Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1947 )

TB[E
TEXAS R-431
May 28, 1947
Hon. L. A. Woods, State Superintendent
Department of Education
Austin, Texas
Attention: Hon. T. M. Trimble
First Assistant
Dsar Sirs:
Opinion No. V-219
Re : Constitutionality of
Art. 2676, v.c.3.
We refer to your request of recent date acknowl-
edged by the Attorney General on May 2, 1947, with attached
letter from Han; J. II. McDonald, President of the Board of
Trustees of the Navasota Independent School District, con-
cerning the recent electi.on held in Crimes County for the
election of a county school trustee at large. The Board of
Trustees is of tht opinion that Article 2676, V.C.S., inso-
.far as it seeks to disfranchise voters i.n all school dis-
tricts except common and consolidated independent school dis-
tricts is invalid and unconstitutional. At the instance. of
the President of said Board, you request to be advised as
to the constitutionality of Article 2676, V.C.S.
Article 2676, V.C.S., as amended by Acts 1934, 43rd
Legislature, 2nd C. S., Ch. 48, provides in part:
“The general management and control of
the public free schools and high schools in
each county, unless otherwise provided by law,
shall be vested in five (5) county school
trustees elected from the county, one of whom
shall be elected from the county at large by
the qualified voters of the common and con-
solidated independent school districts of the
county, and one from each Commissioner’s Pre-
cinct by the qualified vc$ers of each Commis-
sioner’s Precinct, . . .
. ,,
Hon. L. A. Woods - Pa‘ge 2
Under Article VII, Section 1, Constitution of
Texa s, the establishment and maintenance of public free
schools is made a State object. The power granted to the
Legislature in Section 3 of Article VII to create school
districts and to the Board of Trustees to maintain public
free schools therein in order to effectuate this State
object is necessarily governmental. 37 Tex. Jur ., p. 865.
By Article 2676, V.C.S., the general management and con-
trol of the public free schools in each county is vested in
five county school trustees, elected as provided therein, ,, .,
and under Article 2683, V.C.S., such trustees so elected are
constituted a body corporate under the name of the County
School Trustees.
The power of election of officers for public of-
fice resides originally in the people. They may provide,
by the Constitution which they adopt, how the power shall
be exercised, or they may leave it to the Legislature, as
their representatives, to provide,by law for the selection
of said officers In such manner as will secure the best
service for the public. In the absence of constitutional
provisions for the method of filling public offkes, the
method is to be determined by the Legislature. 30 an of-
fice created by the legislature is wholly within that body’s
power, and it may prescribe the mode of filling the off ice,
and from time to t lme it may change the mode. 46 Corpus
Juris, p. 950, and cases cited therein; Williamson v. lane,
52 Tex. 335.
The Texas Constitution provides no method for f ll-
ling the offices of county school trustees; thus, it is
within the power of the Legislature to prescribe the method.
The Legislature, by its enactment of Article 2676, has ex-
ercised its authority and discretion in the matter. It has
determined that the qualified voters of common and Consoli-
dated independent school districts shall elect the County
school trustee at large, that the qualif led voters in each
of the Commssioner’s Precincts shall elect one county
school trustee from their Commissioner’s Precinct, which
determination, in our opinion, cannot properly be construed
as a disfranchisement of the voters of the county.
The elective franchise is not a right that is
t-,atrir,li, God-given, inali.enable, or inherent, but is a right
~:::r~r‘c:-r~r! by the State or body politic. 1.6 Tax. Jur., page
3 :i . :.,-i;.her the Constleution ncr the Texas statute confers
l”h. : ‘:::I:. on ~11 qucllified v9te~:rr: in a caunty to vote for
T,,,> ? :~;iii,jr ::~hcl~l trustee ot l~rgt?, or, :ndeed, to vote for
,iI! :L:~ ;x;n!,~:t :! on the County tio:~rrl. Under Art :.cle 2676,
Hon. L. A. Woods - Page 3
all the qualified voters of the county are represented by
the five members on the County School Board, and each member
of the Board represents all the people in the county.
The discretion of the Legislature in’ this matter
not being abusive, arbitrary or in violation of any con-
stitutional provision, we advise that Article 2676 is con-
stitutional. Our former Opinions Nos. 0-2066, O-3235 and
O-7293, advising that only qualified voters of common and
consolidated independent school districts may vote for the
county school trustee at large, are hereby confirmed.
SUMMARY
Article 2676, V.C.S., providing for the
election of county school trustees is consti-
tutional. Only qualified voters of common and
consolidated independent school districts may
vote for the county school trustee at Large.
Very truly yours
ATTORNEYGENERALOF TEXAS
Chester E. Ollison
Assistant
CEO:d jm
ATTORNEYGENERAL