Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1949 )

- , E OIRNEY GENERAL * EXAS August 5, 1949 Hon. Jas. M. Simpson, Sr. opinion MO. v-874, County Attorney Rer The vallcJlty of an coneho FeMty order by the County Eden, Texan Board of Sohool Trus- toes to consolidate the Conah County portion OS a dormant ixnxntp-line common school dlstrlot wlth a rural high sohool Dear Sir i aistrict. We rots* tQ yotkb *0@tie0t for Qur opinlen aa to the validity of an order 0%’the County Board OS Sob001 Trusteea, Con&o County, acting under .rtlcle VIII, S.B. 116, 518% Legislature, consolidating that part of.Salt Gap County-Line CommonSchool District (determined to be ‘ndormant’~ under S.B. 116) lying in Concho County, with the adjoining llllersvlew Rural High School Dletrlct, lying in Goneho County. The ioIlowlng laots are reflected in your sub- mitted copy of tbe,Goneho County School Board order passed on July, 6, 1949. It shows that an election was held on Jung 31, 3949, in Salt Cap County-Line School Dlstriot (of Gonoho and MoCuliooh Counties), Melvin Goun- ty Llna Gonsolldated Indepsndent Sohool Dlstrlct (of G&a&o md YeGuIlooh Counties), r*d Yfhiteland Common Sahaol Dletrlet (of’ YcCullooh.County) for the consollda- tlon of the three districts named; and the Gommlsslon- ersf Court of McGulloeh ,Gounty on June 14, 1949, canvass- ed the returns thereof and declared the election carried in iaoh of said districta, and Issued an order consollda- ting the three dlstrlotr named. In Attorney General Opinion No. v-866 constru- ing Article VIII, S.B. 116, slat Legislatuw, this of- fice held that a edor!@nt dlstriot? as defined in S.B. 116, may be aonsolfdated dth an adjoining district or. dlstrlcte under the provielone of Article 2806, V.C.So, provided a oounty board has not previous1 consolidated such dormant district with an adjoining dI strict under Hon. Jan. M. Simpson, Sr., page 2 (V 874) the authority granted it in Article VIII. For the rea- sons therein set out, that holding would apply also to consoIldation proaeedlngs aonsummated under Sections !Ta and Sb o!’ Article 27&b, and Article 2743, V.G.S. Article 2806, as emended by H.B. 828, 49th Legls,lature, provides In part: ” whsn it is reposed to consoli- date &$uous county- Elne districts, the petitions and election orders prescribed in thla Act shall be addressed to and Issued by the County Judge of the count having jurls- dlotion over the principal so iti001 of each district and the robults of the electlon ahall bo oanvassed and aeqlamd by the Gommlsslon- era' Court of said County.” Se. also like provisions In Article 27&b, Section 9, V.C.S. When the orders were passed creating the Salt Gap County-Line District and the Melvin County-Line Dls- triot, it was then determined which one county should manage and control, that is, have jurisdiction over, the public schools therein. Article 27&b, Section Sa, and Article 2743, V.C.S. If, therefore, inview of the noted provlelons of Article 2806 and Section 5b of Article 27&b, McGul- loch County had jurisdiction of the schools in the Salt ffap,County Lisa and the Melvin County Line Districts, its County Judge was authorized on proper petition to call the election and its Commissioners* Court was au- thorized to canvass the results of the election to con- solidate those two county line districts with the Whlte- n McGulloch County, m 130 S.W.2de,1038 (Tex. k. judg )* Dona dson v App. i9&.2+&3? ha situation, coupled tlon eleotlon was oall- ed prior to the action of the Gonoho County School Board and carried as prescribed by law, then the election con- solidation (June 14) prevails over the subsequent order (July ,6) of the Con&o County Board purporting to act under Article VIII, S.B. 116. The Salt Gap dlstrlot hav- Hmn. Jaa. Y. Simpron, Sr.‘~, pige 3 W-874) lng boom _goarolldatod by an llmotlom with an ao,tlvo ad- puxpoom of Artiolm VIXI has bein of C&o Salt Gap County ‘Limo Dls- tl’tat ljsag la Gphe GmWy was the+maftmr ~no longer in etistaaem ep dormant” and would not nmw bm rubjeot ta an Artlgl) VIII% ooarmltdrtlolp order of the Gonoho Coumty Ward, For the paawtn stated in tho above paragraph, and because this oonseIldation is not made under S.B. 116, the provisloma of S.B. 13.6 reatrlotln& oonsolida- tloa of 80-t aeumtf limo aohool distriotr to torrl- tesy iJl&$ *thin t&e County are not applicable. Art- lole VIII of S.& 1~6 provldaar “If a county $1~ dlrtiGt Is or be- aomoe dormant . . ., the prevlrlmu 0P thla Aot ahall apply and bo followed . . . to the extent of the tmrrltory in each rmsnmc- tive 00unty.” That same Section further provides, howovor, that: "The provlalons horela Par tha oomeollda- tion - . of Waool dirtfiotr by ordrr of the county Board 0Z Tiwatoma ? a . ahall riot bm construed to repeal, uuperrode or lim- it any mxl8tlog ltatuto rovldlng *thmr methods for othool diutr r at oonaolldatlon aad aakwxatloa." Thoreforo, it 18 our opinion that the order of tho Conoho Goumt~ school board, considered heFeiA and dated July 6, 39E9, io invalid and of no effect. This opinion construes only, the validity of the’ order submit- ted fox consideration and the queatloa pxrsentea, Ir, the light of t&e tcata luM%ttod and thoro herein pl?oaU*od. The Salt Gap County Line School Dls- trlot, tkm Ymlrln County LIM Gonaolidated Indopendont Sobool District (under the jur- lsdlotion of McGulloch County) and the Whiteland CommonSchool District located in MoGulloch County, having boon esnsoll- datmd on June 14, 1949, by an olw$tlofi held in coaformanae Mt$a Artlolm 2806, V.,G.S., in Conoho County dth igh School Dltitriot in the .wnm oounty Is invalid. A.G, Opinion No. V-866. Very truly yours, ATTORNEYGEHEJRAL OFTEXAS ,e7’0- CEO:bh:a Cheater $. Ollison Assistant