Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1944 )

, 1!w OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN QllOVIl sCLLLR* e - A~oa”~”.or*cr&x Mrs. .\rtir Pults county Attorney Or Inerr Oounty Anderson, Terar Dear Yrs. Fnltz: Your letter 0 of this departmen lovm t The school officials of the that the surveyor’s oharea t the General Fund of the Inlon on an Attorney Generel’a Are expenees lnourred in surveying %strIcts tif Grim.8 oounty properly or the General Fund of the county? he Handbook l;f Texas Sohool Law’, edited nsley, and published by %e Steok Conpang of Austin, on page 261, I find the following %ullng or Attorney Cageral*. “,xpenrcs of making neoasrary surveyr to rub- divide e county into convenient echo01 dietrlote oannot be pald from rohool funds of the oounty O? school distrlots but should be paid from thr general fund of the oounty. (19161. *I would like very much to know whether or not the above end forecolng attorney eenetal’r Opinion has been overruled, and if It still prevall.3, 1 would appreciate your seading me a oopy Of the 8eme.’ Yrs. Artie Fultz, page 2 Art. 2681, V.A.C.S., authoriser the oounty 8ohOol truat&r to exerolr8 the authority h8retOfOre rsrted In thr COD&88iOn8?8’ Courtwith referen to eubdivlding th8 OOuAty into 8ohool di8triot8, end makin(l ohangee In 80hoo1 distriot lIne8, Said 8tatUte read8 aa fOlloW8r “The oountr rohool trustees 8re authorized to lXerOls0 the authority h8rstoforr tested in the oomml88Ioners* oourt with respeot to 8ubdIrIdIng the ooonty into rohool distrlote, and aaklng ohangss In 8ohool dI8trIot 1Ines. Said trustee shall aall en mual joint meeting of the dlstrlot and oounty sahool trustee8 oi the oounty to be held at the oatnty aeat ‘at some oonvenleat 8ea8on In huguat or September oi each year, to be presided oYer by the chairman oi the county 8ohool trU8teeB. They ahall oonslder question8 dealing with the location of high 8OhOOl8, and the tesohlng of high 8OhOOl aubjeots, the olasslfloatlon of aohools, and suoh other mattera ee may pertain to the looation, conduct, naintenanoe, dlsclpllne 0r eohoola, the terms thereof, and other 0at:erc of interest in 8ohool afialrs 0r the oounty, and the oounty aohool trustees s!Ml be guided in their action by the result of the,dellberatIon oi such meeting, not Inoonsletent with law. l’he county school trustees may else call other meetlnge. of the distrlot sohool trustees, shen dceaed necessary by then, or on the petition 0r e 0ajorIty 0r 8UOh dI8trIOt 8ChOOl trustees. The oounty superintendent, as seoretary to oounty school truetees, will keep en accurate and corn- plete reuord In a well bound book provided for that plurpoae, the rield note6 0r all changes mad8 IA sohool district &aids, and of all prooeedin&8 of the oounty school trustees. A oertlfled copy of suoh change In a echo01 dlstrlot llns, ehall be made and transmitted by the county superintendent to the county clerk, and the ocunty clerk shall record the rleld Aotes end oertlfled oopy of suoh ohange In a well bound boqk to be dealgnatad as the ‘Record of School Dlstrlots’. IA’ Drovldlng better 8ohoolIng for the ohlldran aAd oarrylag out the prori- slona OS Art. 2678, the county superIntendant shall, on recommendation at the oounty sohool trustees, transfer children or 8OhOlaatIO age rrom one school dlstrlot to another, the amount of funds to be transferred vlth raoh ahlld of 8oholaatIo age shall be the amount to whiOh the di8triOt from whloh the ohlld Is transferred is eAtItled to reoe1re.F’ It 18 Dt*rt”d in the CRaC :;f Ltatt 2X rd. f1Or68, rt al, ve. Breve, 162 5. .I. 24, 1052: ,- “After June 4, 1911, thr only prop8r authority to 18y out or ratnbllrh 8 8ohOOl dirtriot, or to 8lter the boundarlas of the 88a6, ~~68 th8 Count+ Board Of ?10hOOl *UttW8, and my etttqt c?n zeptea- bcr 23, 1911, by th8 Co?u?!Irrionerr' Court of Zapeta County, to cr.leree tha boundarlro ot C&moA school Dlctrlct No. 1 m8 wholly VOlU rnd -f A0 erfeot.* St all]. be n,otad that Mt. 2681, 8upra, ~~r@881y ruthorir88 the oauntg sol-.sd truet~em to subdivide tha Oounty Into rohoo1 dI8trlots and t-kc okwa~es irl tfic aohcol dlntrlct 113e5. it 1s ar:raror.t fro-r yxr lcttcr the? !t Is cI;ot.zx~leted thet 311 2 t+s canon uohool dit'trlCt8 :r 4iXtaT8-fl UslEty arc to be reccrtc?ed. It 18 not at3tcd th9t t!v &ant; Z!or;r.‘l oi Zohool ‘PrU8tee6 O:,Attnplat88 a 8ubdltisIim tf the OLUDty 1Lto 8chool di8tTiOt? cr zaklop chmqrr in sob001 dlstrlot llm~. "3~ thr purpose: of thi8 O~lnlGc, %e x8t a6rwe thet 83id county ha8 her6:oioce been 8ubdllIdsd lritc 8ohool EIstrIotn 9n2 that the, survey? and thr: flcl.: notca thel’eof hats been duly roeor>c: by t3c county alcr% 2~2 tht all such prooerd- iz,a ha-6 bacn In accordsno k:!th la* ap;llca3ic tr, such pro- CE.?dh&8. ;a xe underrtand your rer;uett, it 18 thi rurpoas or t;;e County 3oard of .So!:ool 'imrte-sa tz rasurtey rll t?le cozsh .9C!;OOl di8triCtS :f 6316 OoU.-.ty. It ie O‘Jr oplclon th?t xrt, 2f%?1, 8Up?a, does not astZIcriZ8 8UO!i (LII u368rt9kfng. rr?e 8tatUt6 only aLthorlze6 the 8ubdlvlding of t!w OGwty into eoko~l d?8- trlote end ;aKlnC oknn;er I:: 803001 dlstriot lineI). VAdsr the facts 8t8tCd, it does A?t ry;aar thst the County Emrd of School Tlwste88 deslree to 8r:bdltldo th6 OouEty ints 8oho31 distrlct8 or to 38k8 any chanEcs in th.e 80!1031 dlstrlot lIrre8. Ther afore, it 18 ox oplslon thet the GocAt)’ 3oerd 3f So5001 Trustees ha6 no 8UthOrIty to retwrl9J sll the 03i%13n 80>001 distriots In th6 county .z;han tuch rcwr+ng!r$, 16 cot Cone for the purpose of chsnf1r.g t!ie liner? zf 63ld dl.trlcts or sobcIitlC1a.g the aounty into 8ChOol dll.trlot-. The County Board of .Zo%oal 'Yrost-es,llke other Cjoternrxntsl edrlA!etretlrc boerdy, dopartrer,to or aEwclc?, p06666808 0~1~ such. power 68 is authorlead by atetut 02 the ' Canstltutl~n. Thtralme, in the rbeemx of 6uOh authorlr~fl-n, we hold thet th County ?3Oerd O? soho Tmttte8 ha6 no aUtbOrlty to r6+urtey a11 the ooxoc 8c?.aol dlstriota lr tqdsrA--n C:.mty. .iS~It le our oplnloa th9t th8 County Rowd ci Cofinol .I'rustsea dot8 sot hete buthorlty to resvrtoy the ooeizon rohool. district8 Or said county, it ceoeassrlly follosa tkt the 75cc:I.x rcrtslzil~ to the cxpcn~ts lr,currc?d ln au& Y survey wd t%c fund sr fun.?8 fro2 ?A 1 CT! Ir?:C!l axpenner. ST? TV b4 r.slC bcoo:ra qo?t WI< I(::cire? 110 .lurther dloossslcn. You mantlcA an opinion .;? this department rendered in 1916. A oararul search o? ths riles o? this orflo8 doas not dlroloss that a oopy of auoh opinion 16 now In the ii.188 o? this O??iOs; hOWW?r, ths Or?iCa Or ths St8tS SUpriAtSAd- aAt Of F'ubllo IAstrUOtlOA ha8 praG8Ated Us rlth a brIO? 8yAOp818 o? the holding a? sold OplAlOA, and it is apparent that thI8 opinion has no appliostiOn to the qUeStiOn under OonsideratioA In that sold opinion pertains to expanses incurred In the oraa- tIca o? a common oounty line sohool dietriot and In naklng sub- dili8iOA8 O? the COUAty into 8ChOOl dietrlota. IA OUY. OpiAiOA Do. o-3416, the iollowing qUSStlOA WS8 under consideration. "Does the County Surveyor become entitled to iaas or 005paAsatIon for oompillng ilald notes for the Coiiusissloners' Court? IA the instant oaaa the County Survsyor compiled field notos on consolldat- lng tha boundaries o? the Kidway Co.m!!on Sohool his- trlct No. 21 and the Kara School District No. 100, into ona oomblned common sohool dlstrlot, and AOW ha presents tha Commisslonera~ Court with a bill ror such 8erYloas.' In that opinion (No. o-3416), It was stated, among other things: "Art. 2741 and 2742, V.i.C.S., requires the Co&nissionaraf Court to give the metes and bounds o? each oo,mmon school district and da8igAata the 83ma oaraiully by giving the whole surveys and Darts o? surveys with acreage o? whole surveys . . . . And the county oler.- is ranulrad to record tha same. . . As It is ths duty of the Commisslonara~ Court to comply with tha'provlsions o? Art. 2741 snd 2742, , .." The ioragolng statement contained In Opinion No. o-3416 is hare4y expressly overruled. This opinion Is not to be oonstruad as holding that the county sohool trustees are not authorized to subdlvida a county Into school BlatrIots snd make ohsnges In the school district lines Stated another way, this oylnlon merely holds thot the County Board c? School Trustees has no authority to resurvey all the common school dlstriots In a oounty where it It not daslrad to aubdivlda the county lnto 8ChOOl dlatrlots or mke obsnges In the school dlstrlot 1in88. Yours very truly