3972

VETOES

of the Board "shall be binding notwithstanding any rules
and regulations of the State Department of Education."

My objections to Senate Bill 1017 are on both
educational and fiscal grounds. The bill flies in the
face of the organization and structure of educational
responsibility and authority carefully constructed by the
General Assembly for the State, and would permit a local
board to control certain State expenditures.

Article 77, Section 6 of the Code provides that the
State Board of Education "shall determine the educational
policies of the State; they shall enact bylaws, rules and
regulations for the administration of the public school
system, which when enacted and published shall have the
force of law." The Board is, by that section, further
empowered to "explain the true intent and meaning of the
law, and shall decide all controversies and disputes that
arise under it, and their decision shall be final."

On the county level, Section 34 of Article 77
provides that "educational matters affecting the counties
shall be under the control of a county board of education
in each county." Section 41 requires the county board of
education, to the best of its ability, to cause the
provisions of Article 77, and the bylaws, rules and
regulations, and the policies of the State Board of
Education to be carried into effect. Subject to Article
77 and the State Board bylaws, rules, regulations, and
policies, "the county board of education shall determine,
with the advice of the county superintendent, the
educational policies of the county school system and
shall prescribe rules and regulations for the conduct and
management of the public schools in the county school
system."

The transportation of children to and from the
public schools has always been deemed to be part of the
overall system of public education, and thus committed to
the established State and county boards of education.
See §§ 19, 99, 121 of Article 77. Acting pursuant to its
authority under section 6, the State Board of Education
has adopted bylaws concerning the transportation of
children to and from the public schools which, by virtue
of section 6, have the force of law. These by—laws
include provisions for hazardous conditions and hardship
situations. *

Senate Bill 1017, as noted, creates a new local
board and empowers it to make decisions concerning which
children shall be provided free transportation to and
from school.** These decisions may (and the fact that
such a bill was introduced would suggest that they, in
fact will) be inconsistent with State Board of Education
by—laws; and yet, to the extent of any inconsistency,