Case Information
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THE ATTORNEYGENERAL OF -XAS
Honorable D. H. Utley
County Auditor, Clay County
Henrietta, Texas Dear Sir: Opinion No. ,3-7094
Re: Can one of six common school districts composing a rural high school district withdraw from said rural high school district? Also rela,ted questions.
Your r;ecent letter to .this department reads in part as follows:
"On April 24, 1941 the Clay Co, School Board of Trustees ,while convened in a call session deemed i,t advisable and for the Public good to form a Rural High School Dist. by grouping six Common Sch, Dist,, each of which had less than 400 Scholastics, with a com- bined area of more than 100 Sq. Miles, This election was ordered as provided by CJhapte:~ 19-A R. S P 1925, as amended, and Article 2922 C, as amended, said eiec- tion carried by majoritiy vote of entire composed Rural High School Dist,
"Said Dist, ~8s established and has funz,tioned as such since June 7, 1941, but on ,i,he site designa,ted, on account of scarecity of material and labor .the Build- ings have not been erected, kit the School is being held in a near by School Bldg,
'Now the Question - If one of the six Common Sch. Dist,s wants ,to with-,draw from the Rural High Sch. Dist. Can they? If so what way may they do so?
"If they can by election whose duty to call the election, the County School Board or the County Judge?" Art, 2922a, V.A.C.S., reads as follows: "In each organized county in this St,ate and in any county~which shall hereafter be organized, the county school trustees shall have 'the authority to form one or more rural high school districts, by grouping contiguous common school districts having leys than four hundred *2 0 -7094 Hon. D. H. Utleg, page 2
scholastic population and independent school districts having less than two hundred and fifty scholastic population for the purpose of establishing and oper- ating rural high schools, provided also that the ccuntg school trustees may annex one or more common school districts or one or more independent school districts having leas than two hundred and fifty scholastic pop- ulation to a common school district having four hundred or more scholastic population OP to an independent district having two hundred and fifty or more scholastic population upon the approval of the board of trustees of each school district affected; provided that when one OP more commonschool districts are so annexed to a common school district having four hundred or more scholastic population, or to an independent district having two hundred and fifty, OP more popu- scholastic lation, as the case may be, a board of trustees shall be elected from the district at large and shall have the management and control of the district a8 enlarged until the time for the next election and qualifications of trustees for common and independent districts, as provided by General Law. Provided that the county school -- trustees shall have the authority & abolish 5 rural -- m school district z a petition signed bx a maioritg of the voters of each elementarv district composing the
-- -- rural high school district and when such dIstrlct has been abolished the elementary districtsshall automati- cally revert back to their original status, wfth the exception that in the event there are any outstanding indebtednesses against the said rural school district each elementary dis,trlct shall assume its proportional part of the debts, (Emphasis added.)
The underscored provfsfon of said Art. 2922a, supra, is the only authority we have been able to locate wherebya rural high school district can be abolished, Said provision requires 'a petition signed by a majority of the voters of each elementary district composing the rural high school district.~mphasis added.)
Therefore, it is the opinion of this department that unless a majority of the voters In m of the common school dis- tricts composing the rural high school distrfct in question, should present a signed petition to the county school trustees requestfng the abolition of such rural high school district, such trustees would have no authority to abolish same. Neither is there any provision of law whereby one of safd common school districts can withdraw from said rural high school di8trict.
YOUP first question is answered in the negative. *3 Hon. D. H. Utley, page 3 o-7094
In view of the foregoing, the other questions sub- mitted require no answers.
Very truly yours, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS By s/L. H. Flewellen L. H. Flewellen Assistant LKF :v:wc
APPROVED MAR 8, 1946
s/Grover Sellers
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
Approved Opinion Committee By s/BWB Chairman