AGO 1989-069.

• Case Date: June 06, 1989
• Court: Kansas

Kansas Attorney General Opinions 1989. AGO 1989-069. June 6, 1989ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 89-69Duane F. Johnson State Librarian Kansas State Library State Capitol Third Floor Topeka, Kansas 66612-1593 Re: State Departments; Public Officers and Employees--State Library and Library Services--Regional System of Cooperating Libraries; Levy Authority Synopsis: A regional system of cooperating libraries may levy in a county within its boundaries due to the participation of a school district library located in the county. Territory of the county may be excluded from the system, and thus the tax, pursuant to K.S.A. 75-2550. Cited herein: K.S.A. 75-2548; 75-2549b; 75-2550; 75-2551. * * * Dear Mr. Johnson: You request our opinion regarding the participation of a school district library in a regional system of cooperating libraries. You question whether such participation enables the regional system to levy in the county in which the school district is located. The regional system in question is the Northwest Kansas Library System (NWKLS). This system's territory includes the counties of Trego, Gove, Logan, Wallace, Graham, Sheridan, Thomas, Sherman, Norton, Decatur, Rawlins and Cheyenne. K.S.A. 75-2549b. The school district in question is located in Norton County. The school district library, and thus North County, was admitted to the NWKLS pursuant to the petition process of K.S.A. 75-2550. Its territory has not since been excluded from the system. K.S.A. 75-2548(b) defines "participating library" as a library that is cooperating or participating in a regional system of cooperating libraries. Subsection (e) defines "library" to include school libraries. Thus, the statute appears to contemplate the ability of a school district library to participate as a member of a regional system. The statutes do not differentiate between school district libraries and county, city or township libraries. K.S.A. 75-2551 provides in part:

"The system board shall be subject to the cash basis and budget laws of the state. The budget of the system board shall be

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