
Public school bond measures and budget disputes remain a perennial flashpoint in Walla Walla. This 1903 conflict mirrors modern anxieties over administrative overreach and the balance between expanding infrastructure and the tax burden on residents.
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