Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

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THE ATTORNEYGENERAL
OF -XAS
Honorable D. H. Utley
County Auditor, Clay County
Henrietta, Texas
Dear Sir: Opinion No. ,3-7094
Re: Can one of six common school
districts composing a rural high
school district withdraw from said
rural high school district?
Also rela,tedquestions.
Your r;ecentletter to .thisdepartment reads in part as
follows:
"On April 24, 1941 the Clay Co, School Board of
Trustees ,whileconvened in a call session deemed i,t
advisable and for the Public good to form a Rural High
School Dist. by grouping six Common Sch, Dist,, each
of which had less than 400 Scholastics, with a com-
bined area of more than 100 Sq. Miles, This election
was ordered as provided by CJhapte:~
19-A R. S P 1925,
as amended, and Article 2922 C, as amended, said eiec-
tion carried by majoritiyvote of entire composed Rural
High School Dist,
"Said Dist, ~8s established and has funz,tionedas
such since June 7, 1941, but on ,i,he
site designa,ted,on
account of scarecity of material and labor .theBuild-
ings have not been erected, kit the School is being
held in a near by School Bldg,
'Now the Question - If one of the six Common Sch.
Dist,s wants ,towith-,drawfrom the Rural High Sch. Dist.
Can they? If so what way may they do so?
"If they can by election whose duty to call the
election, the County School Board or the County Judge?"
Art, 2922a, V.A.C.S., reads as follows:
"In each organized county in this St,ateand in any
county~which shall hereafter be organized, the county
school trustees shall have 'theauthority to form one or
more rural high school districts, by grouping contiguous
common school districts having leys than four hundred
Hon. D. H. Utleg, page 2 0 -7094
scholastic population and independent school districts
having less than two hundred and fifty scholastic
population for the purpose of establishing and oper-
ating rural high schools, provided also that the ccuntg
school trustees may annex one or more common school
districts or one or more independent school districts
having leas than two hundred and fifty scholastic pop-
ulation to a common school district having four hundred
or more scholastic population OP to an independent
district having two hundred and fifty or more scholastic
population upon the approval of the board of trustees
of each school district affected; provided that when
one OP more commonschool districts are so annexed to
a common school district having four hundred or more
scholastic population, or to an independent district
having two hundred and fifty, OP more scholastic popu-
lation, as the case may be, a board of trustees shall
be elected from the district at large and shall have
the management and control of the district a8 enlarged
until the time for the next election and qualifications
of trustees for common and independent districts, as
provided by General Law. Provided --that the county school
trustees shall --
have the authority & abolish 5 rural
m school district z a petition signed bx a maioritg
of the voters --
-- of each elementarv district composing the
rural high school district and when such dIstrlct has
been abolished the elementary districtsshall automati-
cally revert back to their original status, wfth the
exception that in the event there are any outstanding
indebtednesses against the said rural school district
each elementary dis,trlctshall assume its proportional
part of the debts, (Emphasis added.)
The underscored provfsfon of said Art. 2922a, supra,
is the only authority we have been able to locate wherebya rural
high school district can be abolished, Said provision requires
'a petition signed by a majority of the voters of each elementary
district composing the rural high school district.~mphasis
added.)
Therefore, it is the opinion of this department that
unless a majority of the voters In m of the common school dis-
tricts composing the rural high school distrfct in question,
should present a signed petition to the county school trustees
requestfng the abolition of such rural high school district,
such trustees would have no authority to abolish same. Neither
is there any provision of law whereby one of safd common school
districts can withdraw from said rural high school di8trict.
YOUP first question is answered in the negative.
Hon. D. H. Utley, page 3 o-7094
In view of the foregoing, the other questions sub-
mitted require no answers.
Very truly yours,
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
By s/L. H. Flewellen
L. H. Flewellen
Assistant
LKF:v:wc
APPROVED MAR 8, 1946
s/Grover Sellers
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
Approved Opinion Committee By s/BWB Chairman