Case Information
*1 . . . ,.., ..~.
TEE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS September 9, 1948 Eon. Joe. B. Dart Opinion No. V-678 County Attorney Re: Legality of loaning
Kendall county surplus funds of a Boerne. Texas
cominon sahool dls- trtot to an indepen- dent school~dlatrlct.
Dear Sir:
We refer to goir opinion request ooncerning the following question:
“Can a aommon school dietriot u&e a loan.of its 1947-48 balanoe to an indepen- school distriot. ’
Powers of school boards and Offloer0 over and the purposes for funds belonging to school dlstrlots whloh those funds my be ex ended are presorlbed Stat- & ve V, city of DallSS, 120
37 Tex. JUr p 968; i::: 351, 40 Sd2dj 20.
It is provided In Artlois 2827, Swat 1 and 2, v. c. s., that;
“1. The State and’ aounty avellablei fund6 shall be used exoluslvely for the payment of teachers’ superlntendenta’ salaries, fees taking the scholastic oewuo sad Intereat oa money borrowed oa short kne to pay 6slarlw teaohers sad superintendents, whoa these Sal&Pies beoome due before the sohool funds the ow- rent year beoone avallablet provided that ao loans for the pur 0110 of payment of tea&em shall be pa d .out of fuada other ‘:
than those the then ourrent gears.
“2. Loos1 sohool fund6 from dkstriot taxes, tuition fee6 of pupils not entitled *2 Bon. Jos. 8. Dart, page 2
to free tuition and other local sour&~ may be used for the purposes enume’tibted for State and county funds and for pm- chasing appliances and supplies, the payment of Insurance preinlums, janitors and other employees, for buy&g school sites, buylng,bullding and repalrlng and renting sohoolhouses, and other pur- poses neaessary In the conduct of the publie sohools
to be determlned the board of trustees, the amount8 vou- chers for county districts to be approv- ed by the county superintendent; provided, that when the State available school fuud in any oitg or district is euffioient to maintain the schools thereof in any year for at least eight months, and leave a surplus, suoh surplus may be expeqed for the purposes mentioned herein.
Under this statute the expenditure of’such school funds, whether they be.surplus funds or other- wise, may be made only for the purpose8 therelu entuner- ated and for other purposes necessaq in the conduct of the public schools of the dlstrlat. Attorney Qeneral’s Opinion V-534. Public funds, among which srs inaluded school funds, collected and designated by statute to be used’only for particular public purposes cannot lawfully be diverted to the use of another public pose. Love supra; San Benito I.S. rs” v. City of Da las, . v. Farmerst Bank, 78 S.W. 26) 741; MBdele v. Trustees of Comoe In- t
dependent School, 130 S.w.(2d? 929.
We find no statutory authority, expres~sed or Implied, In trustees of sohool districts, common or in- dependent, trlct to loan the public school funds of their dls-
to any other school dlstriot, person, or entity. Clearly, the loan of surplus funds of a common school district to an independent district would not be using such funds a purpose necessary in the, conduot of the public schools of the common district. ,-
SUMMARY A board trustees of a school dls- trict has no authority to loan Its pub110 school funds to another sehool dletriat.
Hon. Jo;. B. Dart; page 3
Article 2827, Sections 1 and 2,-V. 0. S. ~-~
Yours very~truly, cm:mw
Chestei; E. Ollison Assistant