Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

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GERALD C. MANN
&&&&--xXxX AUST!au 11. Tp-s
Honorable J. C. Gowdy Opinion No. O-3305
County Auditor Re: Changing boundary lines of
Wichita County school districts
Wichita Falls, Texas
Dear Sir:
We received your letter dated March 19. 1941, which reads ’
as follows:
“The State of Texas having leased approximately
twenty miles of the Wichita River Bed, your department
has heretofore ruled that such oil and gas leases are tax-
able and the same have accordingly been duly assessed in
this county.
“Both banks of the Wichita River being respectively
a boundary line of the several adjacent school districts, can
such boundary lines be extended to the center of the river bed
so that these oil and gas leases may be made assessable for
school purposes and if so, what is the proper procedure?*
From the correspondence we have. it appears that there
are two adjacent school districts whose boundary line extends to the bank
of one side of the river. On the other side of the river there are two other
adjacent school districts whose boundary line extends to the bank of that
side of the river. The river bed is not within the boundary line of any
school district.
Your question is: What is the procedure for extending the
boundary lines of the four school districts so as to take in the river bed?
We are informed that three of the school districts are com-
mon school districts and the other is an independent school district. We
assume that the independent school district is incortiorated for free school
purposes only,
Article 2766, Revised StatuteS, enacted in 1905. reads as
follows:
“The commissioners court of any county shall have the
authority to change the boundaries of any independent district
incorporated for free school purposes only, situated in said county,
when in the judgment of said court the public good demands such
Honorable J. C. Gowdy. Page 2 (o-3305)
change; provided, that the president of the board of trustees
~of the independent district to be affected by the proposed
change shall first be notified, and said board of trustees shall
have the right to be heard in case there is opposition to the
change. No such change shall be made that would reduce the
total value of taxable property in any independent district
against which there are outstanding bonds legally issued.”
Article 2681. Revised Statutes, enacted in 1915, reads in
part as follows:
“The c,ounty school trustees are authorized to exer-
cise the authority heretofore vested in the commissioners
court with respect to subdividing the county into school dis-
tricts, and making changes in school district lines. . . . The
county superintendent, as secretary of the county school trus-
tees, shall keep an accurate and complete record in a well
bound book provided for that purpose, the field notes of all
changes made in school district lines, and of all proceedings
of the county school trustees. A certified copy of such change
in a school district line shall be made and transmitted by the
county superintendent to the county clerk, and the county clerk
shall record the field notes and certified copy of such change
in a well bound book to be designated as the’Record of School
Districts.“’
The above quoted statutes permit the county board of school
trustees to change the boundary lines of an independent school district, in-
corporated for free school purposes only, on its own initiative when it is
for the public good. Hill County School Trustees v. Melton et al., 199 S.W.
1142.
Section 2 of Article 2742e. Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes.
reads as follows:
“That on and after the passage of this Act the County
Board of School Trustees in any county in this State shall have
authority and full power to create Common School Districts, to
subdivide districts, and to change boundary lines of any or all
Common School Districts legally coming under the jurisdiction
of the County Board of School Trustees, subject to the supervl-
sion of the District Court having jurisdiction over the county
where the County Board is appointed or elected; provided that
before any changes may be made in boundary lines of school
districts the trustees of the Common School Districts affected
shall be notified to appear before the County Board for a hear-
ing, and after said hearing or the date set for said hearing, the
County Board of Trustees may pass such order or orders as
will carry out the provisions of this Act; provided, further, that
the trustees of the districts affected may appeal from the decision
of the County Board to the District Court.”
Honorable J. C. Gowdy, page 3 (o-3305)
We are of the opinion that the statutes herein mentioned
empower the county board of school trustees to change the boundary lines
of the school districts involved and sets out the procedure to be followed.
We do not determine whether any or all of the leasehold
interests are subject to school taxes since we do not have any facts con-
cerning this question.
Yours very truly
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
/s/ Lee Shoptaw
BY Lee Shoptaw
Assistant
LS:AMM/cm
APPROVED JUN 6. 1941
/s/ Grover Sellers
FIRST ASSISTANT
ATTORNEY GENERAL
APPROVED
Opinion Committee
By /s/’ BWB
Chalrman