Case Information
*1 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
%;a reoeived your
lw aett-lng out oerti8crin ia
k cpation based upoa said
Tour Letter dated reads. la pert, 88 cborne was re- , 1840, the County aoard of School Cotzty, .Texas, being und~or the im- there ~38 a vramoy in said offioe, ollowln~:. in the ?-iinutes of s@,lC board, at tl co,~ll zeetj.rg thereof 1
"On or about the 8th day of April, 1940., 3. 3. Earrla took the oath of offloo, but thereaftsr, on or shout the 20th day of April, 1940, be resi@ned~ as trustee for the r @ason. that he has oot resi,ded in district for six months prior ttiersto and ma dfagualifi3A. On the aam. date that Rarrfs
rsslgned, Osborne took the oath oi office end filed the aarm wfth the Couuty 3uperintendent. Curing this ar$lrr period ol! tine, Osborne has oontinued to act as trustee+
WDurin& the y&r. 1922; Oljbome was comioted ei Felony theft In the Fedaral Court. ne lo not 8’ qualified voter and hsa not been durtng,t&ia
eatfre period of timhw~
Your letter bated fune 21, 1940 mbmitting additional faots reads,. 4s tollowst In prt,
*After the a9~o~lntmont of Earrts 68 truatae, ,.
Osborne .eontinued to aat as trustee and his’ sots
in signing vouoher8, eto, were aoooptad by the
County Superintendent.
,?Wnxis never at any time parrormsd any’ aat ’ es trustee and his resignation w&s accepted by the County Sohool Board, and on the County Bard enter- ed an order aocepting the maienatloo ot mrria, iC entered en order stating that oald aonkxon aohool
dletriot would have only two trustees Xor ths year ., 1940-41.
*On the 6th day of, rune,, 1840, u,pon the re- pueat oi Bubort Osborne, the County Board entemd ordert~ the rtdbfirg
. **It apparlng tom the Roarti of Oou3t.y ’ School Trustees of Rusk County, Thrxae, that hewetotors there have been .%ade various orders to the posltioa in r~t$sd 0r on4 of t&4 trustees of the Tine Hill Com- non sahool District No. 4d, of Euek Comty, TCXde, in that the se14 couoty isonrd WRIB un- der Me tipression that a vacmoy erlstod In the plme l-da by nubart Osborrm RS ona of the trustess of oatd distriatl *tXndt Mi?d board having found that the said Hubert Osborne hsa at al.1 tines alno hia eleotlon ooted as trutitee of aaid die- *3 r, i ! : qps triot, and that he hae fakan the oath of offics required by 1%~ end ft fnrthor ap- pearing to thIa board that the Xstr!at . . ..~ Attorney of fiusk County, Taxeg, h??s oertl-
iied a question to that Attorney Caneral of ~the state of ‘i%xas, In regard to the at&us of the aald Subert Osborne 88 trustee of eaid dls trlat ;
**Xi Is thersfofe ordared by County B08rU of Sohool Trustees that a~11 orders herntofors entered by the board and which now agp%ar bn the minntss 02 this boerd be set aside bemuse of the taat that this board did now knog ~the true status or” Hubert Osborne as trustee of said d1striat, and be+ owsa of auoh orders a8 now appeer on recordt there rrould bs only two trustees for said dtstyilrt; and it is the further order of thi% board that the said Rubsrt Osborne shall con- tinue to sca.v% as t,rustss of tha mid Pine Eill co&ion Bab001 pietriat Ko. 46, unti3. furth%r crders of tNe bosrd in the:eoent said opinion of the Attarnay G:anarel ehouLd be adverse to the olalm! of the said Bubert Q6bwns to said office.’ ~, .,: “So a,ppeal wim lasde to the County Boarb other than tha or&e mid% by Oabornet as refleotod by the
above order. vi% night also note thtlt Ocborm haa
had hia cltlzensfiip restored to hln ainca t.he 13th day of ?:a~, &an we submitted OUT orl~innl~requestb*
Based upon tho above faafs you ask the follbwlng qaestioar
Doee the County Board ot Wuml Trustees of Rusk herve tka power at this ti~xe to X4nofe Cnborne County, Texas, aa truatea of said dintriot, or deolnre a -?hoenoy 15 auoh Oftics and c;tpoint enot;her to taka his i&m%?
‘“Al%* 2746.
“r . + . No person shall be trustea wha
csxnet read and w1t.a the I:sqlish Lan;,uage fntei-
igibly, rtind v&o he5 not been a reaidmt.of allah
district for &Lx mmths px1or to hia elaot~on.
Providing no person shall be qualifhed as trustee
unless ha is a gmpsrtp taxpayer in the distrfot
.
to which he is elsoted ejnd otherwise a puallslt
(qualified) voter ih said distriot . . . .,
seiS1 trusteas ahall first take Zhb) offielel oath
an4 shall, es aooa as prnotioable, file s&me with
,the County SuperintkIdent~or County Sddgr. All shall b8 filled by the County 2oard of
raosnciee Trustees for the reLmainder of the tom in xhioh
the vaoanoy o~oura~ . . em
"Ia% 9747.
‘fr a truatea so cleated or 6,npolatad es here- in groylded, who in the opinion of the oounty super- intendanti does not possess puallffcations pm- saribed by law the county auperintendant shall ore- faae to reooe, 13 ze plush person who has been 80 eleoted and make writ&an request within twenty days after
.suoh eleotion, Of ths oounty attorney, or airrtriot
attorney if there be no county attorney, to instl-
tute end prosecute with dtaaatoh suit in the name of the Sate for the removal of such trllstee, in the dls- tiiot court of the county where such trustee resides, at the ‘optIon of said attorney. Upon good oause shown ~~it?An the dieoretlon of the aourt where such suit
la pendin,%, .lt ehsll be lawful to enjoin and restrain such person from eating as suoh trustee dcrinE the pendecoy of suoh ouit. It shall ,be lawful to summon suoh truetee before thou court in the Srial of ouch oetxie, and there mke sxminatibn OP him ENI t0 hi8 guslifiostions to serve se auoh, If s.fter being 80 sumaneil, ouoh trustee negleots or refuses rails,
to obey said su~~~one and Pa3J.s to ap;:ear for the
purpose of examination, an4 folls~ or refuses-to’arubmft to such sXcamination, such failure, ne&iot or refumal shall. be prima faaie evlrlenoe of his dia$uolifioa- tlou, end beoeuse thereof
the court trying oaoh cause shall be authorized to ran&m th8r0llpOZl judgn@nt by default against euoh trustee so defaultin?, rWAoolng him from his aeid ‘off’ica and c?ac!larins, the same
vaoant . The cminty boa?d of cEuct&fon of the county where suoh truate% has been eleatcd shall ap::olnt some suitable person, viho ia c;uallflod by law to agt ne such trustee, tf during the pendeooy af ziaoh suit reid trustee shall be enjoined from so rratinn. If ,auoh trustee so elooted shall be 80 rrmaved than such
trustee so a??ointed shall oontinue’to se:*96 until *5 .~,. 727
.
mmr&ie Joe C. Gledneg, Page 6
the next reqlsr eleotion of.school trustees
sor such .dlatrict. The aountg bomd of eduoe-
tion shall 1111. a vacancy in said offioe by by lsw
ap>ointin~: a suitabla ?erson qgallf’iad
to cot as trustees untfl~ tht next re:qular eleo-
tion of eohaol truetees for such diatrlot.”
:Te heve be& unable to find sny authority for the p~posltion that the County, Eozrd of 2ohool Trustees hae the ,p~er to rmove an unr,uel.ified soho trustee tmn office.
To the cOt!trQQ', the natbod for euch reinoval ap?eers to be met out in i.rtlcle 2747, eup3-a.’ See StQtc cm rel Eevll.le 0.
ganderson l38 r,.:.;‘. (2) 1058.
The faots show that ~stOlTie i!ns duly eleotsd~ to the Eo has been and i,a now perfomln~ olflae or trllntett. the diltles of trustao. Eo has nm taken the oath of. offioe. Ve f!nd no facts which vrould jusltifp a determimtion by the County &?ard ol Sahcol. Trustwa that Osborne has abandoned- or Veeated thq office of trustee,
Pe cocolude that the County Board of School Trusteea has no authority to rmove Osborne from office. Me aso of the opinion, further, that the Dow.% ‘oannot at this time de- olrre mob office vaoant.
Lee Shoptaa