Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1957 )

. 1
Maroh 29,1957
Honorable Dawson Bryant Opinion NO. ``-81
County Attorney
Kent County Re:.The issuance and legal
Jayton, Texas obligatibn of.time~uar-
rants by Jayton.Rural
High School District
7:; Arty.2786(e),
Dear Mr. Bryant: . . .
You request the opinion of this office+pon..the
questions presented in your letter, as follows:,
"At.the beginning of the current.school
ye+- beginning on.September,l, 1956, ok,
sho+ry th.ereafter,the Jay$on..Ru&?al..Hig&
School"Distrrcthad just'komplete'd ~&``nbu:'~
gch?oJ,,p&antconsisting.,of.a.new~.grade
~'-schodl,high school; auditorium and gym:,
" -:iI+stnm.:'.~Th&
school district was.in needjof.~
'~?kquir$&nt fdr.the .varlousschoolrooms,be&
and lu,nchroomin order that classes~could'~,'
,be,soperly:.conducted during. the pt?esentL.
j‘.~iml~iiO$
year; The“school,had,enougR.,furids.,~
' @i+vould':ti@celire
.enou&availab)e findb
.:
<..``~asP"'dourdea~:during,~the 'pew.tb.'h*_'aJa,,
teacher````~&~+lL;i;,
;~'iaainte~nceiar;a``~o````.,.
-: ,,_
tiop,,q,Lth-+,sma~lsurplus.leftovqr.; ,hov- '.
everi“the::,school,districtid~d~not.~sue.enough
fund~':'&~'of-:curyent
available,fundb.to..pu$+
chase.``~fie-'xiece'ssary
equipment Andyto eqtiip;;:~
scho6l.propertyr``The:Board'ofTrus$ees'order-
.edthe :necessary,equipment durlng.the prehent
schoo& yeaT with~the intention of borrowing
~ki6ney;by:'ibsuing
'time-warrents to,pay for s&e,
,Such.tqultient,cost wellover the sum.of:'
#25,000.00. Upon receiving the equipment in'
September and October of 1956, instead of is-
suing time-warrants to obtain thenfunds.neces-
sary for such purpose which warrants would
have been dravlng interest, the Board of Trus-
tees paid for such equipment out of available
Honorable Dawson Bryant, page 2 (``-81)
funds with the intention of ls~ulng the
time-warrants later in the school year
when the need arose for the money. NOW
the school is ln need of funds to replace
that which was speriton the equipment and
they now desire to issue interest-bearing
time warrants in the amount of $25,000.00.
"1. Can the Jayton Rural High School DEB-
trict issue interest-bearing time warrants
under Article 2786e Texas Revised Civil
Statutes under the above circumstances?
"2. Would such time warrants be a legal
obligation of such School District?"
"interest-bear1 time warrant" is de-
fined in Se%o?imof Article ~2786(3, V.C.S., as being a
"p-omlssory note, interest-bearing time warrant, obllga-
tlon or other evidence of indebtedness issued under this
Act," and the statute authorizes payment of the warrants with
tax moneys to be levied and collected in future years.
It 1s clear that neither bonds nor warrants may be
issued for any purpose not authorized by 6tatutory or consti-
tftutbnal provlslons, the leading case on the subject being
Lasater +. Lopez, 110 Tex. 179, 217 S.W. 373.
In effect, it 1s proposed to replenish the "current
available funds" of the dl&rlCt by the Issuance of time war-
rants. Such a rpose 1s clearly not one of those enumerated
in Article 2786p"~
e), V.C.S., which are as follows:
11 to repair and renovate school bulld-
l&;'purchase school buildings and school
equlpment; to equip school properties with
necessary heating, water, sanitary, lunch-
room and electric facilities; . . ."
Issuance of time warrants for the purpose stated is
not authorized by Article 2786(e), V.C.S., and If they were
Issued they would be void.
Honorable Dawson Bryant, page 3 (``-81)
Under Article 2786(e~), V.C.S., time war-
rants may not be legally issued by a
school district for the purpose of re-
plenishing the "current available funds"
of the district, and, if ISsued, would
not be legal obligations of the district.
Very truly yours,
WILL WILSON
Attorney Cjeneral
Byk"+
Howard W. May8
Assistant
HUM-s
APPROVED:
OPINION CiMMITTEE
By: H. Grady Chandler, Chairman