Case Information
*1 OFFICEOFTHEATTORNEYGENERAL OFTEXAS T h e l leotlon off- 0 deolArQd o on- sioaer r Catrt, Sam0 a asty Lla a Cotwfma ed suit la District dated trr, or the trustees from- Sch-501 Dfatrlat #4 aai~ to the ependeat 9ahool and took tbe oath ce as txw4t;ew In the Woo&3on Inde- peabent Yckmol Dfotrlet. After ths Dlatriot Court set aslds the ~oaaolldstlon ardur, da- olaring it ml1 an& void, the two trustees re- Formr positions 88 oerted t)attii to tair *2 .ton. T. 2. ?rlr&le, Kay 13, 1939, T'age 2
trustee; cf :2uuaty Line Sxmon :Amol 3ls- trict 24 kt:: be:y~ to tracsact business ea they did be-fcre they took the oat?. of offloe et ~.?OGdYUC :n3epe11deat .;cZool. Cn the first day cf Lpril, Comon ~~c!iool Xstrlct '4 held an electlcm flad elected three trustees.
NOW, what I want to know is which of these trus- tees s?Yo!II.~.T recomize to traxsact buslnesa, the t!ree t?-&Ht was elected on the first or April, or sf-.e old trustees that have be- eatlag in that capacity all the tine? Did the traete6a diaquelSry themselves rhea they took the oath of offloe at lvoodson to serve ae trostees 0r the County Line Comma Sohool nistriet #44*
When the Dlstriot Co&t by judgmeot set a8ide the ooneolldatloa order end deolsrea it au11 and void, wa8 to hold the county Llae the OrrOot or such judgment Comoa Sohool Distrlet #4 aad Woo&ma Iadepemdeat Sohool Distriot were never In raot ooa8olidated. vfhea the two trustees from the Couaty Liae Common Sohool Dl6+riot #4 quuliiled a8 trusteaa of the Woodaoa Iadepeabent Sehool Dlstriat they no doubt purported to qualify as trusm or the Consolidated Diatrlct, haowa by the nsme of ths Iadepeadeat aahool Dlstriot. See Article 8800, Revised Civil Statutes.
The Dlstrlot Court, however, has held that there ras no ooneolldated diatriat and therefore. there was no orfloe for uhloh these trustees aotlld qualuy. The two school distriots retained the seme atutus whloh they bed theretotort had before the eleatloa, aad the three old members continued es trastees of the Couaty Line Comma 3chool Nstrict ,#4 as though no eleotioa hsd been held to ooneolidats.
Artlole 2745 provides that on the first Saturday la April of each yaar one trustee shall be eleated yho shall serve for e terra of three years. It rurther pro- vides that *all vecenaiea shell be filled by the aouaty board of trustees for the rtmelnder of the term la whloh ehe veaenoy OOOUF~.~
Eon. '7. :. Tri.s.ble, gay i3, 1533s. 'iaPe 3 :.mit!? vlj. Xorton Independent khool 9lstrlct In (T. C. A. 1935, writ disrhsed) 85 3.:' (2nd) 653, t;ie court ?ield:
Vn April 7, 1X54, six new Lzmt!2er3 of t.:e ?su+d :vere elected. n. /; . hx+Jy beir,q tl-e hold-over .zeTbcr ol" the I!oar+ of t'lrce SW%- bor3 a3 it c*i.Std nt t?.e A,nte o? t!,e elec- titin, 83 str?teC r~bove, under tke 2~1-3 on!.y two nmbera could have been legaily elected. It is said that: *The main design of election la.79 is to aecure a fair cxpreasicn of the pop&zu will - t0 aSC8rt8d.n the will Of the ale&ore and seOur8 the rights of the duly qualified voters.. 16 Tsx. Jur. 1.035. It the voters have the ri@t to elect only two SMXI and the eleoticn is so ordered and oon- duoted that Six are eleotad, the purpose Of the low IS defeated. Xeith8r the el8OtiOn authxitles nor the courts oan eay whloh tw0 or the six are de Jure OfiiO8rfL In our row of goierllpont eleotions must be held,by virtrlie of 801ri8 legal authority, end an electidn held without afiirinative Statutory authority or .oontrary to a kaaterial provision of the law Is unfrarsally held to be a nullity. 23 C. J.
95, 380. 76; Simpson YS.~Taitlsr, 176 Ark.
1093, 5 3W (2nd) SbO; Boone va. Gtat8, 10 Tc& App. 418, 98 Ann. Rep. 641. An irPe(rlular- ity which afQ3ots the merits of the eleotion and defeats the intended legal reeults if! a nullity. 9 R. C. L. 1092; 25 Fi. C. L. 772, Sec. 19.
"'We, therefore, corclu6s that the eleo- tlon of six trustees of the Morton Indepan- dent School District is not authorized by law.'
There being no suco8Saor elected to the plaoe of tha trustee whose term wa:? exIirlng there is a tacanoy in sald office within the Beaning of krtiole 2745, oited above an5 e trustee may he appointed by the County Board
Bon. T. :A Trimble, ?:ay 13, 1939, i:age 4 of school Trustees to fill said vacancy. Clark vs. However, Xornell, (7. C. A. 193::) 65 3% (2nC) 350. the old trUatee iOr Whom a swcessor WEQ not elected shall coztiriue to hold wer and perform the Alties of i:is of?%ce until his Buoo88sor has been duly eleot- ed or appointed and qUalifi8d. Terad Co-!st., /u-t. XNX , ..ie c . 17; cowan vs. Capps, 278 3% 283; >-,ate VS. Zordan, (T. C. X. 1930, writ diSffiidJ8d) 28 YYi (Znd) 921.
It is tharefore our OpiniOn that the three mwb0r8 of the former board OS trustees of the County Line Common School District Ho. 4 donstitute de jura mmbers of eald Board fullr qualified to act as suoh with one vacancy subjeot to be filled by appolntmant by the County Bo+wd of Sohool Trustees.
Yours very truly ATTGRt?EY GENERALOF TEXAS By &
- AGrLM.A + Oeo 1 C. Cama& Asslatant CCC:Al%
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