R-145
Ho& W. H. Crunk
Caumty Attorney
Delta County Re: Approval of School Bus
Coaper, Texas Driver Bead by County
School Beard where
School District is re-
ceiving State aiU un-
tier Article V, Acts
1945, 49th Leg., R.S.,
Senate Bill 167.
Dear Sir:
We refer to your letter of recent date acknow-
ledged by the Attorney General on February 19, 1947,where-
in yeu requested an opinion on the question and facts sub-
mitted therein, in substance, as follows:
The Board of Trustees of the Enloe
Inaepgnaent School District of Delta Count..
ty umaer previsions of Article 2687a,
V.C.S., has authorized the drivers of t&eir
scrhcel busses to execute.bond in the a-
meant of $3,000.00 with personal sureties
rather than corporate sureties. The Coun-
ty Sakoel Beard has advised the District
that it may authorize the making of per-
sonal surety bonds provided the same shall
be submitted to the County Board and ap-
proved by it,
Under provisions of Article V, Trans-
portation Aid, Acts 1945, 49th Legislature,
R.S. Senate Bill 167, school districts
qualifying thereunder are entitled to State
transportation aid to be disbursed by the
County Board and to be paid out of thecoun-
t$,Bloe;d Transportation Fund designated in
The Enloe Independent Sohool Dis-
trict i;l entitled to and is receiving State
aid cut of this Fund. The School District,
however, refuses to reoognize any authority
in the County Sohool Board to make any re-
quirements affeoting its power with refer-
Hon. W. H. Crunk - Page 2 (V-139)
ence to its School Bus Driver Indemnity
Bona.
Question: Under the facts sub-
mitted, are the statutory bonds required
by the Enloo Independent School District,
acting under Article 2687a, V.C.S., to be
executed by the drivers of its school
bussea, subjeat to the approval of the
Delta County School Board, where the School
Distriot is receiving State aidunder pro-
.visions of Article V, Aots 1945, 49th Ieg-
islature, R.S., Senate Bill 1679
It is our understanding in view of the above
submitted facts that the Enloe Independent School Dis-
trict, acting under the provisions of Article 2607a, is
providing for the transportation of pupils of and within
the confines of the district, contracting for the’ employ-
ment of one or more drivers of its school busses, and is
paying the cost of said transportation and salaries of
said drivers out of its local school funds ana Sta,te aid
funds to which the distriot is entitled under Artiole V,
Aots ‘1945, 49th ‘Legislature, R. S,, Senate Bill 167.
We have been advised ,further, in ~conferenoe,
with the Department of Education, that the district la
question has two bus drivers, both of whom are under oon-
traot with the District Board and both of whom transport
pmplils- of and within the district as well as certain
pupils from surrounding districts into the local district.
The Enloe District ha8 made application for t$ansporta-~
tion aid under the provisions of Article V, Senate Bill
167, ana is receiving needed aid thereunder. Further,
the system of transportation bears the sanction and ap-
proval of the County Superintendent, the Delta County
School Board and the State Superintendent of Public In-
struction, acting under and by virtue of the provisibns
of Article V, Senate Bill 107; which authorities acting
in cooperation with the Enloe District, have devised and
approved same as being the most economical transportation
system possible. The bus drivers have been authorized to
go without the Bnloe District for the purpose of trans-
porting certain pupils attending schools within the dis-
trict by virtue of an employment contract required of all
bus drivers by the County Board who operate busses for
districts receiving State aid under Article V, SenateBill
167, end all bus drivers who operate busses authorized
to cress dfstriot lines, We are advised also that the
Hon. W. H. Crunk - Page 3 (V-139)
Co&ty Board has required that all bus drivers under
contract to it, as a condition of the contract, con-
form to the provisions of Article 2687a, which, among
other matters, provides for the execution of a bona.
Article 2687a of Vernon's Statutes relates
to the intradistrict transportation of pupils. It pro-
vides ror the making of a contract by the trustees of
an independent or common school district for suchtrans-
portation and presoribes that the drivers shall be re-
quired to give bond, payable to the district, for such
amount as the Board of Trustees of.the district may
prescribe', not less than $2,000.00, and contains oth-
er provisions not necessary here to state. .Robinson
vs. Draper, 133 Ter. 280, 127 S. 1%'. (2) 181.
Article V of Acts of 1945, 49th Legisla-
ture, B.S., Senate Bill 167, relates to the interdis-
trict as well as the intrrdiatriot transportation of
pupils. It provides that the Ceamtg School Board and
County Superintendent, subject to the approval of the
State Superintendent of Public Instruction, may set up
the most efficient system of transpertation possible
for the purpose of tranap8rting pupils from their dis-
tricts and within their districts. It further provides
for the making of a contract by the County Board of
Trustees for bus drivers for such tranapertafion and
the payment of salaries of same out of the CountyBoard
Transportation Fund when said bum drivers are employed
by the County Board, and that the County Board of Fldu-
oation shall aistribate funds im the County RoardTnns-
portation Funds equitably te the eligible districts who
have properly shavn budgetary need for State aid in ac-
cordance with the provisions of the Act.
There is no statutory provision in Senate .,
Bill 167 with reference to a bona to be exacted by the
County Board in oonnection with any contract which'it
might make for the transportation of pupila. When, how-
ever, a County School Beard, acting under the provis-
ions of Utiole V, Senate Bill 167, employs bus drivers
for imterdistriot ar int~diatriot transportation ef
pupils in its mest economical system or transportation,
said Board acting within its sound discretion may re-
quire the drivers to eYecute bonds similar to the stat-
utory bond requiredwE Article 2687a. Such authority
naturally carI'$~es with it the right to approve such bond.
Hon. W. H. Crunk’- Page 4 (V-139)
Article V, Senate Bill 167, contemplates
that a scho,ol district may continue to ~set up and op-
erate its own transportation system for pupils within
the district under Artiole 2687a when a district pre-
fers to so operate same exclusively and does not make
application for State aid. In such a case the statu-
tory bond required under Article 2687a would not be
subject to the approval of the County Board.
On the other hand, Senate Bill 167 clear-
ly purports and is designed to give State transporta-
tion aid to those school districts showing need and
making application for financial assistance, and in
such instances the County Superintendent and County
School Board are authorized and directed to set up
the most economical system of transportation. In at-
tempting to conform to the provisions of the Aot, the
County Board has established the policy of allowing
the eligible sohool districts to contract for the em-
ployment of their own bus drivers. Since the District
Board’s jurisdidtion is confined to the limits of its
district and the bus drivers so employed are to trans-
port pupils both within and without the distriot, the
County Board has deemed it necessary to place said bus
drivers under like contract, thus, enabling the bus
drivers to perform both interdistrict as well as in-
tradistrict transportation. As a matter of polioy al-
so the County Board has required that all such bus
drivers shall, as a condition of their employment)
conform to the provisions of Article 2687a by execut-
ing a bond in accordance therewith, and if approved
by the Board, no additional bond is required.
In the present case, the County Board may
require a second bond if it is not satisfied with the
District bond and if it deems another bond necessary
for proteotion of the children transported, In other
words, the County School Board has no authority to ap-
prove a bond given by a bus driver to an independent
school district.~ if the transportation is limited to
students within the district and financed by the dis-
trict. On the other hand, if the school district is
operating the bus for transportation of pupils within
end out of the Distriot and is receiving State aid un-
der Senate Bill 167, 49th Legislature, this is a joint
operation, and the County School Board has the right
to either approve the bond given to the distriot or to
require a separate common law bond.
Hon. W. H. Crunk - Page 5 (V-139)
Xhen independent school district bus
drivers are transporting pupils both from
within and out of the school district end'
receiving State aid under Senate Bill 167,
49th Legislature, the County School Board
has the right to approve the school bus
drivers bond to the district or it may re-
quire a second bond for the protection of
the children being transported.
Yours very truly
ATTORNEYGENEFzAL
OF TXXAS
Chester $. Ollison
CEO:ejm:wb Assistant
APRIL 11, 1947