three. And while there are two such vacancies, the trustee in office shall have all the powers and be subject to all the duties and liabilities of the three, as though he were a sole trustee.

2. When a vacancy shall occur in the office of trustee, the board shall immediately call a special meeting of the district to supply such vacancy. Education Law, § 274.

Removal of school officers; withholding public money.

1. Whenever it shall be proved to his (commissioner of education) satisfaction that any trustee, member of a board of education, clerk, collector, treas. urer, school commissioner, superintendent of schools or other school officer has been guilty of any willful violation or neglect of duty under this chapter, or any other act pertaining to common schools or other educational institution, participating in state funds, or willfully disobeying any decision, order. or regulation of the regents or of the commissioner of education, said commissioner may, by an order under his hand and seal, which order shall be recorded in his office, remove such school officer from his office.

2. Said commissioner of education may also withhold from any district or city its share of the public money of the state for wilfully disobeying any provision of law or any decision, order or regulation as aforesaid. Education Law, § 95.

Use of school house for polling places, registration and political meetings.

School houses and the grounds connected therewith and all property belonging to the district shall be in the custody, and under the control and supervision of the trustees or board of education of the district. The trustees or board of education may adopt reasonable regulations for the use of such school houses, grounds or other property, when not in use for school purposes, for such other public purposes as are herein provided. Such regulations shall not conflict with the provisions of this chapter and shall conform to the purposes and intent of this section and shall be subject to review on appeal to the commissioner of education as provided by law. The trustees or board of education of each district may, subject to regulations adopted as above provided, permit the use of the school house and rooms therein, and the grounds and other property of the district, when not in use for school purposes, for any of the following purposes:

5. For polling places for holding primaries and elections, and for the regis tration of voters, and for holding political meetings. But no such use shall be permitted unless authorized by a vote of a district meeting, held as provided by law. It shall be the duty of the trustees or board of education to call a special meeting for such purpose upon the petition of at least ten per

centum of the qualified electors of the district. If such authority be granted by a district meeting it shall be the duty of such trustees or board of education to permit such use, under reasonable regulations to be adopted by such trustees or board until another meeting held in like manner shall have revoked such authority.

Education Law, § 455, as amended by L. 1913, ch. 221; L. 1917, ch. 214.

Boards of education corporate body.

The board of education of each union free school district or city is hereby created a body corporate and it shall, at its first meeting and at each annual meeting thereafter, elect one of its members president.

Education Law, § 300.

Board of education in district whose boundaries are not coterminous with those of an incorporated village or city.

1. Whenever a union free school district shall be established pursuant to the provisions of sections one hundred and forty-one to one hundred and fortyfive of this chapter and the boundaries of such district shall not be coterminous with the boundaries of an incorporated city or village, it shall be the duty of the meeting at which such union free school district is established to elect by ballot not less than three nor more than nine trustees, who shall, by the order of such meeting, be divided into three classes, the first to hold until one, the second until two, and the third until three years from the first Tuesday of August next following, except as in the next section provided. Thereafter there shall be elected in such districts, at the annual meeting, trustees to supply the places of those whose terms of office, by the classification aforesaid, expire.

2. The trustees thus elected, shall enter at once upon their offices, and the office of any existing trustees in such districts, before the establishment of a union free school therein, shall cease, except for the purposes stated in section one hundred and thirty-five of this chapter. The said trustees and their successors in office shall constitute the board of education of the union free school district thus established.

Education Law, § 301.

Board of education in district whose boundaries are coterminous with those of an incorporated village or city.

Whenever said board of education shall be constituted for any district whose limits correspond with those of any incorporated village or city, the trustees so elected shall, by the order of such meeting, be divided into three classes: The first class to serve until one; the second, until two; and the third, until three years after the date of the next charter election in such village or city, and their regular term of service shall be computed from the several dates of such charter election. Thereafter, there shall be annually elected in such villages and cities, at the charter elections, by separate ballot, to be indorsed "school trustee," in the same manner as the charter officers thereof, trustees of the said union free schools, to supply the places of those whose terms by the classification aforesaid expire.

Education Law, § 302.

Provisions for separate elections in certain districts.

1. In union free school districts whose limits do not correspond with those of an incorporated village or city, and in which the number of children of school age exceeds three hundred, as shown by the last annual report of the board of education to the school commissioner, the qualified voters of any such district may by a vote of a majority of those present and voting, at any annual meeting, or at any duly called special meeting, to be ascertained by taking and recording the ayes and noes, determine that the election of the members of the board of education shall be held on the Wednesday next following the day designated by law for holding the annual meeting of said district.

2. Until such determination shall be changed, such election shall be held on the Wednesday next following the day on which such annual meeting of such district shall be held, between the hours of twelve o'clock noon and four o'clock in the afternoon at the principal school-house in the district, or at such other suitable place as the trustees may designate.

3. When the place of holding such election is other than at the principal school-house, the trustees shall give notice thereof by the publication of such notice, at least one week before the time of holding such election, in some newspaper published in the district, or by posting the same in three conspicuous places in the district. The trustees may, by resolution, extend the time of holding the election from four o'clock until sunset.

4. Such members of the board of education as may be present, shall act as inspectors of election. If a majority of such board shall not be present at the time of opening the polls, those members of the board in attendance may appoint any of the legal voters of the district present, to act as inspectors in place of the absent trustees; and if none of the board of education shall be present at the time of opening the polls, the legal voters present may choose three of their number to act as inspectors.

5. The clerk of the board of education shall attend at the election and record in a book, to be provided for that purpose, the name of each elector as he deposits his ballot. If the clerk of the board of education shall be absent, or shall be unable or refuse to act, the board of education or inspectors of election shall appoint some person who is a legal voter in the district to act in his place. Any clerk or acting clerk who shall neglect or refuse to record the name of a person whose ballot is received by the inspectors, shall be liable to a fine of twenty-five dollars, to be sued for by the supervisor of the town.

6. The board of education shall, at the expense of the district, provide a suitable box in which the ballots shall be deposited as they are received. Such ballots shall contain the names of the persons voted for, and shall designate the office for which each of said names is voted. The ballots may be either written or printed, or partly written and partly printed. The inspectors immediately after the close of the polls shall proceed to canvass the votes. They shall first count the ballots to determine if they tally with the number of names recorded by the clerk, and if they exceed that number, enough ballots shall be withdrawn to make them correspond. Such inspectors shall count he votes and announce the result. The persons having a plurality of the votes respectively for the several offices shall be elected, and the clerk shall record the result of such ballot and election as announced by the inspectors.

7. Whenever the time for holding such election, as aforesaid, shall pass without such election being held in any such district, a special election shall be called by the board of education, but if no such election be called by said board within twenty days after such time shall have passed, the school commissioner or the commissioner of education may order any inhabitant of said district to give notice of such election in the manner prescribed by section one hundred and ninety-three; and the officers elected at such special election shall hold their respective offices only until the next annual election, and until their successors are elected and shall have qualified, as in this chapter provided.

8. The foregoing provisions shall not apply to union free school districts in cities, nor to union free school districts whose boundaries correspond with those of an incorporated village, nor to any school district organized under a special act of the legislature, in which the time, manner and form of the election of district officers shall be different from that prescribed for the election of officers in union free school districts, organized under the general law, nor to any of the union free school districts in the counties of Suffolk, Chenango, Warren and Saint Lawrence.

Education Law, § 303, as amended by L. 1910, chs. 140 and 442; L. 1917, ch. 270.

Determination of election disputes.

All disputes concerning the validity of any district election or of any of the acts of the officers of such election shall be referred to the commissioner of education for determination and his decision in the matter shall be final and not subject to review. The commissioner may in his discretion order a new election.

Education Law, § 304.

Election and organization of board of education in new district where union free school district containing two incorporated villages is divided.

1. Within ten days after the school commissioner shall have designated any separate school district organized under the provisions of sections one hundred and thirty and one hundred and thirty-one of this chapter, he shall call a special meeting of the qualified voters of such school district at a time and place to be named by him to elect a board of education to consist of six members, two of whom shall be elected for one year, two for two years and two for three years from the date of the annual school meeting next succeeding such special meeting. The call for such special meeting shall be published in the manner provided in section one hundred and thirty for calling a special meeting to determine as to whether the school district shall be divided.

2. The school commissioner shall call such special meeting to order and the voters present shall elect a chairman and secretary for such meeting and appoint three tellers to canvass the votes cast. After the votes shall have been canvassed the chairman and secretary shall forthwith certify the result of such canvass to the said school commissioner, who shall within five days thereafter convene the members of the board of education, shown by said certificate to have been elected, for the purpose of organization, and said certificate of the result of such canvass shall thereupon become a part of the record of said school district.

Education Law, § 305.