Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1946 )

‘a OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
GROVERSELLERS
ATrO”NWGCNLIAL
Aon.John C. Marbur@c
county Attarno~
PaTotto County
LaOrange, Tcxam
Dear Slrr oplnlon MO. o-7147
Ret Uhetthm recmiptr of mchool
dirt&et 8umt k depomited
ln rchool depomltory aad
related mttelr
"I have Jurt ~eceiv
froa the COuzeJ SuperlIlt
14 to l8slrt t
vho indicate
c recelptr the
during tb rchool
total amount allotted.
Ural Aid rchool dimtrlcta
e and loaal maintenance tax
These depoalts do not
at reported OQ in the Deposlto~'r
a copy of vNch 1~ rent to the
State Departmnt of Sducatlon.
"Deporltlng ncelptr (a&m01 money) in rpeclal
lccouatr ir illegal bocaumr the Depomltory mrt ra-
port and account for all lohool ronor. But, it 11
papeat&, tbore rmcrlptm am deducted fra the awkmt
659
Hon. John C. Mrburger - Page 2
oi state aid to vNoh ths district is entitled.
'Therefore, the quertlon vNoh ve 001 ask
is this - isa7a meadlag school district pa7 bus
tMB8pOFtatiOB l~EIS~S, all or part of a teacherto
ralaw, etc.. for the recalvlng school district?
"For exuple, the LUbaBge Indepetient School
District (the reoelvlng dlstrlct) transports all
grader above the fifth of the Eolmn School Dls-
trict (sends dlstrlct~8M mbs brlilnble to thou
811 tlmlduaatlaml faellltle8 orfered to its mm
pupilr. In retum, or a s l amslderatlaa, ths
ROU ComMB School Dlstriot pa78 b7 van-ant
#l%O.OO to L&ramge for this rerrlce. L&range,
it it deporitr thi8 Peeeipt to ltr Available School
fuad (ths memo7 Is paid b7 Iiolmn fror its Avall-
able School fund and/or it8 Looal ~inteMnc8 tax
fund) or its Local Maintenance tax fund, till have
$lggO,OO deducted from it8 allotted Rural Aid
"Rov - if Bolman r7 pa7 part of one teaoher's
salar7 and/or a portion of ths garollne, 011 and
repair bills, etc. iOr th8 -range Independrnt
School District, this sum of )lg90.00 vi11 not appear
as a receipt in the LaDrange Independent School
District's port&m of the hpositor7'r ABBual 8tat8-
mnt. It vi11 on17 appear as a di8bursemnt b7
Holrsr to an lndlvldual for SOlViCe rendered for the
Rolmn colmoo School Dlstrlot iB the Deposltor7'r
B Statemat aridtNs practice vlll perult all
our Rural Aid Dirtriot: to aontlnue to quallf7 for
State Aid rons7. . . .
The above oonaluder ttm question propounded to 7ou
b7 the Count7 Superinteadait, and four requert and opiaion
t&NN WEitiBUO8 a8 fOllOWI
don. John C. Marburger - Page 3
"In connection vlth tNs request, I vlsh to
refer 7ou to your Opinion lo. O-6931, and it ap-
pears to me that the authority thsreln cited ansvers
tNs question. In addition I am also herevlth en-
closl~g a 0097 of an opinion that the depository
received from its attorne7, vNoh u7 also be help-
ful in ansvering the above questions.
*You am further advlmed that the First IIatloBal
Unk of L&r-e is the dul7 #elected and qualified
County Deposlto~,aml fbrtherthttha Ldtmnge In-
depeldent Sohool Distrlat levies axnloolleotr a
maintenance tax for the purpose of supplemefit~
the Availabls School Pund rscelved from the State and
CouBt7.
"You am further advised th&t The ?lrat !?atlonal
Bank of LaDrange la also the dul7 selrcted and qual-
ified deposltorJ for the L&range IBdepend&nt School
District.
*In ldcCorke1v. District Trustee8, etc., 121 S.W.
(26) 1048, (no vrlt) it van held that a quasi public
corporation, such as a 8chool dlstrlct, vNch oven
special dut7 to ths public, ms7 not enter into m7
contract not express17 authorlaed b7 lav or necessarll7
implied from povers expressl7 granted. The same case
also holds that
"'The statute does Bot luthorlse bfndlng
cantracts betveen ths trustees of the tvo
dlstrlcts under ths clrcumstaBcesof said case,
as contrxts am ordlrurll7 understood.* SO8
also Thompson v. Elmo InbOpOBdOBt School
District, 269 S. U. 86.
"Therefore, l? the above is true, the Bolmn
School Dlstrlct could not oontract vlth the I&range
School District for the payment b7 the Holman School
Dlrtrlot or the bill8 O? tb LaD-0 Mao01 DlStrlet,
vhether vlth or vlthout CoBrideratioB. I? It is slid that
the OOBSidOratiOn for ths payment of thse bills ID in-
8tructloB of ths Holvn ptalls, then certain17 the
LaDrange School Dlstrlot is Ircelvlng rbluabl8 aonsld8ra-
tlon and certain17 must be reported as receipts as la
661
“
BOB. John C. Marburger - Page )4
1,
required b7 5. B. 167, 49th Laglslature,Regular
c
Scsslon, being Article 2, Seotlon 1 of said Bill
as it appears on page @I2 0r Volume 5, Vernon'8
i
Texas Session Lav Service, vNch article and section .
1s quoted in full in your Oplnlon Ro. O-6931. said +
Bill specl?lcall7 requlras that the LaDrange School
District is required to report. . . . mlscellaneou8
receipts. It appears to ms that if the LaOrange
School Dintriot vere not required to report such
payments, evea I? legal, thsB it vould be possible
to evade ths real purpose of the Rural Aid Lav. As
I understand the Rural Aid Lav, its purpome is to
assist all schools in need, and in order to dotemine
tNs, said school districts mat report their total
as vell as their total reaelpts, a&iii
dl ?erence.vlll represent their need, vNch the State
=F='
attempts to satisfy. I? ths above mentioned pa7msnts
or receipts made by the Holmsn School District for
the LaOrange School District vere not required to be
reported, it seems to me that the LsGrsnge District
vould not be reporting all receipts, because after
all, the L&range Dlstrlct 8ould certalnl7 be re-
celvlng the benerlt 0r payments made for and in Its
behalf.
*I did not get to search ths authorltles as
thorough17 as I vould have liked to, but it strikes ms
that the Rural Aid Lav attempt0 to help schools l.nnoed,
and therefore, for the schools to be fair vith tr
State, the7 should be required to report a 1 recel ts
vhether they am received direct17 or lndu
possible, ve vould also like to have your OpiniOB on
whether or not the deposltor7 Is authorized to make such
payments, and for this purpose and for the othsr ques-
tions submttted, I am herevith enclosing the above
msntioned cop7 of the opLnion rendered to the depository.
“So please let us have 7our oplnlon on ths above
matters at the earllest possible dat8.'
We quote from thr opinion of ths attorne7 for the bank
vNch 7ou sent us, as ?ollovsl
"You have asked our oplnlon on certa%n questiQII8,
hrelnafter set out, lrl8lng out 0r the r0ii0wkg fact
sltuatlon. The LaOraage Independent School Dirtriot
has offered for deposit 8 varrant papble to it, issued
662
BOB. JohnC.Rarbu~Re~ - Page 4
by ths Ulncheate~ Comon School Dlstrlct lo. 17,
in the Bum 0r f5oo.00, to be paid out or ths Avall-
able Fund of the Winchester District as a pa7tsent
under its contract for tuition. You vere requested
to deposit tNs amount In the Buslneas Admlnlstratlon
Fund, vhtoh, I understand, has not been recognlsed
as an account covering school ?uads, In explanation
or that request 7ou vere advised that if the Qeposlt
van m&is to school tunds, thereb7 made to appear OB
your snnual report to the State &XpOriBtOBdeBt, the
LuOrsnge District vould lose certain State aid. The
Flrst Rationat Bank la depositor7 for both dlstrlcts.
"You ask, first, vhether the bank can place a
varrant payable to a school dlstrlot for vNch it is
depositor7 In an bcoount other than an account recog-
nlaed a~4 designated as ooverlng sahool ?unda; seaond,
vhether the bank can legally pa7 a varrant dravn b7 8
district for vNch it 1s depository, vlthout llsblllty,
I? the varrant la deposited by ths payee, school dls-
trict, In some other bank,
“Ve have had the benefit of an Approved Opinion
No. of the, Attorney
o-6931 General of Texas, dated
November 23, 1945, vhereln he rules that a Rural High
School la required to deposit school funds in the de-
pository bank and no other. We have cxtenF.ed our
search of ths statutes and authorltles to detersline
vhether independent school dlatrlcts and COLUSO~school
dlstrlcte are subJect to the same restrlctloas. . . .
(citing nupbrous luthorltles)
n Ye ttirefon l.c~ of the opinion that the
W ai tie&x31tory is not required to inquire Into the
valldlt7 of a varrmt, but is responsible for the pa7-
sent 0r a varrant vhere It has knovledge or fact8
rendering ths transaction Improper, or vhere the varrant
OB Its face discloses it Is improper.
“The First Aatlmrl 0ank of I&range la depositor7
for both or the districts under considerationhere, 00
that it could not den7 having knovledge of ths lllegallt7
or ths deposit or a varrant 0r the one district in
another bank. In our opinion th8 bank r7 not pay such
varrant vlthout rirk to ltselr. lie,therefore, snsver
ths second question Sn the negative,
663
BOB. John C. Marburger --Page 5
‘I
‘Ys are not unavare that these trantactlons
1sa7also lmpome llabllltles UPOB the various
trustee8 or the oount.7superintendent,but the
fact that the trustees 587 have to account in their
individual capacity for iunds vNoh the7 do not
deposit in ths authorlsed deposltorJ, or that they
may bs liable to ths authorlsed depositor7 for ten
per cent of the 8~ the7 failed to deposit therein,
vould BOt avoid the fact that the depositor7 right
also be liable. Tha depository could not use ths
llablllt7 of an7 other person a8 a defense to an7
claim against it.
%e do not undertaka to render an7 oplnlon OPI
the duties and llahlllt:es of the various rchool
districts or their offlcere since you are lntereertcdb,,le17
ln ths remponslbllltlesand duties of the bank. Eovov,,,.
since it has been suggested to you that the one school dis-
trlat pays aortain bills of the LaOx+angeDistrict, vs do
ma7 that in our opinion, this cannot be done. The POV,,~
of the trustees to SpSBd funds la on17 that vNah 1s
granted b7 statute and then, la no authorltatlon of sny
dlstriot to pay the debt8 of another."
0plNo1.1Ro. o-6931 of tNs Department holds:
1. It Is not legal for a school district to depnsit
school ?unds ln an7 bank other than the school deporltor7.
2. A school dlstrlot seeklng State aid aunt repqpt -
all
income In order to qualify for State aid.
We enclose herevlth a cop7 of Opinion Ao. O-6931.
ArtlCl8 II, Section 1, Senate Bill 167, 49th Lrelmlatur8
of Texas, reads aI ?ollovsI
"Article II, TRE APPLICATIOR FOR SlYATRAID."
%ectloB 1. The trusteer of ths dlstrlcts
authorlted to lpp17 for aid under the provlslons of
tNs Aat shall soad to the State Superintendent of
Public Inrtructloa on font provldad b7 said Authorltl,
vNch font have been approved b7 the Isglslatlve
Accouttaat, all ln?olstlon that ma7 be rewired. Yslq
foru vi11 inolude a budget b7 vNch th8 Wunt Of
Sala aid to vNahe~lschool vi11 be lllglble rhall be
deterrined. Ths w Ott &a shovn in tald budnet vlu
r 664
* Bon. John C. Warburger - Page 6
include the state and county available and local
maintenance balances browht forward from the we-
ceding year. state and county avallable and local
melntenancs receiDt8 for the current Year. tuttlon
to be collected locallf. and miscellaneous receipta.
The expendltun vi11 iaclude salarler of teacher8
as deterdried b7 tba #alar7 schedule stated herein,
and a mxlru of Tvo Hundred Ten Dollars ($210.00)
per teaaher per year in lcore6lted schools and OBe
XuBdred Hinet Dollars ($190.00) per teacher per year
in uaaccredlted 8ohools for other current expenses;
provided that I? for either year of the blennllu ths
Salary Aid Alloaatlon shall be lnsu??lclentto
guarantee the said Tvo Hundred Ten Dollars ($210.00)
and f&e IhrndredHinet Dollars ($190.00) for CllPl’OBt
operatIng.expeBses,the State Superintendent,vIth
the approval of the LeglslatIve Acoountant, is em-
povered to reduce all grants for that purpose proportlon-
ately. The total amount of amwove emendlture less the
total amount of receipt8 vi11 be the Mount of Salary Nd
to which a school vi11 be ellalble~ provided in BO ease
vi11 8uch amount exceed the approved amount of teachers
salaries. The State Superintendent shall, subdect to
the provlrlons of tN8 Aot, upon bPPrOVa1 Of tkn Legis-
latlve Accountant grant to tb rchool an amount of aid
am ~111, vlth state end count7 available funds, together
with all other funds including tuition, mslntaln ths
school for such a period aad in such e manner am
authorized in tN8 Act; provided that 8chool dlstrlcts
qurll?yIng for salar7 ald under the provlsloB8 of tNs
Act 1~37use this aid either to malnteln a school in the
horn district or to provide school ?acllltl8s for ths
bona fide szholastlcs of ths dlstrlcts in 8om other
school or higher rank. Ths appllcatlons sbll bs
SVOA to by the county superlnteadent or all CoaOB
School Dlstrlcts and pre#ideBt~aBd secntar7 Of th8
board of trustee8 of all fpdependent School Dlrtrictr
appl7Ing for aid. sohool districts lc o ep tlBagla under
the provloloBs of this Act shall 8&l% in the dlstrL-
butlaa of State and county lvallable sohool vo and
in all other funds am herein ma7 br provided. (Pnder-
scoring oure).
You 8XU respectful17advIsed tht tt 18 tbr 0piJllonor this
I
665
Bon. John C. krburgsr - Pqe 7
department th&t you and the attorney for tha bank hvr
correctly ansvered the question8 submitted.
I
Very truly your8
r.-------
UJPlbt *