Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

B-164

THE AYTCBI~NIEY GENERAIL.
OF TEXALJ
,‘ i:

April 15, 1947

Hon. T. Mi Trimble, First Asaiatant
State Superintendent of Public Instruotlon
Department 0f~Eduoation
Austin, T~XUJ Oplelon Ho,': v-14$

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Boat ‘I’r M. Trlmble e Pm 2 0~141)

done soti lereral months prior to Jam
uary 1, 1947. This territory was i*
olu4ed b ordinance bf the City GOIZWS-
33ionwitiKout a vote of 3232 people m,
sldlrigin the territory.
ltPJCast: advLee us concorning the
fOuOWiAg questions;

“14 DOOS the terslC& anaoxcrl
to the City oI’ Q&or autonat1 oally be-
come a part of the City of Ty&er aud
aa aush constituted a part oF the T#ua
imiopendent dietzlot9

*e. Does the Oity Commlssia* af
the City of Tyler have auth@ty, bg
,hl, to extend the cltr &iaits of the
dQs of TY&QXr0r oitf ~ur#rw8 -crrufl~
I .

Ho& T, M. Trlmble - age 3 (Y-141)

dlrtriot69 Doe8 Artdole86@6 (Aabe
ASLO, 36th &we.) apply &,a to the abr
mmpt10n oi ioddbtadn4w8 ~nt&oned
in qwrtioa No4 ST
X& it a zeaponuibility of
the &omkirrlon of the City of
Tyler to detomb the amu&t of the
obligation to be asmmed bj She aity
in payment of a part of th@ optetand-
ing obllgatloa of the atfvtiti dia-
tlbeta, or is thle a reeptibllity
or the Tyler independent soh001 truea
team; or do the oounty trusfrcNs and
the oonuwn rohool district ~tm8terr
IuIvajmr&64lotion; or fa it a joht
*rrpomLi&lity of the myera author-
&ties mentioned to ad&& the indebt-
;$y6~a6 betwaen the .aHWtf;csd dim

“a. fe there any remponatbitlty
reatlng on the City of l’ylar So br%w
to the attention of the sohoolauthor-
itie of d~strilbfsaffeotsd by the ez-
teas1o.a of the oity limita to the sf-
reot that territory has beeh inoluded
in the oi,ty limits and that, such dis-
triote, by virtue of the a-6 of
their territory, should be zv-satab
liehed and re,-dafinrd, rruoh notGxtor,
aotiose oontaiting map8 and field not06
of tbrritom frrtolved and au&h other
inforiaation needed to am&t tha aohool
--. authorities ia adjusting the&r businesar
and budget0 in oonformltpwith the
ebb,; brought ,about by 1the oity autb-
.
“9. In 9i.w of,ths fact Ylhat the
dietrlcte in questionham -trot been ail
yet re-eetabllshed a& Fe-defined by the
Pan. T. Y. Trlmble - Page 4 (Y-141)

County !%ard, la this oonstrued to
maan that these dlstriota my ba
reoognizad for taxing purposes and
for school census purposes the mm
aa thoq,h no change had been made in
their boundary llnas? ,l)oea the .ac-
tion of the City ~ommicaion taken
prior to January 1, X947, mean that
the dletriotr in effect were at that
time re-eetablish& imd re-def fned
and that as a matter of cour& would
80 be reoognized by ,a11 parties eon-
cerned7w
Seations 64, 65, 66, 67 and 6S of the alty
oharter of Tyler, %*exas, a horn rule city, which ‘charter
was apprwod on December 1, 1936, proPida that the City
of Tyler shall continue to be an independent school dla-
trick having able ana exclusive ooot~l or its pubiio
free schools subject to the law8 of Tesa6, and that said
sc~ols &all be governed and controlled py a boati of
seven (7) trustees to be appoint@& by the oity eommle-
afon until their.,suocessore~ are elected and qualified.
Sootions 69 and 70 provide that the public fme soheols
or the ofty r&U be under the rxolualn oontrol and au-
prnirion of euch board or trwteeriwhich mhall have
full power to manage, control and govern aaid 8ehoola
granted under the charter as well a8 all powarr ganted~
or that may be. granted by the laws of the State of Tegs
to indepsndant aahool distriata.
It is our underatandfng that there ia no Qoss-
tion oonaerning the validity of the annexation of adjamnt
territory $in question to the Glty of Tyler and that ths
came was legally coneunmated by the .proper city authori-
tier aotiag in full conformance with Seotlone~dl and 62
of the oity charter and enumorato6powers granted to tha
dty by VitiU@ ,Oi fb wWi8iO1~ Of miOh3 ii7fi, $bOtiOh
and further that the independent sohool dls-
t”&G$&m in the ofiy hae not been separated from au&-
olpal control.,
In Attorney General nion Noi O-364l.this
Depacfrnent properly held that Artoptale 2804, V.C.S., pro-
vides that whenever the limits of a city which conatititee
an independent aohool district are extended atid enlarged
80 as to lnolude adjaoent lndependemt or oomaon school
dietriots, the territory so lnaluded “shall hereafter be-
corn a part md portion of the independent school d1striot
Hoa. T. II, Trimble - P8ge 5 (V-14$)

oomtltutd by sooh lmoorporat& eltp; ml In Opinion
lOor O-2554, It wa8 held that if the city ie suoh an In-
oorperatod city oonrtltutlng an lpdopendent 8ohocl dlr-
trlot, thea the lxt8a8len of it8 boundaries would lto-
rtloally opente to aand the bQMdar10b of the mu&
olpelly oontrclioa~iadep6ndent 8ohool dlrtrlot. City
of Boustofi ~8. Tod, 276 8.W. 419; Washlngtoa H&&Him
I.S.D..TO. City or Ft, Worth, 2Sl S.W. 34L See also
reoent, cau holAIng to the 88188 effeot, City of Beaumont
zGfii; va. Breadurn,t62 8.8. 81 406,wrlt of error re-
.
Aooor+bgly, our amw8r to your tlr8t qu88-
Uon 18 In the aftlzartlve. This amwer, of oour8e, Is
predloated on the asmmptlon that the Tyler 'Ind8peadent
Soho DI8trlot ha8 not b88n mmparsted or Utoroed from
mnlolp81 oontrol uader the authority of ArUol8 2783b,
V.C.S.

Art1018 #OS Y.C.S.,proVIdr8 a mthod for
the Wstten810n~i& olty lkta for schoolpurpe888 onlp
upon a petition o? a ~Jorlty of the rrsldant qual,ifIed
voters OS the territory to b8 MlPa into the oity only
ror 8uoh purpo888. Poteet *se Brldgrm, IHB SrW. 415,
The third paragraph of Article 2804, provides further
that t& automatic enlargommt oi~'eohool boundules oo-
ertrnelve with the enlargement of mualolpal boumlarles
8hould:not result ii it wore
detsnained. by th8 toter8 or
th8 incorporated oitf tkrt tlw addid territory taken, fn-
to the arnlolpal Aim&t8 should not be taken la for 8uhcol
purp068~*
Aa-eordinglp our 8h8wer to your second qurs-
tloi I8 I* the airimatire provided the city coamI88lon
aotr..wdor the provf8lons of prtlole 2804, third parr-
graph, and an eleotlon held thereunder laaa de&malged
that thm territory to be amexed to the aity rrlpall not
kaosae a part of the idlspmdent school dietriot oomtl-
tut84 by thm soid city.
Oar answer to your third quaatlon is in the
ltii*r Olnpmvlded the city oomaIs8lon rollowe the pro?
obluro or mtbde set out in Lrtlcle 2803, V.C.S.
.A$tlole 2805, V;C,S,, provides a8 rollews:
W all ca8ea where a district 18
embaaed withi@ an lnoorpcrated city or
tow8, a8 prsrld& la th8 preaodlng Arti-
.

Hon. T. W. Tdmbls - Pa@ 6 (V-ltiI)

cle (Art. 2804); and la all, ease8
where any town or villa@a has been
OX may be in00rp0ratea r0r me
school purposes only (Art, 2603)
and which &all include within tha
limits t,hereof any portion of any
oomon sob001 district which has au
outstanding. bonded indebminess,
then such city, town or village

th 6 o f lwh dlstdot
; the pWqiortionof the Intanst and prin-
ot al o? .woh bonded iAdebtedtmdbfal
,i whkh it ie Uabh+; (lorpbasis aore)

Th6 proper answers to your ?emth and tlS!th
questions ax6 iou.Wia th6 provi85onr or Article tdos
above quoted, rkerin we havr iadSaat6d Dr underlining,
Tn.-City of Rouston vs. Tod, 258 S. W. 839, it war’held,
ano- other things, that a failum of a oity, whtch oon-
etitutea an ihaepemnt school. district, upon extending
ite,lis&ts so aa to include part oi an adjaaent distriot
which thereupon beoaae a part of the d5striot constiZlited
by the oity, to provide for the assumptionof its ropor-
tionate part of the indebtsdnses of a school distr itat
dltieished by ex.tenslon, does not render auah extension
void',slnoe Article 2805 deffnitely fires- liability oi
the olty for such indabtedneae.
We quote from the ease or Washington Hsightr
vs. City of Ft. Warth, supra, at page, 345, a8 fol-
E;:* ’
‘Tin makidn~t&e than@ an6 in *A*
loniA9the ahhexation, the LsgislaWe
la&mded that, the liabllfties aa we&l
as the ri&kr W propez*Qy of ths or-*
 . .

Hon. T. M. Trimble - Page 7 (V-141)

5~1 independent sohool d5rtriota, as
to the parts of the territory aetaohea,
should be taken over by the Qity. Tho
wohoolhouws and school sites passed
de a right appurtenant to the territory
or parcels 80 allotted or annexed to
the city. The board of trustees of tbs
original Independent aohaol diatriot
would, by operation of law, lose all
oontrol and rl@t of managenuuit over
the tranoferrea portion aqd the proper-
ty thereon fmm aad afBor tha time tho
banex&loa or transfer koomas leeally
. lffeotlsr. Eat the vest& of the s’5@
fn the oity to talcsover the pal-tion of
toraWorp of the orl,ghal~ln&pan&nt
whoa1 di*ioti rlw raqalne~~ alluwaaoe
.,,Jay
the oit to the f3,aScI origlacl d&as
trlote OS s ts proper proportiorrof’:fhe
value of the improvement.8 made upon t&e
~~glaes. The oity aan mba this
at after the atiemloa, x&&
ar,'tho,~,
&. 0 not roquln 1t to be .dOnebefore**

slupoa between. the3 govwa&ng body
2 gttOm ana the doQheritis5
at tibh aiECI rl

Thie &4&laatLon and Artlole 2805 oovera the
mtf*#e Ht out .fn )~~lf sixth question and meanb to auth-
i oriw ‘ohs e$jaatuot OS aqultles between the two ahthoil-
tlr6 (Um ova~&ng body & such oit# eind the author;ltles
or 8uah SO& 01 tlSrWie4s whose areas he&e been diminished)
rolw~t4dL7 aa Clwy may qxee, or by a jaUio5al proceed-
ing if mwemry.
.
.

Hon. T. M. Trirable - Page 8 (V-&41)

W5th rmimot te your ei&Sh question, we
ham found no 8tmtM.e, aer ha8 any been brought to our
attsntian, w&b .~cl?5aally plaoss the respons/btlity
on the aity of qZer to ~otlfy the sohool dietrlOt# af-
fected by the eztenslpn or to provlcie field notes, plats,
etc., denoting the new boundaries of the alty. However,
necessarily, ht would seein to ?oll.ow ths
2802.~der5nit~.ly. fixes tha_ liabLU...0! f---=-AcLs
..~tpe .~Wxi for its .._
$S@~ol’tionat& @Mi of the $ndebke.&ee# of ~.,.t.k..!35 &rick--
diminished,by the !JrtW?liOA,
8aaox84 ~krrttozy for

or indebta&msa.

30 hmo lmmin la ani3warto ow? fitet gues-
tion iadvisob that t&i sttansioa of We :d ty of TyLer
boaadarls s epsnkd to s0FQb.a the bauada-
riea of it oqttollkd inda~enbent aohool
dlstr5ot. To th6 lrtiemt the botiary of ‘tada oity icJs-
peso* attheo1dfsariot was ohmgod be indud portion8
et the arow s? the oommon eehool dlaltPLbt8 a??edted
t&w&y, the boundariss of the dltieldhed oemoa mohsol
dlrtrlcte also for all purpose8 automat~~alky mm ar-
footed W- ahctllged -thereby. True, the mm&y wheel
board acting under the prwialons CP?Lrflole WMr, fro-
Mon 2; 2742b, Saotion 9, and/or 27681, 9rrbfea 1, hm
 .’ .

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HOB. T. IL TrLabla - Page 9 (V-141)

the authority to change the boundary end effeot adjust-
mats of bonded indebtedness of ao-called rural common
aad i&iqWb&Mit eebool dia%riots, but it has never been
xeoogrdz+8t that the county eahool board had authority
over &unl.cipall~ cohtrollad In&pendent school c?istricts.
Broadus ease, supra. hrtiole E&31, V.'C..3+, specifically
protidee that *a xeooxfd of school ?istrlote" ah0U3.a be
lospt by the cuunty board showi “f; the field.@tes of all
oh#mg*a mede in schooL datricst ima; howmax, it is
apparent that this Axticle does net refex to sohools
over'whioh ofties a&d towns have aesuared eacc?.uei~e eon-
tro1.a

ot Tyler 0rtsnding Its city limits: 5Vewould advise ., of
oouxue, that the roper authorities 'as desiggatea herein
lvvb'fo wtt3.o vo 3u#iuily t&a liabilities Sm~loeB, to
asowtain the trw and correct b~iee af their school
dlstriota aa emUfled by the’ oity ~o*(um8, and to re-
cord the matters and fieU notes .with the oouhty sahool
board in order that eaoh distxlot WAYaeCextf%in it6 juris-
dlotional contines for taxing and c8nsu~ purposes.

When the lirPlte.of the CLty of Tylex
oonstitgting en independent school dletrlat ,
were extended to ifiowa. territory of aa -
oent ooamon aehool districts, the oxten 2 oa
autopatioelly operated. to exte@ the bound-
arloe or the apaiaripaL1y OWW 8d iA&npeAd-
8At ilohOOl dirtxiot and aUtOEat v? OCnllf Op~r-
ated to mbify the beu&ax&,fi of the, common
~ohool dlst,rictc dLnduL&ed thereby. AA.010
61804,V.C.S.; City of Peaunent I.&D, vs.
BrmduLug,182 3.W. 26 406, writ ref., and
oafsea cited therein:
The city must assume its proportionate
part of the indebtedness of the school districts
. . .

dlmlnished by extension uaiag the asasidlod
vaJ.ues basis provided, in Artlole 2805,
v*c.a. The governing body of the oity and
the bmrde, of trueteee of the whool dbm-
tricts diminished amy *djtist the sg&tiBs
~toluntaxily by agr~smenfs or by jutiiol~l
pro6seding if neoeasuy. Aat, 2804, VW,@.&,;
W~sMllgbon Eeights 1,S.D. ve. City of W.
Worth, 21. CLW. 241; Tad YS~ City of Hwrt*a,
276 8.W. 419,~ affinwd iA 858 8.W. S39.
The existing school did~lct~ ar In-.
orsased or dimknishod by &he TyLer slty DC-
dinanoe $noreasl~ its oily fimits &a~ be
moogaSsed for taxtag rp4 #oh001 0pn~uls w-
pomam

The Oity COmmtSdOA Of the aity O? !Py-
10, aotfng in aonformlty with llrticlss 2803
: oi 2804, V.C;S., has autksrity to lxte& t;k
alty limlts for ofty purpons only or for
‘nhooa purpo5aa only.

Chester E. Ollison
CBWdjEl:Wb ~mletad.

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