Th6 JNl~OsES for Which th6 public fr66 school I’untis my be expended 826 S6t out in &tic16 of Vcr&Gn'ti Amoteted Civil Statutes, 03 follows:

"'2h6 pl;blic free zchool functs shal.1 hot oXCcnd6d 6XO6pt f0r th6 folkowing purposes:

"1. 'ihe State and cwhty ovnil6bl6 funds iksll be used 6Xclusiv6ly for the .~.6:Jc--sr?t of tiscixr3' snd scnerintcndsnts~ 9 3ularis3, fh-23 Ccr takiq tie scho:cst:o

cc29u3, and iaterznt cr. ::coney borrow6 on short ti:ae to psy aakrias of tenchers nnd aupcrintcSdcntS, v:hen theue sal,erias becOn due before .tiis school funds for the current year becLx6 availabla; pro- vidcd that no loam for the g,ur?o~s Sfdi be paid out p3p-znt 0:’ tcachre Of fund9 Ots6r than tkOSG fO2 the then cwrcnt yew.

“2. Local school L^und3 from district to+es, tuititrtl f6e3 of pupils not entitled and other sources may to free tuition 56 used fcr t&o puri;ones enuuer~tod for Etuta end county funds c&d for purcha3izg appliances and supplies, the paymnt Jc-aitors end other of iscuranoe prmiu.m, wployes, for buying school sites, buying, building cd rcpairin6 end renting school houseS, und for other pur~oses~nocassory ir. the ccnduct of the public schools to be datzmined by the Eoard.of Trustacs, the cocoum3 arid muchars for county districts to b6 epprcved by the county superlntcndeut; provided, that II --hen the !;tnte svailnbla school fund in any city OT district is SUffiCieht t0 mintsin the schools thereof in any year for UC least 6ight z!onths, end 1aaVG s SUlplUS, such suq~lus ,my b6 fxpended f-Or th6 >lWpoS63 mentiOh6d her6iiL1*

Eonoroble C6rald Stockard, >op.!e

&?OtiOlI 1 Of Chapter 5 Ol' t&G t.CtE Of the Fourth Csllad Faszion of the Torty-third Legislcture (1931,) aC26d tha ~ollo~~i~~~ section to said Article 2827:

. “3. X11 !.r.dcw,ndant school districts hVi2,s t’i thix t&i= llr,its ZI city *:.eith a popu1n tion Of 160,000 Or aore accorC’lry, to the lnet preceding Padeyal c6nsus &ail, in addition to tin6 pov:ero nox possamad by thez the use a.xl exyerxiiture of 10~~21 scho-01 3s.~~ srid Tcr the issuance of school bonds, be cxpr~.sr.ly authorized and eqowred, .at the optios of the ~overnl~g body of ozy such school distrlc t, in the bugin:: of school sitss ar,d/or nddit:ons to school sites o,?d in the buildir.: of Schcol hxses, to iSSU6 aad delivar notes of the school district, neSotiablc or non-necotiabl6 Torz, xpre- Senti% all pr a part of the purchase price or cozt to the scXoo1 district of tka lend er,d/or build:>3 so purchased 02 built, sad to~3ecuro such notao by a vendor's lien i;zd/or deed of trust lien sp.aizst ouch lsnd and/or SuilEing, and, by resolution or order of tno g;overninc body of the school district mde at or before the delivery such notes, to set csidc OI;~ c?,?propricte as a t,mst fund, agd the sole Xld O.Tiy fiil'ld, iOr t&6 ?ZyEIelit. of the prioci?al of and iotsreat on such -.notes such ;nrt 2nd portion of th6

sc:;ool fur:As, levied 2nd collected by the school district 1~ that yasr k&/or subse- cl,u:nt yc3r6, m We governi% body of the school district any detar.nlne, provided t23t in no event s;1011 the zg::(rejiete amunt of 10~~1 fjchool funcis z&t as1136 ir. or for any subseqient yecr, ten (10%) ner cent of tha locel sahool f\;nds collect& duriw mch year. H

.QI sxaaination of Artiale 2627 discloses that the::a is ;1o crpreso authority t0 US6 the ~?ubl.ic fr66 school funds fo; the purnoses covered by Your quastlons. ?t is well settled that ihe powers of a schFo1 board to expend public free 3chOO1 fUldS~ Or6 limited to the Pur- *4 EonoroblG Gcrold Stockorcl, pags 1*

~o.si;s prGGcr:bed by tDa statutes, !i3rlioCer. IxldegGn- aont School Distriot v. C. H. Pace and Erothcr, 48 C. C. (2d) 913 (Coz111is6ion of A>peeln.) 5

it is true that Article 2227 przsoribGs tnat local school funds zxy be u se6 "for other purposes noc- essnry in the CO3duct of the public schools to bc dG- tarnined by the Doord af TrustGG3.f* Under this provision of the lm::, it has been held th3t tha board of t$ustecs my, v:ithix certci. rl limits, exarcise a discretion as to thy purT0sG.s for kiich the pub110 froc.sohool tinds my Yo%eley v. City of Dallp:s, 17 S., 7:. (26) bG expanded. (Conmission of E.:Qeals.) Xc believe, hoxevm, thet the school bocrd is 113ited in the excrche of its discration to "rur- poaas ncccssery in the conduct Of the public sohools**, and that tlce purposes ' hich are cet out ir. your ques- tions do 3ot qsna within the statutory provasions. ThGrG is fiOthiIl& t0 ir,diCFitG *diet thG G%iGtGIKzG Of tha school trustGe3 or their stotc-wide or~sniz3tion 3oiti:qs in kztate-v&de conventions is 3ecGs1'azy in tho coniluct of thu public schools. As you stat& in your IcttGr, thG?G is no stotutory authority ?or the cres- tioa of state org3fiiz3tion of local sohool board ~GLu- bars, and there is 20 statutory require.aent th3t thGy bclonr? to oilch an orCynizetioo. Xiiatever benefit night accrue to the sohools through the zeabsr&ip of the school trustees ir. the stunts-wide orp2cizotion or their 5GGtiAF.5, IVOUli! r&illOtG att,.Xl&lZCG upon StGtG-Wi6G an6 indirect. :'ie are threforo of tha opinion that t&o 10~31 schoo: board CZ..O~ i3vZull:; USE SC:?OO~ fuads to pay tlie :,enbe.shi:, dues of ‘the ambers Of ~the lOC3l board tlzo state orpnization, nor can ths local Gchool boerd 1wPilly u%G School pnd3 to pGy thG EX- yensas of t,ho local board mmbers imidont to and in- curred by thG3 in their attend&Doe upon iaeetings Of the state org3nizat~on.

Yours very truly