540

LAWS OF MARYLAND.

be used for no other purpose, and if said funds
have been used otherwise, they shall be returned
and applied, as aforesaid.

May divide.

Sec. 6. In all cases where the county has not
been properly divided into school districts, and
full records of the boundaries thereof have not
been made and recorded, the Board of County
School Commissioners shall appoint a committee,
if in their opinion they deem it necessary, consist-
ing of three persons of intelligence and sound
judgment, who shall divide the county into suit-
able school districts, define and describe the boun-

Limit of
district.

daries of each;provided, that no school district
shall contain a greater area than four miles square,
unless part of it be located in a thinly settled re-
gion; in the formation of the school districts, the
committee shall take into consideration the most
suitable site for the school house, the general fea-
tures of the country, and shall make each school
district of such size and form as will best accom-
modate the population within its bounds ; the
committee shall make an accurate description of
the hounds of the school districts, accompanied by
a plat, and shall report the same to the Board of
County School Commissioners, who shall thereupon

Publish notice

give notice, in all the newspapers of the county,
at what time they will meet to hear applications
for a change of boundaries, which applications
shall be made in writing, and within two months
from the date of the first publication of such,
notice ; when the applications shall have been
made and considered, the Board of County School
Commissioners may then change the boundaries of
the school districts and revise the description, or
they may, without application, make such change
as may be deemed important, or they may ratify
and confirm the report of the committee; the de-
scription of the boundaries of school districts shall
be recorded in a book kept for that purpose by the
Secretary of the Board of County School Commis-
sioners ;in those counties where no newspaper is

Record
boundaries.

published, the notice of application for a change
of boundaries shall be published in such a manner
as the Board of County School Commissioners may
decide ;whenever it may be necessary, the Board
of County School Commissioners shall employ a