Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

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NET GENE EXAS Han, R, A, Taylor, Jr0 OpinXon No, V-559 County Attorney Zavala County fle: CaPllng of rural high Crystal city, Texas school elections by courky school board :n-&e:r~’ Article 2922c, v 3 C, S,& as amended, Dear Sir: We Pefera to your Wttex of recent. date from which we quote, in part,, as follows: “If the County Board of T~wtees or- dews the election z?equ,ix-ed by Arlt, 2922~ on its own motfon, sreeh ackLon \WOUPd pxe- sumablg be based upon the reqwstjj oral or written, 0~ petition of pe~yons k&x- ested in th.e cxeatlon of the 3xxaP high school diatvict F “If sxh a reqms% 02 pet,Lci.on, i:s presented to t,he Cailnt,y Ao~~KI 0% Tru,-- tees, is it mandatory that, .%he>electicn be called by the Board, rJ;pqs s&at &I>- cpetionaky ,with the Board?‘” “In each crganf.zed 0wonky in +,hfs state, and Iln any county ?&aP-,fch ,&all her-eaftea be or~ganfzed, :he ~%xnty school trustees shall have the alrt,ho:rify to form one ok mope rural high school dist.ric?.sl by grouping contiguo3.s common e:hool dis- tnicts having less than, fo::.r hnrdred ~.kYlO] scholastic populati.on and tndap?ndent school d9striats hav:.ng less than two hw= tied fift.y (250) scholastic popul.atson, ITOP the pwpose of establishing and operating rural high schools; pscwPda-3, also, that- the county school truasse:j may arnxx one OP moxe common, s,chool d%str~~icty or one OP more independent school dist~rfcts hexing Hon., R. A. TayloP, Jr., page 2 (v-559) leas than two hundred fifty (250) scho- lastic population to a common chool dis- trict having four hundPed (400 7 OP more scholastic population, or to an independent district having two hundred.,Plfty (250) OP more scholastic population.” Article 2922-z, as amended by 9. B, 341, PPO- viaeel: “NO rural high school diatrlct, as provided fop nereln, snail contain a greater area than one hundrad squaPe miles, OP more than ten elementary school dis- tricts, except that the county school board of school trustees w form rural high school districts, as provided in Art- icle 2922a,, containing mope than one hun- dred square miles, upon a vote of a ma- jority of the qualified electors in the said proposed rural high school district voting at an election called for such purpose; and profldad further, that the said board of county school trustees H form a Pural hLgh school district contain- ing more than ten elementary distrfcts up- on a vote of a majority of the qualified voters In each of the elementary dlstz81cts within such,propoaed rural high school dis- trict.” (Emphasis ouPsl In certain in&awes the county tPustees’aPe authcrized to fo~n PuPal highschool distpicts without the necessity of submlttihg the question to a deteP- mlnatlon of thd electorate of the districts involved. Article 2922a, aa amended. They are also authopized to ” form rural hi school districts under the conditions specified in fi title 29220, as amended. But theiP aath- oritg In this respect Is lidted to there first being an approval by the majority of the qualified voters of the proposed district, whsrs the dlstpict proposed con- tains an area greater than 100 square miles and CoispPfs- ed of not’ more than ten elementary dfstricts, or the ap- proval,by the majority of the qualified voters in each of the elementary districts where the proposed rural high school distPict shall contain more than ten elemen- tary distPicts* Article ,2922c, as amended; County Board of School Trustees v. Mayfiald C,S.D, No, 22, 140 S.W, t2dg 956. Itharr been held that the ruthozdty to c&E an eleotfon on pn4atlons of o~gaalefay: a PUPOP high school &f&pi& fs sleeted %A the oouxdy bom.pd of tm~ua- tees. Countz v. MftchdU, 38 S.wm(24) 770. Thexe fe no ovfsioa in A~tfoles 29220, 29226p OF cbth4P PwPaP h $I” school dfetPfct lawa, ,~eq~lfPing %o pP,roeentatioa of a petition to said board bef'o~4 uprid bow& my 4x4~ else the aPrthoPity gPrated it in eofd &at&es %o OP4ate ~$~;160h~h mhool d%atHct, Canon PO Rasbwy, 21 S.W, FuPthePmPe, it has been heId fn @ox go Beard, 87 S.V.(24 883# that the app~ovaI. of tmateeta of dfs- trlata effe@ted in the foaaatfon of a PUPPLPhigh sahool distpist is not neoesesslaPg whwe em ePes;tion Ya regufa- 4d end held under the pacviaiona of kt;ioEe 2922e, A%- topary Qenepalns Opf.nfcmsHas, &268 ana &600~, Under Ad%cls 29220, boweve~, the a’utha~%ty th4r4fn gPomted to the sounty bam~d to &olieah an es- tabllehed xwal high B&BOP .dfiatz?oiet. fs prcedfmtea up- on the ppesentnent of a pstitfcn sfgnd by Y la~jaaftg of the votePa of eaob al@rw%ary cU&~Let mmprfskg th4 rwal hi& aahool dist~iat, Bi triet %'?mtrepr PB, County Sohoof Tmxstees, 203 SOMOQ2d 7 $60, at p4ge 86%. Thus, the county bow& c?$ trusteseu has @anary paver in the creation of ~uml hIgh school &Llatkictao County OehobP Tm.wteee v, Dfst~%et mugtees, 1% S,W,[2d) 891.~ Xt has been un8famly h&l that the Leyis$srtx~e Uay l414gs;te its arPthorPftg to such a emSas. W%se Corn- IIOA Sehocl.Dist~ict No. ~2 vo CO&PC 8 ounty School To, 141 S.W.f2a) 1028, .Fwther, it was held fn Bojrk9 of School Ilpupstees'v. Wooil~ooT 1,S,P,,9~~90 S.W,(Zd) 333, tkmt the oopmtj board bai exolusfve, Qw$ad$~tSae, subject to statut4r-y limitations, of" gwoeeed%rg to axeate 0, mraP high school district fmm date af pre-sle@tion o~d4~ to entry of formal order creating dfstP%e~t, especf4lBy ixk th4 abs4nce of aM.egatfon that the pubIfs was injmea by the boaxdDs octioti WMng such txm~ we quote from said cash, rt page 337" n By statute ft QGowit~ School Boo~d)~l~ iiven unbx%bPed power over the $omatfon of ~awsl hfgh school distdct. 0 AZ%" in IIOn., R, A, Taylor, Jr,, page 4 (v-559) part: gin establishing high schools9 said trustees shall give due regard to schools already looated, to the distribution of population, and to advancement of the stu- dents In their studies.8n (Emphasis ours) In Gibson v. Couch, 153 S0w.(2d) 288, the county board ordered an election under Article B922c (the area in the proposed district being greater than 100 square miles) to determine whether a majority,of legally qualified voters of each of six dietr$t;ae+ sired to form a rural high school district, held that the county boar8 could not be compelled to entar an order recognizing the proposed district as legally established even though the returns showed a majority of the voters of the proposed dlatriot for gr0llpillg * We quote from the Clbson-Couch case at page 290: “The Board was under no legal duty to group the districts and owed to Rela- tors no such legal duty enforcible by mandamus c The law (Art> 2922c) says the Board m group on a majority vote of a proposed district, but nowhere does It attempt to take away the dleorotion orl- ginally lodged in the Board in matte:rs of forming rural high schools, Since the Raskell County Board in harmony ‘with its pre-election order, and in the exer- cise of its undoubted discretion refused to group the six dlstrlots, it follows that the relators are not entitltd to the writ of mandamus prayed for. In the light of the provisions of Article 2922c, as construed by the courts In the above cited oases, it is our opinion that the matter of calling an election ae ’ provided under Article 2922c, es amended, is discretion& arg with the County Board of School Trustees, SUMMARY The matter of calling an election authorized and as provided under Arti- cle 2922c, VernonDs Civil ‘Statutes, as amended by 9, B. 341, Acts 1947, 50th Hone 2. A, Taylor, JP,, page 5 (v-559) Leg., Rosa.” Ghapter 298, is dismetion- arg with the County Board of School lkustees, Gibson v. Cosaoh, 153 S,76.(26) 288; Board of School Trustees v. ~oodzow I. School Dist,, 90 S,W,f2d) 3330 YQUPS very tmlg, ATTORNEYOENERALOF TEXAS CEOsmw ATTORNEYGENERAL