*1 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS

AUSTIN

Hon. Ray Lackey County Auditor

Yoakum county

Plains, Texas

Dear Sir: opinion moo. O-7009

a Rural High SC carefully conside

request as follovsa

three hundred n's huotated Texas Clvll county in this State all hereaitep be organized, reads as follgrsr

Hon. Rny Lackey - Page 2

“No rural high school district, a8 provided for herein, shall contain a greater area than one hundred square miles, or mom than seven elementary school districts, county school board of school exoept t&t the

trustees may form rural high school districts, aa Provided in Artiole 2922a, containing more than one hundred square miles, upon a vote of a majority of the quallfled eleotors In the aald proposed rural voting at an election called for such purpose; and provided further, that the said board of oountp school trustee8 may form a rurnl high rchool dlstrlot containing more than seven elementary districts upon a vote of a msjoritg of the qualified voters in each. of the elementary districts vlthin such proposed rural high school district.”

Your letter does not state hov the rural high school district was created, hovever, for the purpoaea of thla opinion ve will assume that it vas lawfully established.

Article 2922b, Vernon’s Annotated Texas Civil rends aa follows: “Rural high school districts as provided for In the preceding article shall be classed as common school districts, and all other dia- trlots, vhether common or independent, composing such rural high sohool dlatrlct shall be re- ferred to Ln this Act as elementary school dlstriots; provided that all Independent school thereto enlarged by the annexation one or more common school districts es pr6vlded in Artlole 29228 shall retain Its status nnd name as an Independent sohool district, and shall continue to operate as an independent school district under the provision8 of the ex- isting lavs and the lavs hereafter enacted governing other independent school dlst+cts, ex- cept as otherwise provided for herein.

Article 2922k. Vernon’s Annotated Texas Civil Stetutes, reads as follovsr

Hon. Ray Lackey - Page 3

“All ruNi1 high schoola vlthin a rural hereln providad for shall be under the immediate control of the board school truetess such rural high achoola, and such board of school trustees shall be under the control and supervision of the counts superintendent and county board of sohool true- tees, and shall be subject to the same provi- sions of lav and restriction8 that WOmpOzI SChOOl are nov subject to. except where otherwise provided herein.” (UnderscorIng ours) Article 2750, Vernon’s Annotated Texas Civil SW- tutes (applicable to common school districts) reads in part as f ollovsr

“Tmstees of a district shall make con- tracts vlth teachers to teaoh the public schools of their district, but the oompensation to a teacher, under a written contract so mde, shall be approved by the county superintendent before the school la taught, stat- that the teacher vi11 teach such school for the time and money specified in the COntrOct. .~ . .* It is