Case Information
*1 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN
c-
April 24, 1939 Honorable K. D. Hall
County Attorney
Refugio, Texas
Dear Sir:
oomaon sohool n independent s having lese stloa, and what d Issue oommls- trustees elected.
response to the rollowing puce t ione : I
canvas8 the returns and deolare’ 4. Iu independent school diatriota of less than rive hundred scholaatios?
Artiole 2745, Rev$&ad Civil Statutes, provides idr an eleotion to ba held on the first Saturday in April of eaoh year ror the selection of trustees ror common school dietriots.
Artiole 2740, Revised Civil Statutes, provides that “said trustees may appoint three persons for each voting box *2 Hon. X. D. Hall, April 24, 1939, Page 2
a? ': of the district, who shall be qualified voters of the dis- trict and who shall hold such election and make returns thereof to said trustees within five days after such elec- tion." After making further provisions relative to the conduct of the election, the Article then provides that "said board of trustees shall meet and oanvass the returns of said election within five days after returns have been made, and declare the result of said election and issue to the persons so elected their commissions as suoh trustees and shall notify the county judge or the oounty superintendent, If the oounty has a superintendent."
Artiale 2746ag.';Revlsed Civil %atutes as amended In 1935, reads as r0110wg8
"All or the ballots ror the election or a school trustee in common school diatrlots and in Independent sohool dintriots having fewer than five l@ndred (500) soholastioa as shown by the last preoedlng sohoastlo oensus roll approved by the State Department of Eduoation and exoluslve ortpans- iers shall be printed with black Ink on clear white pa- per, of 8Uifioient thiohness to prevent the marks them- on being seen through the paper, and be of uniiorm style and dimension; at the top or the ballot there Independent shall be printed 10rrlolal Ballot, Sohool Dlstrlot',. the number or mm-the sohool district in which the eleotion la to.be held,to be filled In by the Judge of the oounty when he orders the ballots printed. Any person desiring to have his name plaoed on said oiflolal ballot, as a oandl- date ror the orrioe or trustee 0r a mumon sohoo3 distriot or of an independent school diatriot es herein provided shall, at least ten days 'berors said almotion, rile a written request with the oounty judge of the County In which said distrlot Is located, requesting that his name be placed on the offiolel ballot, and no candidate shall have his name printed on said ballot unless he has complied with the pro- visions or this Act; proyided that five or more residsnt qualified votera-in the dlstriot may rep- quest that certain names be printed. The oountg dudge, upon reoeipt of suoh written request, and at least five days before the election, shall have the ballots printed as provided in this Aot, plaodng on *3 Hon. K. D. Hall, April 24, 1939, PaEe 3
;r
the ballot the name of each candidate who has
complied with the terms of this Act, and de-
liver a sufficient number of printed ballots
and amount of supplies necessary for such
election to the presiding officer of the elec-
tion at least one day before said election is
to be held, said election supplies, ballots,
boxes, end tally sheets to be delivered by the
county judge by mail or in any other manner by
him deemed best, to the presiding officer or said eleotion. in sealed envelopes which shell not be
opened by'the election orrloer until the day.oi the election. The expenses of printing the bal- lots and delivering same to the presiding orrioer, together with other expenses inoldental to said election shall be paid out of the avellable main- tenance funds belonging to the sohool dlstriot in which said eleotlon la held, or to be held. The orricers 0r mid election shall be required to
use the ballots so furnished by the county judge as provided herein. The eleotlon otfioers shall' make returns of said eleotlon to the county
judge and certiry the result in the same manner as isnow required by law,, and said ballot boxes rihloh shall have been furnished by local school Oifi- ciels shall be sent to the oouuty judge and said eleotlon returns shall be oanvassed by the Com-
mdssioners* Court Andy together with ballot boxes shall be sarely preserved for a period of three months next after the date of the election.*
Article 2776 Rev1ae.d Civil Statutes re ates general- 8"1 ly elections for Independent school alstriots. t provides ror
returns to be oanvaseed by the board or trusteesor the dls- triot in whioh the election is held. No express amendment has been made to that statute sinoe 1915. r-V - Article 2746a was enaoted substantiallJi in itspre-
sent r0m in 1925. Chapter 128 page 329 General Laws of Texas, Thirty-ninth Legislature. Thene'was an amendment thereto by the Forty-fourth Legislature i&*1935 but the amendment did not touoh upon the question with which we are here conoerned. & noted above, Article 2746a provides for election returns to be canvassed by the Commissioners' Court. In respect to the body which should canvass the returns, declare the results and is- sue oertifioates of eleotion, Article 2746a superseded Artlole 2776 es to independent sohool districts having a scholastic population of less than rive hundred, as shown by the last scholastic census's011 approved by the State Depart- preceding 7.
Hon. K. 1). Hall, April 24, 1939, Page 4
nent of Education, It was expressly held in the case of Thomas v. Mccown, 94 S. N. (2d) 839,Yhat an election in an independent school district having less than five hundred scholastics was not completed until the returns had been canvassed by the Commissioners* Court, as provided in Article 2746a.
Our answer to your second and fourth questions therefore is that the Commissioners * Court of the county in which an election is held in en independent school district of less than five hun- dred scholastics is the body which should canvass the returns, declare the result, and issue commissions to trustees elected.
- There has not been a great deal of change in the reading of Article 2746 since Its original enactment. It appeared as Article 2819 and 2820 in the oomplete Texas statutes of 1920. That article relates to elections in common school distriota. White Artiole 2746a related to all oommon school distriots, it will be noted that the same did not cover all of tha field occupied by Article 2746. The last mentioned Article provided for the appointment of persons to hold the elections, for notioe of elections, and far’ the rlxlng of the place thereof. Therefore, it is apparent that 2746a <did not repeal Article 2746 in whole. It Is probable, however, that ~Artiole 2746a did supersede Article 2746 as pertains to the body which should canvass returns and declare the results of such elections until the aii&niment and re-enactment of Article 2746 in 1937. In that year Article 2746 was am6naed in oertain respects, and was substantially re-enaoted. Such statute as re-enaoted provides that the board of trustees shall canvass the returns of .’ auoh elections and declare the results thereof and Issue coinmissions to $he trustees eleotede
A new enactment abrog,ates any former aot on the same subject with which it clearly ,and manifestly conflicts to the extent of the Inconsistency or repugnancy between the two. Whit- tenberg v. Craven, 258 S. W. 152; ~St. Louis B. & Y.L. Co. v. Maicofich, 221 5. W. 522; 30 Tex. Sur- p. 137. Article 2746 having been re-enacted In 1937, subsequent to the passage of Article 2746a; had the effect .of superseding Article 2746a, so far as common school districts are concerned in respect to the body which shall canvass the returns, declare the results and issue oomml.9sions.
Our answer to your first and third questions, therefore, is that the board of trusteea?'of the common school district in which the election is held is the proper body to canvass the returns, declare the results and issue commissions to the persons *5 Hon. K. D. Hall, kpril 24, 1939, Page 5,
elected.
Yours very truly A,O?NEY~ OF= (Sipned) BY Glenn R. hwis Assisaant GFU:MR