Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

AGO 1990 NO. 13 >

1.   School districts have broad powers over curricula and instructional materials.  Pursuant to this authority, a school district may select and use educational television programming even though that programming contains advertising so long as the primary and predominant purpose of the program is educational and the advertising content is incidental.  2.   School districts have broad authority over the selection of instructional materials and the acquisition of school equipment and supplies.  Pursuant to this authority, a school district may select school materials, supplies and equipment that contain advertising.

AGO 1965 NO. 13 >

A port district and the Washington Toll Bridge Authority have the statutory authority to enter into an agreement for the acquisition of ferries whereby the port district will (1) purchase the ferries and lease them to the Washington Toll Bridge Authority; and (2) issue revenue bonds to finance the purchase, payable solely out of the rental received from leasing the ferries.

AGO 1978 NO. 13 >

(1) The provisions of Article VIII, § 7 of the Washington Constitution prohibit a city or public utility district from assisting its utility customers, generally, in the purchase of such conservation materials as insulation or storm windows from private suppliers by providing to the seller a guarantee of payment of part or all of the agreed upon purchase price for the conservation materials involved.  (2) The same provisions of Article VIII, § 7 of the Washington Constitution, however, do not prohibit a city or public utility district from itself purchasing and then later selling such conservation materials to its customers, generally, by means of installment contracts under which payment of the purchase price, plus a service charge, would be made by the purchasers on a periodic basis over a specified period of time.

AGO 1983 NO. 13 >

The provisions of chapter 39.12 RCW, the state prevailing wage law, do not apply to bus drivers or like personnel employed by private companies providing transportation services to a school district by contract.

AGO 1993 NO. 14 >

RCW 87.03.271 provides that the lien for a delinquent irrigation district assessment includes costs such as attorneys' fees.  When the lien is foreclosed pursuant to the procedure set forth in chapter 87.06 RCW, the irrigation district may recover costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees.

AGO 1969 NO. 14 >

(1) Under § 1, chapter 142, Laws of 1969, which establishes the bonding capacity of a school district as being a certain percentage of the "value of the taxable property in such district," the measuring property value is the actual "true and fair" value in money of the property in the district as contrasted with the assessed valuation of such property. (2) In the case of a school district located in a county for which the assessment ratio used by the county assessor for property tax purposes has been and is presently 25% of the true value of the taxable property, the combined effect of (a) § 1, chapter 142, Laws of 1969, and (b) the decision of the state supreme court in Carkonen, et al. v. Williams, et al. , ____ Wn.2d ____ [[76 Wn.2d 617]](September 4, 1969), and accompanying order of the state department of revenue requiring use of a 50% assessment ration as of January 1, 1970, will be to increase such district's bonding capacity by a multiple of four.

AGO 1978 NO. 14 >

The provisions of chapter 39.04 RCW, relating to public works projects by the state and certain municipalities, are applicable to public port districts organized pursuant to Title 53 RCW.

AGO 1996 NO. 15 >

RCW 42.23.030 does not prohibit the service of one spouse as a county commissioner (and ex officio local health board member) while the other spouse serves as administrative officer of the health department; these positions are both public offices and the compensation for them does not arise out of contract.

AGO 1972 NO. 16 >

(1) A sewer district may levy special assessments for local improvements against county-owned real property which is specially benefited by the improvements. (2) A county whose property has been placed on a sewer district's special assessment rolls is precluded from objecting to the inclusion of such property on the basis of an asserted lack of special benefit where it has failed to comply with the procedures set forth in chapter 56.20 RCW for raising this issue, notwithstanding its nonreceipt of actual notice of the contents of the assessment roll, where the notice required by RCW 56.20.040 was properly given by the district.

AGLO 1979 NO. 16 >

RCW 52.12.090, rather than RCW 42.30.080, governs the calling of a special meeting of a board of fire protection district commissioners; accordingly, such a meeting may be called ". . . by a majority of the commissioners or by the secretary and chairman of the board. . . ."