Roland v. Reading School District

Citations

• 161 Pa. 102
• 28 A. 995
• 1894 Pa. LEXIS 641

Syllabus

<p>Municipal contracts — School board — Minutes—Evidence.</p> <p>School directors can bind the district they represent only when they act in their official character, and the best evidence of their official action is the minute or record of their actions kept by the proper officer.</p> <p>A person who deals with the president of a school board is bound to know what contract the board has authorized the president to make. If the president has made a written contract, the board may repudiate any of its provisions to which it had not given its assent, or which had not been brought to its attention, and subsequently ratified by it.</p> <p>Plaintiff was the successful bidder to furnish a school district with textbooks, his bid including the furnishing of additional books at cost. The written contract provided that a certain number of books should be furnished at a price specified, and that if any additional books were needed plaintiff was to furnish them at cost, with the addition of six per centum on the cost price. No authority had been given by the board for a payment in addition to the cost price. The board subsequently repudiated the act of the president in making the contract with this provision in it. Held, that plaintiff was not entitled to recover more than the cost price of the additional books.</p>