For each school district there is a board of education consisting of a president and two commissioners, each elected for a term of four years, one commissioner every two years.
The indebtedness of a county, municipality or school district is limited to 5% of the value of its taxable property.
The first public school law, passed in 1829, was based largely on the principle of " local option," each school district being left free to determine the character of its own school or even to decide, if it wished, against having any school at all.
Although the electors of each school district have ample powers reserved to them, in actual practice matters are attended to chiefly by an elected board of directors.
Any two or more adjoining school districts may unite to form a union free school district, and in any village or union free school district having a population of 5000 or more the board of education may appoint a superintendent of schools.
