Seation 11, kcts 1950, Oh. 404, p. lE59, known ~a thi fiural Aid Len provides as~follows: Vet. il. Transportetion Aid. The Coun ~Zhaperin-

tendents an6 County Lahool Board are hereby a:. rized z%ie to set up a system 0r tramtportatlon for the purpose of *2 30x1. A. L. Aikin, jr., Lay 2, 1939, ?e;;e 2 Lir:h schocl pupils fro% their di>:i.ricts, to

trtifX3IjOrtigg the nearest convenient accredited high school. 'r'he expense of SUCL trans>ortatiou s:;aLi iie gaid out of Lbe funds hereby provided, not exceed 'i'wo ($2.00) Doliers per aer a.0ot.h. Provided, further, that iu districts COD;- pupil posing au enzire comity, high school transportation aid as authorlzeU ixi this iection my be granted for the pumose of transportiug high school pupils within such districts to the most convenient accredited high sohool.

*It is further provided that the districts through whiah theee buses travel away maks pro~Ie1ons with the County Superintendent anti the County Sahool Board to hare any other ahildren not provided tar herein, tramported within and between their respective distriota, said dlstriot amy make application for State aid thereon to an amount not to exaeed One (#LOO) Dollar per month per pupil. Provided, that where regular bneee do not run in sparsely settled sections of eountlea which era operating under a aow+y unit ayatsa, the CountyMhoolBoard and, County Superintendent are authorized to.make prorlalona for transportation of puplla within raid dlstrlqJia, an&may make application for State aid thereon to en' amount not to exceed One ($1.001 Dollar wr month Der reap;otmtkvtranepo&ation aahool-dint-riot in wbieh there exiata two sahool planta, one or whioh ir a first class (4) year high aobool and whidh aaid four plants are separated by a distanoe of not less than two one-half (2 l/2) xJ1.s."

Article 2922a, Chapter 196, Revised Civil 8tatutea. 1926, B amended providea for the formation or organization of rural igh school districta by grouping aontigaous distrits or annexing &lying distriats to a aantral conmmx or independent sahool dlstriat 3r purposes of maintaining a high sohool. Such dlstriats may be armed so as to aontain more than 100 aquare miles (Art. 29220).

In Chastain v. Mauldin, (T.C.S. 1930) 52 6. W. (2d) 295,

he aoart used the following eignifiaant language:

"In the L~c?ha:i Caseabove, Judge iooney ix hoMinE constitutional the provisions of Chapter 19a, 'itlo 49, sets forth very clearly the purposes and effect cf that legislation. as there pointed out, the gr uping provided for does nrt have .the effect of abolishing tbe several districts in the group. ke also Limestone hoard v.

V~ilson ('ier.Civ.Ap;).) 5 S. Z. (26) 605. It merely groups thee: Sor hl~h school purposes and places the Crouped board in charge of' all OS the schools in the district, thus abolishing the several district boards. 30 a&ion of any obaraoter was taken which either attempted or had the eifeot oi abolishing the tither Creek dlstrlot, and under the faots as found by the oourt (that the average dally attendance was 20 or more) the dlstrlot oould not have beon abolished or oonsolldated with~any other d%etrlat without a rote OS the texpayercr, which was not bad. B. 83. art. Z98SI. Th6 trustees of the grouped diatrlet were lnve8teb with the power oharged with the duty of oonduating sohools and of ahinlsterlng all sohool property and fund& oi all the'distrfats within the boundaries of the oosmolldated dis- taut% But they did not have the right to divert pkoperty or funds of one dlstriot to &other, or to the grouped xW3trict. . .I

IwCounty Board of 6obool Trustees of Limesto& County v. Ullaon, (T.C.A. 192S) 5 6. P. (Zd) 805, it was stated:

(I Such authority, however, Is merely to group suoh &riots for the purpose of roraing a'rvlrsl high sohool dlstriot . . . Said artioles also provide for the oonttil and management or the aohoola in suah dlstilots end define the relatiotis between the high sohool anq::the elementary schools to be maJntained therein . . . vii two or more distrlots,are consolidated under the artlo~&3 above re$errqd to, (arts. ZSO!?to 2815) eaohdlstrfot lose&i its separate ldentitg, unletis It be fpr oertaiti~Slmited purposes in connection with taxation, and they F&ether thereafter eonstltute a single district as though they had never had separate existenae. In saoh oases elementary eohools may be located by board or trustees of the consolidated district as need therefor may appear.

h. S. art. 2811. On the oontrary, when two or more oommon sohool districts are grouped to form a high sshool~district, aa above shown, each of such dlstriate retains its identity, and separate elementary sohools must be Mint&tied therein. R. 5. art. 2922r. . .*

Hon. A. Ii. Aikin, l:,ay 2, 1939, ?are 4

As vie lntarpret Ciia;dter 19-A sni tt:f. Scrc~cinF case*, a' rural Ii! [:h r;CLOOi dir-trict is essentially a zwtzol SizLrict super- *pored u?on sovercl col;tIcuou? districts for t!;e :xrpose cf xa:n- tainlng a iJ!;-h school for their coxr~on benefit. The underlying districts xaintaln tt:ir separate iiientitics and separate elezectary schools zust be maintaIned therejn. 'ihe high school dirtrlct doea not accurately include the several elercentary districts as such but there is a horizontei severance c?f the upper grades Prorc the original distriCtS, so to speak, fom the rurel hfeh school dictrfct.

'6e are of the opinion that elementary pupils. oi underlying elerentaly school distrioto are not entitled to.@Z.OO per month .per pupil for transportation aid as pupils of a rural high sohool dlstriot for traneportatlon to or between their respeotive elemen- tary districts but would be entitled to $1.00 per pupil per month under the first sentenoe or the second paragraph of Seotion ll, b&6 1957, Chapter 474, page 1259. High eohool pupils of the rural dlstrlot having 100 bquare lriles or more would be ~.s~hool entitled to.#2.00 per pupil per month as transportation al&. The above oonoluslono are aubjeot ot oourse to the oondition .that the dlmtrlate am otherwire oomplylng with the provisions of the fiural Ai law.

Your8 very truly ATTOFU4ZYGENI1JERALOFTEXAS BY

APPROVED