Case Information
*1 , 1 !w OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN QllOVIl sCLLLR* e - A~oa”~” .or*cr&x Mrs. .\rtir Pults
county Attorney
Or Inerr
Anderson, Terar
Dear Yrs. Fnltz:
Your letter
of this departmen
lovm t
The school officials of the oharea the surveyor’s t the General Fund of the Inlon on an Attorney Generel’a Are expenees lnourred in surveying %strIcts tif Grim.8 oounty properly or the General Fund of the county? he Handbook l;f Texas Sohool Law’, edited and published by %e Steok Conpang nsley, of Austin, on page I find the following %ullng or Attorney Cageral*. making neoasrary surveyr
“,xpenrcs rub- divide e county into convenient echo01 dietrlote oannot be pald from rohool funds of the oounty O? distrlots but should be paid from thr general
fund of the oounty. (19161. like very much to know whether not
*I would the above end forecolng attorney eenetal’r Opinion has been overruled, and if It still prevall.3, 1 would me a oopy Of 8eme.’ appreciate your seading *2 Yrs. Artie Fultz, page 2 V.A.C.S., authoriser the oounty 8ohOol Art. exerolr8 the authority h8retOfOre In thr rsrted truat&r
COD&88iOn8?8’ Court with referen eubdivlding th8 OOuAty into 8ohool di8triot8, makin(l ohangee In 80hoo1 distriot Said 8tatUte read8 aa fOlloW8r lIne8, “The oountr rohool 8re authorized to trustees XerOls0 tested the authority h8rstoforr
oomml88Ioners* oourt with respeot to 8ubdIrIdIng and aaklng ohangss the ooonty into rohool distrlote, 1Ines. Said trustee shall aall In 8ohool dI8trIot en mual joint meeting of the dlstrlot and oounty sahool trustee8 oi the oounty to be held at the 8ea8on huguat or oatnty aeat ‘at some oonvenleat to be presided oYer by the September oi each year, chairman oi the county 8ohool trU8teeB. They ahall oonslder question8 dealing with the location of high 8OhOOl8, and the tesohlng of high 8OhOOl aubjeots, suoh other mattera the olasslfloatlon of aohools, ee may pertain to the looation, conduct, naintenanoe, dlsclpllne 0r eohoola, the terms thereof, and other 0at:erc of interest in 8ohool afialrs 0r the oounty, and the oounty aohool s!Ml be guided their action by the result of the,dellberatIon oi such meeting, not Inoonsletent with l’he county school law. trustees may else call other meetlnge. of the distrlot sohool shen dceaed necessary by then, or trustees, on the petition 0r e 0ajorIty 0r 8UOh dI8trIOt 8ChOOl trustees. The oounty superintendent, as seoretary oounty school truetees, will keep en accurate and corn- plete reuord In a well bound book provided for that plurpoae, rield note6 0r all changes mad8 IA sohool district the oounty &aids, and of all prooeedin&8 oertlfled school trustees. copy of suoh change In a ehall be made and transmitted echo01 dlstrlot llns, by the county superintendent to the county clerk, and the ocunty clerk shall record the rleld Aotes end oertlfled oopy of suoh ohange In a well bound boqk to be dealgnatad as the ‘Record of School Dlstrlots’. IA’ Drovldlng better the ohlldran aAd oarrylag 8ohoolIng out the prori- slona OS Art. the county superIntendant shall, on recommendation at the oounty sohool trustees, transfer children or 8OhOlaatIO age rrom one school dlstrlot vlth raoh another, the amount of funds to transferred age shall be the amount to whiOh the ahlld of 8oholaatIo di8triOt from whloh the ohlld Is transferred is eAtItled to reoe1re.F’
It 18 Dt*rt”d the CRaC :;f Ltatt 2X rd. f1Or68, rt al, ve. Breve, 162 5. .I. 24, 1052: ,- June 4, 1911, thr only prop8r authority “After
to 18y out or ratnbllrh 8 8ohOOl dirtriot, or to the 88a6, ~~68 th8 Count+ the boundarlas 8lter my etttqt Board Of ?10hOOl *UttW8, c?n zeptea- bcr 23, 1911, by th8 Co?u?!Irrionerr' Court of Zapeta County, to cr.leree tha boundarlro ot C&moA school Dlctrlct No. 1 m8 wholly VOlU rnd -f A0 erfeot.* St all]. be n,otad that Mt. 8upra, ~~r@881y ruthorir88 the oauntg sol-.sd truet~em to subdivide tha and t-kc okwa~es irl tfic aohcol dlntrlct Into rohoo1 dI8trlots 113e5. it 1s ar:raror.t fro-r yxr lcttcr the? !t Is cI;ot.zx~leted thet 311 2 t+s canon uohool dit'trlCt8 :r 4iXtaT8-fl UslEty arc to reccrtc?ed. It 18 not at3tcd th9t t!v &ant; Z!or;r.‘l oi Zohool ‘PrU8tee6 O:,Attnplat88 8ubdltisIim tf the OLUDty 1Lto di8tTiOt? cr zaklop chmqrr 8chool in sob001 dlstrlot llm~.
"3~ thr purpose: of thi8 O~lnlGc, %e x8t a6rwe thet 83id ha8 her6:oioce been 8ubdllIdsd county lritc 8ohool EIstrIotn the, survey? and thr: flcl.: notca thel’eof hats been 9n2 that duly roeor>c: by t3c county alcr% 2~2 tht all such prooerd- iz,a ha-6 bacn accordsno k:!th la* ap;llca3ic tr, such pro- CE.?dh&8. ;a xe underrtand your rer;uett, it 18 thi rurpoas or t;;e County 3oard of .So!:ool 'imrte-sa tz rasurtey rll t?le cozsh It ie O‘Jr oplclon xrt, .9C!;OOl di8triCtS :f 6316 OoU.-.ty. th?t 2f%?1, 8Up?a, does not astZIcriZ8 8UO!i (LII u368rt9kfng. rr?e 8tatUt6 into eoko~l d?8- only aLthorlze6 the 8ubdlvlding of t!w OGwty ;aKlnC trlote oknn;er I:: 803001 lineI). VAdsr the dlstriot it does A?t ry;aar thst the County Emrd of School facts 8t8tCd, th6 OouEty ints 8oho31 distrlct8 deslree to 8r:bdltldo Tlwste88 or to 38k8 any chanEcs Ther afore, in th.e 80!1031 dlstrlot lIrre8. the GocAt)’ 3oerd 3f So5001 Trustees ha6 it ox oplslon thet no 8UthOrIty retwrl9J sll 03i%13n 80>001 distriots In th6 16 cot Cone for the purpose of .z;han tuch rcwr+ng!r$, t!ie liner? zf 63ld dl.trlcts sobcIitlC1a.g the aounty chsnf1r.g .Zo%oal 'Yrost-es,llke into 8ChOol dll.trlot-. The County Board of other Cjoternrxntsl edrlA!etretlrc boerdy, dopartrer,to or aEwclc?, 0~1~ such. power 68 is authorlead by atetut 02 the p06666808 Thtralme, in the rbeemx of 6uOh authorlr~fl-n, ' Canstltutl~n. we hold thet th County ?3Oerd O? soho Tmttte8 ha6 no aUtbOrlty r6+urtey a11 the ooxoc 8c?.aol dlstriota lr tqdsrA--n C:.mty. .iS~It th8 County Rowd ci Cofinol .I'rustsea dot8 sot le our oplnloa th9t Or said hete buthorlty resvrtoy the ooeizon rohool. district8 county, it ceoeassrlly follosa tkt the 75cc:I.x rcrtslzil~ cxpcn~ts ln au& Y survey wd t%c fund sr fun.?8 fro2 lr,currc?d ?A 1 CT! Ir?: C!l axpenner. ST? TV b4 r.slC bcoo:ra qo?t WI< I(: :cire? 110 . urther dloossslcn.
You mantlcA an opinion .;? this department rendered 1916. oararul search o? ths riles o? this orflo8 doas not dlroloss oopy of auoh opinion 16 now In the ii.188 o? this O??iOs; hOWW?r, ths Or?iCa Or ths St8tS SUpriAtSAd- aAt Of F'ubllo IAstrUOtlOA ha8 praG8Ated Us rlth a brIO? 8yAOp818 o? the holding a? sold OplAlOA, and it is apparent that thI8 opinion has no appliostiOn to the qUeStiOn under OonsideratioA In that sold opinion pertains to expanses incurred In the oraa- and In naklng sub- tIca o? a common oounty line sohool dietriot dili8iOA8 O? the COUAty into 8ChOOl dietrlota. IA OUY. OpiAiOA Do. o-3416, the iollowing qUSStlOA WS8 under consideration.
"Does the County Surveyor become entitled for oompillng
iaas or 005paAsatIon ilald notes the Coiiusissloners' Court? IA the instant oaaa the County Survsyor compiled field notos on consolldat- o? the Kidway Co.m!!on Sohool his- lng tha boundaries trlct No. 21 and the Kara School District No. 100, into ona oomblned common sohool dlstrlot, and AOW ha presents tha Commisslonera~ Court with a bill
ror such 8erYloas.'
In that opinion (No. o-3416), It was stated, among other things:
"Art. 2741 2742, V.i.C.S., requires Co&nissionaraf Court to give the metes and bounds o?
each oo,mmon school district and da8igAata the 83ma oaraiully by giving the whole surveys and Darts o?
surveys with acreage o? whole surveys . . . . And the county oler.- is ranulrad to record tha same. . .
As It is ths duty of the Commisslonara~ Court to comply with tha'provlsions o? Art. 2741 snd 2742, , .."
The ioragolng statement contained In Opinion No. o-3416
is hare4y expressly overruled.
This opinion Is not to be oonstruad as holding that the county sohool are not authorized to subdlvida a county Into school BlatrIots snd make ohsnges In the school district lines Stated another way, this oylnlon merely holds thot the County Board c? School Trustees has no authority to resurvey all the common dlstriots In a oounty where it It not daslrad to aubdivlda lnto 8ChOOl dlatrlots mke obsnges In the school dlstrlot 1in88.
Yours very truly