Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1952 )

December 11, 1952
Hon. J. W. Edgar Opinion No. V-1553
Commissionerof Education
Texas Education Agency Re: The procedure under which
Austin, Texas an Independentschool dis-
trict having ~fewerthan
150 scholasticsoan ao-
compllsh mineral leases
Dear Sir: 'andsales of real property.
Your request for our opinion reada In part as
follows:
"In a matter befo&.us
. an Independent
School district hae a +hplaetlc popultitlon
of (124) acco'tidlng'toth&lat~est census.
Its board Of trtisteeejMS not 'elected,"ae
permitted Under ‘Ai$ic1+‘``63 'asamended, to
be governed in all .it'@bp&rations by the
laws generallJieippllMbU?'tolndepen@&
school ~ai's,+Xcta: 'Butit'has submitted~tb
the State C'ommlsslorikr'ofEducation a pro-
pgsed bil,~g&s and mineral lease 'forhla
approval; and coritenm.XhatArticle 2773a
reqtilres ,the.appr,oval'ofthe Commissioner,~
because that statut,e‘IS aripllcable tomIany'
and all independent,schobldlatrlots in %?e
matter of the dxecutidiib~'oiland gas
leases. It further rjtilr;c& out that Article
2763 provld& that twos&:commonschool dla-
trict laws only w~lch'kipp``t~ln .tothe
'generaladtilnletrat'ionf'o"f the school dls-
tr~lctgovern in their-gel?@&1aduilnlstra-
tlve affairs, that t?ik~eiecutlon of an ~011
and gas lease is a 8pePlSt affair and no
part of the general &d~XtiLstration of the
schools, therefore, Art'ltile'2773a Is the
statute to follow.
"Stating the problem in another way,
the independent dSatriot is cohtending that
It IB not g0verne.din the execution of its
011 and gas leases by Articles 2753 and
Hon. J. W. Edgar, page 2 (V-1553)
5400a, v.C.S., the laws governing common
school dlstMcts~thereln~ because Article
2773a, supra, Is cori~olling'as to 'any'
Independent~schoold%trUt,
,t
. . .
'We would appreciate the opinion of
your office on the fol~lowlngpueetibns:
"1. Is the proper execution of an
011, gas and mlneral.Ieas6by an lndepend-
ent school district having fewer than,150
scholastics,(which di&Flct has not,elected
to be governed by lnd6p'erident
dfstrlct laws
as permitted inld.rtlcle2763, v.c;s., as
amended) 'tobe accon@lf&@d iznd~eti
Article
2773a, V.C.S.; oL1uziiitir'
Articles 2753 'and.'~'
5400a, V.C.S.?
"2. Is tie s&z ijfYea1 &perty anal,;
buildings (other'thgtilmi&ralj) ~by'~a:.dl~s~.~
trlct described In i&e@$3n 11 to bti:,abtiorn-
pllshed In accordarice,~Miththe requlr,+@rits
of Article 2773, V.CY,,..,,
the ln+ependeQt,
school dlstrlct~l&w, ~dr,~der~,Art'i'cle
2x553,
V.C.S., the kommdn Bch~oo&Ldlstli$qt'law?
,: .~ .
Article 2753, V.CZ&'protildes:"
..,
"The trustees of any school district,
upon the order '6fthe'dotit'y.'trustees'
pi+
scribing tileterms ther'eor,whexideemed
advisable, may make :sale"of'any~ property
belonging to Bald iichool ai8,tmt, pa apply, :
the proceeds to'the @@hhAse of nec,essary~
grounds,'or'to th" btiilairiig
-orrapaitilngof
schoblhouses,or plac6 the proceeds to 'the
credit of the avaiiabl%i '&hool fbd of the
district.".
Section 2 of'Artl& 5400a, V.C.S., reads as
follows:
"The right to lease such lands shall
be exercised by the governing board,~the
commissionor commlsSlon~rs.ofsuch pol'ltlcal
Hon. J. W. Edgar, page 3 (V-1553)
subdivisionwhich are by law constituted
with the management,control,~aridsupervl-
slon of such subdlvlslo~,``and when In the
discretion of such gbve'rmlqgb,odythey shall
determine that It ls'.tidvlszible
to make a
lease of any such landab*longlrigto such
district or subdivls~ooh; such govefnlng
body shall give notla$'oP Its lntentlqn~to
lease such l&rids,desbrlblng same, by publl-
catlon.of such 'noticeIn so.menewspaper
published In the county; having a general
circulationthereln,~once a week for a period
of three (3) consecutltie weeks, designating
the time aridplace'after such 'publication
where such g'overnlng bodg.blll receive and
consider bids for such"niineraIleases as
such governing body may Zleterene to'make.
On the'date speo~lfi~d~in'~alXin&Ice, such
governing board ;orb;tidy.-,.sha~ll
receive and
consider any and all'bl,ds'submitted 'forthe
leaslng~of said lands ‘dr any ljortionthereof
which'are advertltie'd
~forl&s$ng, ;andin the'
dlscr&lon of such gdveqlng bcidy,~shall award
the lea'seto~the'hlghestand best bidder sub-
mitting a bid therefor,' provided that 1,fIn
the judgment of such governing body the .blds
submitted do not represent the fair valuesof
such leases.) such govetinlng'bodyIn their .~
discretionmay reject.'sameand again give
notice and call for additional bids, but no
leases shall In any event be made except upon
public hearing Andyconsideration6f~sald,,blds
and after the notice as herein provided.
Article 2773, V.C.S., provides:
"Any'housesor lands held In trust by
any city or towh ,for~
public free schoo&,pur-
poses may be sold for the pqrpose of Invest;
lng In more convenientand desirable school
prbperty,with the ~tionsen$of the State Board,
by the board of trustee& of such city or
town; and, In such oa8e, the president of the
school board shall execute his deed to the
purchaser for the same, reciting the resolu-
tion of the State Bo&rd.glvlfigconsent thereto
and the resolution of the board of trustees
authorizing such sale."
Hon. J. W. Edgar, page 4 (V-1553)
.,
Article 2773a, V.C.S.,
. reads In part:
"Section 1. Any Independentschool dls-
trlct, when In the oplnloti.ofa majority of
Its trustees It Is nec&Kary or advisable to
sell, exchange, or conv'eythe'mlneyals,or
any part thereof, be'loti&g to said dlitrlct,
upon the order of s'zild"truatees,
with the
cons'entof the State Sup&rintendent"ofPublic
Instruction,may exeE"ute.an 011 and/or gas
lease, or sell, exch&@, and convey the u rl,.~;..
minerals, or any part thereof, to'``anypersons,
upon such terms as $ucq~tiusteesmay deem
advantageousto said-dL&rlct, and whlch.the
State Superintendent&?ubllc Instruction
may approve, and appl‘ji-&iy
ptioceeds.to the
sinking fund account .6P-tiuch
dlatrlot, if
there be otitstandlngb6?& therein,'other-
wise to the pbchase o'f'>ecessary grouxidsor
to the building ,oti
,?gGtiTrAng
df .schoolhouses,.
or to the credit bf"l%“l,ocalmal?z%nance
schooPfund of ,the;Uksti.Xtit,
'and In au&h
case said district,;?@$ig ,byits pr&ldent,
shall execute Its dee'd'%Flease to the pur-
chaser bf the sanie,reciting the approval'of
the State Superlntetidetit'~of.
PubllO.?natrUc-
tlon and the reaolut%ribfthe Board of
Trustees authorizing'th&'~'sale.":.,
In Culver v. Mleari;. 220.&.W.2d 200 (Tex.Clv.
App. 1949, error refry) :li?:':w&3
held that the provision@
of Articles 2753 and 5kO@&, &pra, mtiatbe followed by a
common school district ln"'@xectitlngan oil aiidgas lease.
It Is also stated lrithis case that thectrusteesof
dommon school districtswith'hpprdvalof-the coqnty
board can sell land belonging to the school district.
It Is observed that Artlcia 54OOa Is a general statute
while Article 2773a Is a speclflo one, dealing only with
Independentschool dlstrlot~. 'Article~54OOawas passed
In 1937 and Article 2773 w&a enacted,In 1941.
In Sam Basse
145 Tex. 492,mS.W.
"On Its face ltia“pears to be In con-
flict with article 7298 relative to defenses
permitted In tax suits. But since the'pro-
vision of article 7298 making the defense of
llmltatlonavailable In tax sults,by school
Hon. J. W. Edgar, page 5 (V-1553)
and road districts Is a specific enactment
it must prevail over article 7329 dealing
with the subject of defenses to tax suits
generally. The general rule Is that when the
law makes a general provision, apparently for
all cases, and a special provision for a
particular class, the general must yield to
the speclal~in so far as the particular class
Is concerned. Perez v. Perez, 59 Tex. 322.
This rule Is based upon the prlnclnle that
all acts and parts thereof must stand, If
possible, each occupying Its proper place,
and that the Intention of the Legislature Is
more clearly reflected by a particular statute
than by a general one. Accordingly a specific
act Is properly regarded as an exception to,
or qualificationof, a general law on the same
subject previously enacted. In such a case
both statutes are permitted to stand, the
general one being applicable to all cases
except the particular one embraced~lnthe
specific act. Townsendv. Terrell, 118, Tex.
463, 16 S.W.2d 1063.,"
You are therefore advised In answer to your first
,questlonthat the leaslng,of landsowned by an Independent
school district should be accomplishedunder Article 2773a,
V.C.S., rather than Article 54OOa, V.C.S.
Article 2763, V.C.S., reads as follows:
;a, having
It; provided, however, that the
of such Incorporateddistrict may
choose, by majorlty,voteto be shown on the
minutes of the board, not to be governed In
the general administrationof their school
by the laws which apply to common school
districts and the keeping of their fundsin
the county depository,and upon such election
Hon. J. W. Edgar, page 6 (V-1553)
such district shall be governed by laws which
apply to other Independentschool districts.
A certified copy of such minutes must be
filed In the offices of the Bounty Blerk and
In the offices of the Texas Education Agency
not later than September 1st."
This statute, orlglnally passed In 1905, was
amended by House Bill 246, Acts 52na Leg;, 1945, ch. 431,
p. 779, by adding that part
i which we have not underscored.
The question for determinationIs whether the
leasing or selling of school lands by an Independent dls-
trlct..wouldbe Included In the term 'generaladmlnlstra-
tlon of their schools" as'used in Article 2763.
In Attorney General's Opinion No. 2218, Book 54,
p. 204 (1920) It IS stated:
"With respecttithe ~assessmentof prop-
erty, the levy and,colIec,tlonof taxes, pro-
viding for taxes and bond elections and
Issuing bonds on the fai,thand credit of the
district, the:.lawsrelating to Independent
school dlstr~lctsgovernand control those
Independent school corboratfonsthat have ,~
less than one hundred and fifty scholastics.
'In the constructionof ali civil stat-
utes the ordinary slgnlfloatlonapplies to
words 'exceptwords of art or words connected
with a particul.artrade or subject matter.'
Art. 5502, R.S. 1911. The word 'admlnlstra-
tlon' means 'the act of administering;dlreo-
tlon; management; government of public af-
fairs; the conducting of any office or employ-
ment.' The Century Dictionary & Encyclopedia,
Vol 1, p. 77.
"The term 'generaladministrationof
their schools' means therefore, the manage-
ment and control of the.school system; that
Is, the employment of teachers, approval of
vouchers, etc., and as to such matters lnde-
pendent school corporationscontaining less
than one hundred and fifty scholasticsthe
law applicable to common school districts
will control."
-. .
Hon. J. W. Edgar, page 7 (V-1553)
We do not believe that the leasing orselling
of real property should be Included In the term "general
administrationof their schools" as used In Article 2763.
It Is therefore our opinion that the laws relating to
leasing or selling of land belonging to independent
school districts govern those Independent school dls-
trlcts having fewer than 150 scholastics. In view of
the foregoing, It Is our opinion that the execution of
an oil, gas and mineral lease by an independent school
district having 'fewerthan 150 scholastics,which has
not elected to be governed by Independent district laws
as permitted by Article 2763, V.C.S., sho,uldbe consum-
mated under the provisions of Article 2773a, V.C.S.
Likewise the sale of real property and bulld-
lngs (other than minerals) by a district described In
question 1 should be accomplishedIn accordance with the
requirements of Article 2773, V.C.S.
SUMMARY
The leasing or selling of real property
owned by school districts Is not Included In
the term "general administrationof their
schools" as used In Article 2763, V.C,S. The
execution of an oil, gas, and mineral lease
by an Independent school district having
fewer than 150 scholastics,which has not
elected to be governed by Independent district
laws as permitted by,Artlcle 2763 should be
consummated under the provisions of Article
2773a, V.C.S.
'The sale of real property and buildings
(other than minerals) by an Independent dls-
trlct having fewer than 150 scholastics should
be accomplished In accordance with the requlre-
ments of Article 2773, V.C.S.
APPROVED: Yours very truly,
J..C. Davis, Jr. PRICE DANIEL
County Affairs Division Attorney General
Marv K. Wall
Reviewing Assistant
Charles D. Mathews'
First Assistant Assistant
BAtam