Education/Schools - Historical Notes

Board of Education

The following acts once affected the board of education in Unicoi County but are no longer operative. Also referenced below is an act which repealed prior law without providing new substantive provisions.

1. Private Acts of 1951, Chapter 613, created a board of education for Unicoi County. The act provided for their election and prescribed their powers, duties and compensation. This act was repealed by Private Acts of 1953, Chapter 40.
2. Private Acts of 1998, Chapter 130, amended the Private Acts of 1953, Chapter 39, and Private Acts of 1961, Chapters 61 and 349, changed the Unicoi County Board of Education from a seven member board to a six member board. Private Acts of 1998, Chapter 130, was not adopted locally.

General Reference

The following acts constitute part of the administrative and political heritage of the educational structure of Unicoi County but are no longer operative since they have either been superseded, repealed, or failed to receive local approval. Also referenced below are acts which repeal prior law without providing new substantive provisions.

1. Acts of 1905, Chapter 165, created the thirteenth school district of Unicoi County by describing the area embraced thereby a metes and bounds description, granting to it all the rights and privileges given to other school districts and directing the county superintendent of public schools to appoint three school directors to serve until the next general election, or until their successors are elected and qualified. A special election for this purpose would be conducted at the Clear Branch Schoolhouse.
2. Acts of 1907, Chapter 71, created the fifteenth school district of Unicoi County which involved among other things the tenth and thirteenth school districts, Raven Cliff, Spring's Creek, and Tumbling Creek. The remainder of the act is similar to the provisions of the 1905 Act in Item 1, except that the election will be held at the Coffee Ridge Schoolhouse for the three school directors.
3. Acts of 1907, Chapter 296, created the eighth school district of Unicoi County and provided for the special election of three school directors at Spivy Schoolhouse.
4. Acts of 1909, Chapter 494, required parents and guardians of Unicoi County to cause children between certain ages to attend public school for at least four months or eighty days consecutively each year. This act was repealed by Public Acts of 1978, Chapter 716.
5. Private Acts of 1925, Chapter 74, gave the Unicoi Quarterly County Court the authority to issue and sell, give, pledge, or in any manner dispose of negotiable, non-negotiable, interestbearing notes, warrants, or other evidences of debts upon the full faith and credit of the county. All conflicting laws were repealed by this one granting this blanket authority. This act was repealed by Private Acts of 1929 (Ex. Sess.), Chapter 73.
6. Private Acts of 1929, Chapter 230, validated the issuance and sale of $150,000 of 5½ school notes of Unicoi County, the proceedings of the quarterly county court of said county had incident thereto, and provided for the payment of such notes and interest.
7. Private Acts of 1931, Chapter 282, authorized the Unicoi Quarterly County Court to issue up to $30,000, in 6%, 25-year bonds with only the amount of the bonds to be issued submitted to the people by referendum. All other details of this bond issue to construct and improve public schools were left to the judgment and discretion of the Unicoi Quarterly County Court.
8. Private Acts of 1931, Chapter 494, contained recitals that the Martin's Creek School burned at a total loss and the Unicoi County Board of Education had resolved to build the school back at an estimated additional cost of $31,000. The insurance collected on the fire amounted to only $16,000 and was therefore inadequate to complete the work. The bond issue was for $40,000, $9,000 of which would go to pay the debts of the highway department and the remainder to rebuild the school. The maximum interest rate was 6% and the bonds would mature according to the schedule in the act which also had the form of the bond written out. A tax of 15 cents per $100 property valuation would be levied for the next six years to repay the bonds.
9. Private Acts of 1955, Chapter 26, would have required the payment of prevailing wages in the region to certain persons engaged in repairing and maintaining public schools in Unicoi County; however, this act was rejected by Unicoi County and therefore never became law.