Case Information
*1 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF l’&ZXAS
AUSTIN
Honorable X. 3. kuxm
county Attorney
UcCulloch Countg
Drady, Texas L ..r\,. '.
Dear Sir;
ate08 of.the K'oldrig 01 District aUthGZizcd 8X the buildi.!?? k.llGWIl erage or the land Gpon a locat0d at private nale Ith or wlthout the con- 8 oounty trusteee?
for an opinion of thts.nspsrt- Ion has been reo0loed.
the mldrip Conmon School ountpt dosire to sell th0 teacher- n the echooi kind haretofore dsedsd to of the %%ldrip School. DfKtrict for school ordur to obtain filnns vflih MhlCh to a0 ~ditionol bukl~iog on the school b,uild- a uchool building is not new being: used I'cr school g~~-poms fi~o to tix? fact; that the student3 w-6 011 ott.oading school in another district. xt in not now." th8 1ntenttc.n of the trustsa $3 wmr 2i.9~3 school ut thu %ldrlp 8ahool hollae. Xt 13 the dooira of the truat- *2 honorable 1. J. Burns, Psse 2
em, however, to -sell the -teachersgo end ap;lly the money $0 lwxovements on the school hcuse in order to use the EChGOl house as a co.mq;nity center, and else save insurance that they are now pspiq on the teacherage.
~"Pleaae advise me whether or notthe trustees of the 'Caldrip Co.mmon bohool Diatrict are authorized to sell either the baiLdin known as the taacherage or the building known as thexthe teaoherage an6 the land upon which it is located at private sale for cash, with or ~witbout the consent of the oounty trustees.
Ir they are authcrized to sell this buildiqi, either with or .without the consent of the Cbunty trustees, then ecPfi,se mo whether or not the money derived there- from can lawfully be applied to repair the existing: sohool buildina,, which iB $0 be used for thereafter .oommualty >urposea, such aa relipious eatharin&s, pol$.tioal meetings, social functions, eto., under tha direction of the Board of Trustees of ibuoh dfstrict.W
Two nttttutas in Terns provide for tho sole of sohool property. They are Artioles 2753 and 2773, Vernon*s Annotated Civil Gtatutes. The former statute read8 as followa:
"The trustees of any echool diat~ict, upon the order of ths county trustees preccrlbl~ the terns thereof, when deemod ad*Iseble, may make ~6x10 of any prrpertj belongins, to 6eia school district, and a,7pl.g the prooeeile necessary @xunds to the puchsse or to tha bulLdinji or repa$.rir& of' school hcuoes, or place ths proceeds to the credit of the available sohool runi? of the district.*
) ‘An to iion.
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:.. ,: 502 f!onorabfe i. J. ?3wns, Pegcr 3
f&tie. K; Wilson; -County Attorney, Bey 'City, 33~88, &ate& geptanber 10, 195%; (2) .Gur Dpfnion Ho. O-450.
Numroua d.ecM.ons both in Texas and In other juria- ulotiona point out that sohool tliatrlctg am corporations with pawera. very Ur.ited
W.?bool. districts am Dublie quasi-cxuiclyal oorporati&, 635etluea termd involuntary corpora- tiOAS They w&e contracts, levy texes, and pom3e;l &&rtg. They are orgehized not for the pu?ipue of prcii.t or gain, but solely for the public benefit, and have only such limlteO powera aa nay be necessary for that pur~%ee. They havo thersfore been aaia to bo corpomtlons OS the nest limited powers ]rnowR ta the wOXld.P86%hi8AR Sohool District Y. Pasadena, lG6 Cal. 7, 134 Rec. 985, LSUL Gas, 1015-Y, 1039, 47 L. R. A, (ES) -.692. They are ,but the egsnta of the state for the sole purpose of adtnlnisterlng *the state ogqten of gublio eduostion end hsvs only 6UOh pOW8XB ,RS Ql'% OGnferr%d tXQX83fdy Or by ABCCaS- sary i~pllaation.~ 24 Rcl. 864, Sec. 7, (Op~nlon No. .o-lwO~~*~
as quote Pron the case of IZarlfngen Zmiapartdant sahool Distrfct 'v. Pa@ Rroa., 48 6. w. (zd) 983 628 r0lmt3;
~~ "T!qboerrd of trustees @f6@36586 powers ex- presnly aoaferred upon, it by law or neoeaearily iri- ;il.ied firm the pwm3re so aonferred.*
Corpue Jur3.s points out that progsxty Cevotec¶ to a public WM cm only be d2apoeed of by exsross authority, and a pmernl gave of dinpasition h&in baen held to be restricted to property not nesdad the use of public schools. 55 Cm.
Jur. 437, sec. 417. This authority stateo t!zmF the sale mat be mde ir. ccm~linnce with the term cif the statute, authoriz- iq it, but that substantial procedure:l ccm~llnncs io sut'fi- ciarlt.
7% iheh to atreas the ,faitt that ~111 of those authori- t10s !xlb t&t oohool. bow&a hnva oniy the ezpraea authority ~;iv6t3 th= IR th6 otatut9 aei ~n2.y p:h 3.wliad wma a8 km-4 neocssary to oxeoute suoh siwr?PasE goawera.
via quote from Texa0 Jurlsprudenoe, Vol. 37, page 960 a0 followsr eohool dlstrict~can convey its property
"A only in the mnncr providad by law. 11, by lar, an ~--order of th0 ocmieaioner8~ CGurt, tha oonsont of the county suparintendent, of the state suporintondont or the State Board ol.~LdusetiGn, Is nocassarg tG the validity of a aale, such ordar or oonsantnust bo obtained."
blso see the ceee cf Crouch v. komy, 69 S. I?. 1001.
Zf the provisions of ,"trtSclo 2753, sups, are fol-
Lied, as8wdng; of courno, tbnt fee simple title is in the boerd, sllch title racy bs oonvoywd to a person who is not a mabar of the school board. Said Article Ijrovidss, in ef- fect, that the .trustses of any~school district in rsaking a .aale af any property belon@g to said aohoo1 district mat obtain an order of tbo c,ounty trunteob pzssorlbing the terns of such sale end also p~ovidas t*t tha ~roceadn of mob sale shall be applied to the purc>aao of necessary grounds or to the building or repairing of achooL houaas, or such proceeds nay be placed to the oredit of the available aohool fund of the dietriot.
In viovi of the fcroF,cing .&uthoritisa you are respaat- fully advised that it is the opiriion Gf this Department that the truoteas tba Xaldrip ComGn School Dfstriot are author- ized to sell either tho buildis@ knowi RS the teacheraCe or the land u?nn ;s!iah it Is located, or both, In cosi~llanoe with Article 2753, SUJDX. Eoowever, it is our further opinion that tho p20tmae3 of CIUD~ ad,0 0~ not be used to inprovo or x0- pair R school house Y;?tsn the school house is hot used for school pux~oeee or %sre it is t;ha intention of the trustees that the school house aba1i naver be used again school pur- p0f30Et. The proceeds cf‘ such sala mst be ap:>15.ed to the pur- posts specifically provided for in Arttole 2753, oupra.
Trustin that the foregoir~ fully an&v&r's your in-
quiry, we ar_e
Tour8 vary truly~