We refer to your opinion request of recent date wherein we are advised that Center Point Common School District has not,maintained a school within then past two years and has been transferring Its scholastics to the Carbon Independent School District. Center Point has about $2,000.00 in local tax money in the de- pository and it wants to spend this money on construc- ting ancl lighting a baseball field for the community.

Query: May the trustees of this district span-l this local tax money forthis pur- pose?

while you did not so state, we assume for the purpose of this opinion that the Center Point scholas- tics are attencling the Carbon District under the auth- ority of Article 2699, Vernon's Civil Statutes, which provides, in part2

" * e 0 all the chilclren residing in a school district may be transferred to another district, OP to an independent &is- trict, upon such terms as may be agreed up- on by the trustees of said districts inter- ested."

The authorieecl expentlitures for which local school funds from district taxes may be used are set out in Article 2827, Vernon's Civil Statutes, which reads, in part, as follows:

.

Hon. L. A. Woods, page 2 (v-534)

"The public free school fund shall not be expended except for the following purposes:

"2 . Local school~funds from district taxes, tuition of fees of pupils not en- titled to free tuition and other local sources my be used Por the purposes enum- eratedafor state and county funds and for purchasing appliances and supplies, forthe payment of Insurance premiums, janitors and other employees, fop buying school sites, buying, building and repairing and rent- ing school houses, and for other purposes necessary in the conduct of the public schools to be determined by the Board of -> Trustees. . ."

Under this statute loos1 school funds from dis- trict taxes shall not be expended except for the specific purpeaes enumerated therein and for other purposes nec- essary in the conduct of the public schools to be deter- mined by the local Board of Trustees. Thus, the expendi- ture of such funds may be made only for the purposes ' enumerated and for other purposes necessary in the oon-

duct of the public schools. Public funds, among which are Included school funds, collected and designated by statute to be used only for particular public nurposes cannot bs lawfully diverted to the use of another parti- cular public purpose. San Benito Inde endent School District v. Farmers' Bank, 78 S.W. (26 741; Madeley v. P Trustees of Conroe Independent Sahool, 130 S.W.(2d) 929.

Under the facts submitted herein, it Is contem- plated that such local school funds from district taxes shall be used for a public purpose, namely, for the con- structlon'and lighting of a baseball field for the com- munity, which Is a purpose other than for which the funds were collected and designated. Such a use OP di- verslon Is prohibited by Article 2827 and violates the public trust principle announced in the olted San Benito case e A school district is but a trustee or guardian of public funds coming into its possession, and may disburse them only in the manner and for purposes prescribed by law. Love v. City of Dallas, 120 Tex. 351, 40 S.W.(2d) 20.

Eon. L. A. Woods, page 3 (V-534)

SUMMARY Common school district, Whose scho- lastics are transferred to another dis- trict, may not use local tax money to build a baseball field for community.

Art. 2827, v. c. 9.

Yours very truly, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS CEO:mw Chester E. Ollison Assistant APPROVED: