Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1948 )

Hon. L. A. Woods Opinion Ho. V-581 State Superintendent Department of Education Be: Terms of office of Aurtin. Texas trustees of San San Antonio Union Attn.: Eon. T.M. Trlmble Junlo~ Collene Dfs- First Assistant trict. - Dear Sir: We refer to your letter~ofApril 23,,lgJk8,to which ,wasattached a letter fy@m Qw, afpmmey fo9 the ., San AntoM Dnion J&m College,IEi~,``t,,Pequeatlug aavioe concernlug tbl)terms *f~ofWW of the tbustees of that district in the light of the p%ovisions of A&- icles 281513-4and 27151, VernoaTs Civil Statutea. We are referred therein to Opinion Be. O-69%, released by this office bj a prior rdW&stPation; Opin- Ion Ho. O-6976 aavisear First, tbat Artioid 2815h-4 pro- vises the method for the eleotion o$’‘We tmsteos of the San Antonio Union Junior College D&atpict and othersdis- tricts covered br that statnte$ second, thrt the true- tees first elected ,forthe San Antonio Union Junior Col- lege District should serve until Apnil, 1947, at which tire an entire board should be elected, after which said board should follow the procedure 0utunea 3.n Seation 2 of Article 2815h-)c. ThePeMtez, en the first Saturday of April of eaoh yeslr,’ an election rhould be held for the group or class whose term expires at that time. Your lettem subrlt in substance the following facts for consiaelratiom Said Ss~nAntonio College was created aua a boaM of seven trustees was eleotod ln October 1945, unaeP provisions of Chap- ter 290, Acts 1929, 41st Legislature,as amenaea. Soon after saia eleotlon, ana pumuant to Article 2815h4, this origin- al board of trustees aivfasd itmelf in% three classes in accozmiance with Section 2 thereof. On the first Saturday in April, r -. Hi. L. A. woods, page 2 (V-581) 1947, (which was the first Saturaw in April occurrlugafter the original trustees first elected hsa served for at least one year, as provided In par- age h 2 of Section 2) an election wa8 held!to fill the offices &the trustees (2) in ClassOne whose terms expired that year. Tvo trustees were then elec- tea for a term of three years. A slnilar election was held on the first Saturday in April, 194g,'for two trustees In Class Rro whose terms ex- pired in April, 1948, ana two trustees were then elected for a three year term. After the April, 1948, election, ~theboard was then co osed of the fol- lowing, under Article 72 15h-4; two trus- tees elected In 1947 for a three year terx,.orlgIuallyclassifiedas Class One (2 years yet to serve under Art. 2815h-4); two trustees elected In 1948 for a three year term, originally classifiedas Class Two 3 years get to 'serveunder .saiaart- iclef; and three trustees orIgInally classifiedas Class Three elected In Oct- ober 1945 for a three-Tearterm which ex- pires In April 1949, (one year yet ,to serve under said artlcle)~. Afterhaving consiaereathe provisions~ofArt- icle 281513-4,we belive that the San Antonio Union Junior College trustees elected and classed as set out la the '~' facts'aboveenumerated,have complied with the~ptiovislons of said statute. Accordingly,we reafflrm Oplnioa IO. O-6976, insofar aa it held that Article 2815h-4 povid- ea the method for the election of the trustees of'tha San Antonio Union Junior College District and other dis- tricts covered by that statute. Article 2815a, enacted In 1947, Acts of the 50th Legislature,Chapter 276, Insofar as the same Is pertinent hereto, provldesn "Section i. Trustees of D 0 .,Union College Districts organized under the pro- visions of the Acts of the Forty-first bgislature, 1929, page 648, Chapter 290, ~a, L. A. Woods, page 3 (V-581) and under any amendment thereof, ahall be elected and shall serve In the follew- Ing manner: “The Trustees first elected fop such Junior College Districts, after taking the oath of office, shall divide themselvesln- to three 3) classes: Class 1, conslstfng of two (2f members, shall serve for two (2) gears; Class 2, conslstIngof two (2) mem- bers, shall serve for four (4) years; and Class 3, consisting of the three (3) re- maining members, who shall serve for six (6) years. “On the ,fi.rst Saturday In April of each second year after such first elec- tion, an election &all be held to fill the offices of the members of Trustees whose terms expire that gear. Such TNa- tees shall serve for a term of six (6) years. ‘!kasteesof such districts hereto- fore organized shall, within thirty (3O).daya after the next election of Trustees, dIvIde themselvesInto classes as herein provld- ed with members who have one year to serve In Class 1, members who have two (2) pears to ‘serveIn Class 2, and members vho have .three(3) years to serve In Class 3. There- .aftersuch members shall serve for terms in accordance with this Act. ,*Sec.2, All laws or parts of laws In so.far as they conflict with the prgvla sions of this Act are hereby repealed. ‘Thelast paragraph of Section 1 of Article 2815m clearly applies to the trustees of San Antonio Union Junfor College, it being ftunion junior college district heretofore organlced, We construe the quot- ed provisions of Article 28151 to require the truatees of said college district to divide therselveainto class- es as provided In the first paragraph of the statute SO that: .(a) Those three trustees orIgInally classifiedas Class Three under kticle -. ‘. Bon. L. A. Woods, page 4 (V-581) 2815h-4, and having but one year to serve thereunder,will now be placed in Class 1 and shall continue to serve for two years as provided in Article 2815~ (b) Those two trustees originally classifiedas Class One under Article 2813h-4, and having two years yet to serve thereunder,will now be placed in Class 2 and shall continue to serve for four years as provlded in Article 2815m. (c) Those two trustees ori Inally classifiedas Class Two, under 1rticle 281313-4,and who were elected in April, 1948, to serve three years, will now be placed in Class 3 and shall continue to serve for six years as provided In Arti- cle 2815m. Thus, the next election for trustees will be held in April, 1950, at which time an election shall be held to fill the three offices of those placed in Class 1 by Article 2815m. They shall be elected for a term of six years. At the succeedingelection to be held In April, 1952, at which time an election shall be held to fill the two offices of those placed In Class 2 by Article 2813m, those elected shall serve for a term of six years. In this manner the elective term of offfice of each of the seven trustees will eventuallybe',traus- formed from a three-yearterm as provided in Article 2815h-4 to a six-year term as now provided in Article 2a15a. SUMMARY The terms of office of the trustees of San Antonio Union Junior College Dis- trict are now governed by Article 2815m, v. c. s., which modifies and changes the provisions of Article 2815h-4, V. C. 5. pr~evlouslyapplicable to the subject. Yours very truly, ATTORREYGRRERALOF TICUS Chester E. Olllson Assistant CEOrmw