AUSTIN BP. TEXAS
Bon. IA. A. Woods
St&e Department of Public Instruction
Department of Education
Austin, Texas
Attention: Hon. T. M. Trimble
First Assistant Ogtnion'No. V-344
Rs: poes'the extad-
sib3 of the bouhU-
aries of the City
Of New Braunfels
automatically ex-
tend the bouna-
arles of the Iiew
Braunfels fnde-
pendent SOhoo2
District,
We refer to gour letter of recent date BC-
hwle, ed by the Attorney General on July 17, 1947,
,,,,e~y an opinion from this office concerlzl vh8th-
8r t&e err ension af the city linlta of New BrewiT 8l.b
autogs)tiCalLlg operates to extend the boundaries of the
New l&yaUpfels Independent School District, and t\eleted
questio'tia. Your? attached letter slgtned by Mr. Xi. A.
S&II, Superintendent of the New Braunfels Indepetident
School Dintpict, pr8sents, in substance, the following
questions and faatual information:
The New Bpaunfels Independent School
Dlstrlct vaa created by Acts 1913, 33rd Leg-
islature, R. S., Sp8oial Laws, S. B. 294,
Ch. 43 p&a;6 140. (Gammel's Laws, Vol.' 16,
p* 1401
Question 1: Will an extension of the
city limits of the City of New Braunfels b
an election oalled by the- city automatical 9 y
extend the limits of the, New Braunfels Indb-
pendent Sohool District so as to again make
the two oorperrtlons identioal. Ln territory?
_ . .
Hon. L. A. Woods - Page 2 v-344
The City of New Braunfels has extended
its city limits four times slnoe 1913 when
the Independent School District was created
by said law, and each time the territory an-
nexed by the city was automatically taken
into the New Braunfels Independent School
District, and treated for all school pur-
poses as part of the clistr1ct.
Question 2 : Are the simultaneous ex-’
tensions of the limits of the City of New
Braunfels and the New Braunfels Independent
School Dlstrlct legal and compatible with
the special act creating the independent
school district?
Question 3 : May the New Braunfels In-
dependent School District now operating
under the provisions of the speoial act
creating It, consolidate with other adja-
cent common school districts as other tnde-
pendent school aiatrlcts may under and in
accordance with the general laws governing
independent school distriots In the chang-
ing or extending of their boundaries?
The records of the Department of Education re-
veal that the City of New Braunfels assumed control of
the schools within the city on April 3, 1579, but that
such municipal control of the city sahool diatrlat was
divoroed from the city by the 1913 special law above
noted creating the New Braunfels Independent School Dis-
trict. The records of the Secretary of State reveal
further that under the home-rule charter adopted by the
Cit of New Braunfels by electi.on held on January 18,
194 t the city did not assume control of the New Braun-
fels’lndependent School District, and that there has
been no amendment to the 1913 special act creating the
said independent school alstrlct.
We quote for purposes of this opinion only
those parts and seotions of 9, B. 294, Acts 1913, which
are pertinent to the proper dlspositlon of the questions
submitted :
“Section 1. That there Is hereby
created and established tn Coma1 County,
Texas, an incorporation for free school
purposes only, under the name of, and to
Hon. L. A. Woods - Page 3 v-3!4
be known as, the New Braunfels Independ-
ent School District, which shall include
within its limits all ,lands and territory
Included within the corporate limits of
the city of New Braunfela, the~boundarles’ “,
of said Independent school district to be
identical with the limits and boundaries
of sald cltg, and sal.d Independent school
district is hereby Incorporated and made
a body corporate in law for free school
purposes only.
“Qec,. 2. That the said city of New
Braunfels ‘is hereby divested of the &n-
trol of the public free schools within~ its
limits and said New Braunfels Independent
School District la hereby Invested with
the exclusive control of the public free
schools within the limits of said district;
and the title and rights of all property
owned, held, set apart or In any way dedi-
cated to the use of the public free schools,
of the city of New Brauhfels heretofore
vested in the mayor, city council, or trus-
tees of said city, shall be, and is hereby,
vested in the board of trustees, of said New
Braunfels Independent School District and
their successors In office.
“Sec. 5. . . . ; and, the board of trus -
tees of the said New Braunfels Independent
School District shall have and e,xerclse, and
Is hereby vested,and charged with, all the
rights, powers, privileges. and duties con-
ferred and ,tipoaed by the General Laws of
this State upontrustees of Independent
sohool districts created and ‘organieed under
the General Laws of thls.3tato, inoluding
the right to levy and collect taxes for the
Issuance of bonds and for the maintenance of
the schools, and to Issue bonds of said dls:
trlct to the extent and for the purposes ad
subject to the provisions, limitations and
conditions that ~s,aid powers may now be ex-
brclsed under the,General Laws of this State,
by the trustees of independent school dis-
tricts incorporated for free school purposes
only, . . .‘I
Hon. L. A. Woods - Page 4 v-344
Your identical question submitted as Question
No. 1 herein has been previously submitted for the con-
sideration of this Department concerning the Texarkana
Independent School District which was created also by
special law, Acts 1920, 36th,Legislature, 3rd Called
Session, S. B. No, 9, Ch. 31, and Section 1 of said Act
reads almost identical with Section 1 of S. B. No. 294
creating, the New Braunfels Independent School District.
This Department advised in its Opinion No. O-3823, a
copy of which Is attached and Incorporated as a part
hereof, that the extension of the municipal boundaries
of the City of Texarkana did not automatically extend
the boundaries of the Texarkana Independent School Dis-
trict and that the boundaries of such school district
are subject to the applicable laws relating to bodies
corporate for school purposes only.
We think the ruling given in Opinion O-3823,
for the reasons therein stated, are equally a,ppllcable
and constitute sufficient and proper answer to your
first and third submitted questions as stated herein;
that the proper answer to your first question should be
In the negative, and to your third question in the af-
f irmative.
Your second submitted question relating to a
specific fact situation depends upon the proper answer
to your first question. It necessarily follows that
Question No. 1 having been determined In the negative
that the answer to your second question Is in the nega-
tive, unless there has been curative or validating leg-
islation which would validate the stated actions of the
City of New Braunfels in simultaneously extending the
1tmlt.s of the city and the New Braunfels Independent
School District. We have found no such validation leg-
1slatlon, nor have we been apprised thereof.
SDMMARY
The extension of the city limits of
the City of New Braunfels will not operate
automatically to extend the school district
limits or boundaries of the New Braunfels
Independent School District, sa1.d school
district boundaries being fixed by Acts
1913, 33rd Leg., R. S., Special Laws, S. B.
294, Ch. 43, p. 140, and the district not
being municipally controlled. A. G. Optn-
ion Ro. O-3823.
Hon. L. A. Woods - Page 5 v-344
The boundaries of the New Braunfels
Independent. School District are subject to
the applicable general laws governing inde-
pendent school districts, not municipally
controlled, and may be changed and extended
in acoordance therewith.
Very truly yours
ATTORNEY GENERALOFTEXAS
,,-r-
Chester E. Ollison
Assistant
CEO:djm: jt
Enclosure APPROVED: