Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1946 )

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OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Ron. Vocdard Bass
countyAttorney
Wichita County
Wichita Falls, Texas
Dear Sir: Opinion llo. O-6982
Ret Conatructlon of Sec. 6,
Article 1, Senate Bill 167
applications vlth
ment of Education
Your request for op
fully considered by this depa
quest a8 follows:
legislature provldes,
applications muat be
partment not later than
eceipt and acceptance of such
e County Superintendent prior to
a euffiolsnt compllanoe to 8ecure
State Aid or is a strict compliance, e.g. filing
with the State department by that date neceaaary?”
. .
Hon. Woodard Bass - Page 2
Article 2696, Vernon’s Annotated Texas Civil Statutes,
provides as follovsr
“Any child lavfully enrolled in any district
or independent district, may by order of the county
superintendent, be transferred to the enrollment
of any other district or independent district in
the same county upon a written application of the
parent or guardian or person having lavful con-
trol of such child, filed vith the county superin-
tendent; provldod that any district or independent
district being dissatisfied vlth any transfer made
by the county superintendent may appeal from such
action to the county board of trustees of said
county vho shall hsve the right ti armul and cancel
the transfer alloved by the county superintendent.
“The applicant shall stats In said applica-
tion that it la his. bona fide intention to send
said child to the school to which the transfer is
asked.
“Upon the certification of the transfer of
any child, from one district to another district,
by the county superintendent of the county In vhich~
the child resldea at the time of the transfer, the
State Department of Education shall authorize the
State Treasurer to pay over directly the per caplta
apportionment, in independent districts of five
hundred (500) or more scholastic population, to the
district to which such child is transferred; and in
all other districts, to county superintendents, to
be paid by him to the respective districts to which
such children are transferred; provided, no trans-
fer shall bs made after August 1st. Acts 1905
p. 263; Acts 1935, 44th Leg. p. 488, ch. 201, 41."
Section 6, Article I, Senate Bill 167, 49th Legis-
lature of Texas, reads as follovsr
"lo adjustments of transfers or cen3us channes
made after November 1st of the current school year
shall be recognized in making grants of any type of
aid under the provisions of this Act.”
. .
Hon. Woodard BaS8 - Page 3
There can be no doubt but what Section 6, Article
I, supra, is a mandatory statute and one highly penal in
nature. It clearly eatabllshes a "deadline time In vhlch
"adjustments of tr&sfers or census changes" must be made.
See Opinion No. g-6953 of thle department. vhich dealt vlth a
fact situation vherein an independsntschool district rendered
a scholastic roll to the county superintendent; the census
taker having by error dated tvo birth dates a year later than
the true dates vere; the county superintendent struck off
the names of the two children vhose birth dates vere lmpro-
perly dated; the roll was aent in to the State Superintendent
prior to November 1st; the error vas later discovered and the
county superintendent after Hovember 1st made a change and
sent in a corrected roll to the State Superintendent. Upon
said fact situation it vas held in Onlnlon No. 04953 that
the corrected and changed scholastlc'roll V&filed-too late
under Article I. Section 6. supra. We enclose herevlth a
copy of saLd opinion.
We think Opinion No. O-6953 is correct and re-
affirm sane, hovever, for the reasons hereinafter pointed
out, it is our opinion that neither opinion No. O-6953 nor
Section 5 of Article I, supra, have any application to the
fact situation about vhioh you inquire.
The facta stated by you reveal merely that transfera
of ninety six scholastics vere received and accepted by the
county superintendent prior to August 1, 1945 (on July 24,
1945) and were not protested to the County Board, and said
ninety six transfers vere not transmitted to the State De-
partment of Education until November 11, 1945. There vas no
change, correction or adjustment of aqld transfers ma&e in '~
any vay; ninety six scholastics were transferred and no
change, correction or modification or adjustment of the number
of transfers vas sought by the school. It ia our view that in
such situation there is not involved any Hadjustmenta of trans-
fers3 as contemplated by Section 6 of Article I, supra.
Uebater's Nev International Dictionary, Second Edi-
talon, unabridged, in defLning the term "adjuatmant" atates aa
follovs?
1. "Act or process of adjusting, or state of
being adjusted; rpecif.. the bringing of a thing
or things into proper or exact position or con-
-
Hon. Wocdard Bass - Page 4
dltlon; arrangement; settlement; as, adjustment of the
calendar; an amicable adjustment.
*. . .
“3. Bookkeeping. An entry or entries to
correct or modify accounts, esp. entries made at
the end of a period to show the true condition
at that time.
"SpL Suiting, fitting, arrangement,
regulation, settlement, adaptation, disposition,
rectification."
The distinction betveen en "adjustment" of assessments
and a ere-assessment" is that an adjustment is a correction of .
inequalities in the original assessment of the various lands,
vNle a "re-assessment" is a new determination of the benefits.
Broadway Main Street Bridge District v. Mortgage Loan & In-
surance Agency, 112 S. W. (2) 648, 649, 195 Ark. 390. Words
I%Phrases, Vol. 2, pp. 424,425.
Having concluded that there is no 'adjustment of trans-
fers' involved In your fact situation, it is our opinion that
Section 6 of Article I, supra, is no bar to the right of Burk-
burnett Independent School District to receive State aid for the
scholastic transfers inquired about.
Very truly yours
ATTORNEYOENERAL
OFTEXAS
BY . Wm, J. Fanning
Aseiataat