Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

THEATTOKNEYGENERAX..
OF TEXAS;
PRICE DANIEL
ATTORNEYGENERAL
Ap~ll 2, 1948
Hon. L. A. Woods Opinion No. v-534
State Superintendent
Department of Education Be: Expenditure of 10``1,
Austin, Texas tax funds of a School
Diatriat. whose scho-
Attention: Hon. T. M. Trimble lastics are transfer-
red, to build a baae-
ball field for the
community.
Dear Sir:
We refer to your opinion request of recent
date wherein we are advised that Center Point Common
School District has not,maintaineda school within then
past two years and has been transferringIts scholastics
to the Carbon IndependentSchool District. Center
Point has about $2,000.00 in local tax money in the de-
pository and it wants to spend this money on construc-
ting ancllighting a baseball field for the community.
Query: May the trustees of this district
span-lthis local tax money forthis pur-
pose?
while you did not so state, we assume for the
purpose of this opinion that the Center Point scholas-
tics are attenclingthe Carbon District under the auth-
ority of Article 2699, Vernon's Civil Statutes,which
provides, in part2
"
* e 0 all the chilclren
residing in
a school district may be transferredto
another district, OP to an independent&is-
trict, upon such terms as may be agreed up-
on by the trustees of said districts inter-
ested."
The authorieeclexpentlituresfor which local
school funds from district taxes may be used are set
out in Article 2827, Vernon's Civil Statutes, which reads,
in part, as follows:
.
Hon. L. A. Woods, page 2 (v-534)
"The public free school fund shall
not be expended except for the following
purposes:
"2. Local school~fundsfrom district
taxes, tuition of fees of pupils not en-
titled to free tuition and other local
sources my be used Por the purposes enum-
eratedafor state and county funds and for
purchasingappliances and supplies,forthe
payment of Insurance premiums, janitors and
other employees,fop buying school sites,
buying, building and repairing and rent-
ing school houses, and for other purposes
necessary in the conduct of the public
schools to be determinedby the Board of
->Trustees. . ."
Under this statute loos1 school funds from dis-
trict taxes shall not be expended except for the specific
purpeaes enumerated therein and for other purposes nec-
essary in the conduct of the public schools to be deter-
mined by the local Board of Trustees. Thus, the expendi-
ture of such funds may be made only for the purposes
' enumeratedand for other purposes necessary in the oon-
duct of the public schools. Public funds, among which
are Included school funds, collected and designatedby
statute to be used only for particular public nurposes
cannot bs lawfully diverted to the use of anotherparti-
cular public purpose. San Benito Inde endent School
District v. Farmers' Bank, 78 S.W. (26P 741; Madeley v.
Trustees of Conroe IndependentSahool, 130 S.W.(2d) 929.
Under the facts submittedherein, it Is contem-
plated that such local school funds from district taxes
shall be used for a public purpose, namely, for the con-
structlon'andlighting of a baseball field for the com-
munity, which Is a purpose other than for which the
funds were collected and designated. Such a use OP di-
verslon Is prohibitedby Article 2827 and violates the
public trust principle announced in the olted San Benito
casee A school district is but a trustee or guardian of
public funds coming into its possession,and may disburse
them only in the manner and for purposes prescribedby
law. Love v. City of Dallas, 120 Tex. 351, 40 S.W.(2d)
20.
Eon. L. A. Woods, page 3 (V-534)
SUMMARY
Common school district, Whose scho-
lastics are transferredto another dis-
trict, may not use local tax money to
build a baseball field for community.
Art. 2827, v. c. 9.
Yours very truly,
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
CEO:mw Chester E. Ollison 8
Assistant
APPROVED: