812 PUBLIC EDUCATION. [ART. 77

board in charge of the school house, may refuse all future applications
for the wider use of the property until such injury is repaired, without
expense to the board in charge of the property. It shall be the duty
of the person or persons making application for the use of a school
house for a public meeting, to place the said school house after said
meeting in as clean a condition as it was before said meeting, and any
failure upon the part of said person or persons to whom permission
has been granted to hold a meeting to place said school house after said
meeting in as clean a condition as it was when said school house was
turned over to said person or persons for said meeting will warrant
said school authorities in refusing to allow any further use of said
school house to the same parties.

Chapter 6. School Houses and Sites.

1904, art. 77, sec. 38. 1888, art. 77, sec. 34. 1872, ch. 377. 1912, ch. 532.
39. When the lands shall be required for the site of a school house,
or for enlarging a school house lot, or for play grounds or other school
purposes, and the Board of County School Commissioners shall from
any cause be unable to contract with the owner or owners thereof upon
what it deems to be a fair valuation thereof, the Board of County
School Commissioners may apply for a writ of ad quad damnum to
the clerk of the Circuit Court for the county, who shall forthwith issue
the same and the sheriff shall execute the said writ and return an
inquisition describing the land and stating the amount of damages to
be paid to the owner; and the judge of the Circuit Court for the county
may, at any time after the return of the inquisition, in term or during
recess, hear a motion to confirm such inquisition, on such notice to the
parties as he may direct, and confirm or quash the same; and if he
quashes the inquisition, he shall order a new one forthwith to be
taken; but no lot so taken or enlarged shall exceed, in the whole, five
acres, including the land occupied by the school building; provided,
that the repeal and re-enactment of this section shall in no wise affect
any proceedings begun and pending at the date of its passage, but any
such proceedings shall be controlled by the law as it existed at the time
of its institution thereof.

Chapter 7. Schools.

Ibid. sec. 42. 1888, art. 77, sec. 38. 1872, ch. 377. 1914, ch. 480.
43. In every school house district in each county, established as
hereinbefore provided there shall be kept for ten months in each year
if possible one or more schools, according to population which shall be
free to all white youths over six and under twenty-one years of age.
provided the Board of County School Commissioners in each county
may close all schools in any school district when they deem it best so
to do, except such schools as are exempt from consolidation and closing
tinder Section 25.