i
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
iionorable Carl Gillilend
county attorney
Deaf &nith County ,\;
Ffereforlt,Terarr
Opinion NO. o-7249
iier (a) Annexation by County sohool
TNsteQ6 Or on8 or more OOLUZOII
aoh distrlot
‘rre are in moelpt 0r your 16&, er 19xch
you subaiti the following question t this dep rtmant for our
opinion:
or more COOL-an
IlIda~endsnt s
80 long as th
Deaf Smith Go
the Hereford
the oontiguous
nnered oompriso
r annexation?
“9. In the event the prooedurs provided ln
hrtiols 2922a, Is not oarrisd through, and the
prooedure as provided in Artlola 2806 Is followed,
and the Commn SohGol Metriots oontiguous to the
Hereford Independent Sohool iJlst@iot did not vote to
oonsolidate with the Esreforc¶ Independent iiohool
District, then, in view of the fact that the
80hools in the Eieretord Independent L3ohosl Cfstrict
L are over-orowdsd, oan the iiarstord Independent
sohool Uistrlot refuse to aooept students (a) high
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203
sohool, (b) gradr PO~OO~, from suoh Jomon 5ohool
Diatilats, although they otherwise oomply with bhe law
with refsreaoe to suoh trana1ora?*
Xn regard to your fir86 qusr~lot, it would appear rroin ths
iaf3rmstlon ru>plicd in the quertion itfar and from your briar
that the r;ouGty fioard of 'fruatssr an seeking to tora a aural
K&h Yohool Gistriot in the aaxmer provided ror ha artio~%e,;
in your 6eoond quest@m you Bention isota rhlah woszld aleo bring such
proosedings under thb term8 of artlole 29220.
“la oeoh orgmiasd .oounty in thio State and
in any county which rhall hsreaftsr be organized,
the oountg aohool tru~trer shall have the authority
to ro?a ona or nore rural high 80ho~l diutriOt8, by
aontiguous coomm sohool distrida haring
P=
ma than rour hundred aoholaatlo population and
indoHnd%nt sohool dlstriats havkq lssa than two
hundred and fifty soholaotia ~ogulstion ior the
purpone or astabllshing and operclting rural high
~ohoola, provided also that the oounty sahool
trusteea may annex on0 or more oommon aohool dis-
triate or one~ors independent rrohool distriotr,
hsving lssv than two hmdrod and fifty eiWoiastio
population to a axnmm sohool dlstrlat having rour
kmdred or mro mholastlo population or to an in-
de~andsnt dlstrlot haying two hundred and iiity or
mra aoholaatio population upon the approval of the
board 0r trustees 0r each sahool dietriot afrsotrd)
. . .* (Smphasie OUTS)
As etated in our opfnion No. O-&Wl, under the aboos-
quotea statantory grovlslons, thrro are two rnsthods by whioh
rural u&h sohool Qistrlots isay be formedi
"1. ay grouping oontiguoua oorcmx~ eohool
distriots (having less than four humired eoholas-
tie population) md fndependant distriotr haTill
a soholaetia po$mlstion each of less than two
huudrad fifty slbolastlos~
Ile. Subjoat to approval or the Board or
Truataee or aaoh dlatxlat aifeoted, by annexation
0r one or aore ooimon sohool dfstriots or one or
aore independent Sohool %istriots having la38 than
two hundred fifty soholaatios to a ooimon sohool
dietrlot hJvLng mom than four hwcirsd soholastios
OE by annexation or suoh dlstriats to an lndepmd-
'ant 8ohool diet&.& having a sohalaatio population
. 204
-3.
/
la exooes of two huadrod fifty: hell vs. Kirkland
u 8. ti. (ed) 443 (Ter, Civ. Apy. orrot refuaobl.”
S’romthrstatemxts oontained in your brisf It would appear
t@at the Gouaty Bollrd of 3ohool Trurtsss of Daaf smith County
In ths 8stablIshmsnt of a rural high sohool distriot ars plarmlag
to er8roIss the seoon~ of ths above dosorfbsd powsrs~ vis., that
of annsring several oontiguous oommoA sohool districts to aA
Indepeaffsnt sohool dist~lot la ths same oounty to form a rural
hI.:h sohool dirtriot. Howrvor i$ appears that the proposrd dIs-
t&at will, if oreatod, OoAtain a groat8m 8rs0 than on8 hundred
squsrs miles; ln suoh oass, the oontrolling rtatute is ArtIol@
29220, whIoh road.8, as followsr
“Bio rural high sohool &I&riot, as providsdfor heroin,
shall oontclna grsatsr area than one hundrsdSQWS ndlrs, or
more than seven slsm4ntuy sohool diatriats, cnospt that ths
oounty bard of sohool trustcon may fora rural high
sohool distriots, u provided in Artlsls 2922a,
ooAtainIng aors than one hundred squars mIls8 upn a rots of a
majority of ths qualified llsotors In ths said proposed rural
high so&o1 tistriot voting at an Olootion oalled for suoh pur-
poreg and provided fUrther, that the said board or oounty
sohool trustess may form a rural high school diatriotoontain-
ing aore than seven l10aaiItnry distriote upon a vote of a
rriajorttyof the qualified votsre In saoh of the rlems~tary
distrlots within suoh prcposad rural high school Ustriot.“i
In our opinion noI 0468, It is statedr
"The approval of trusts08 of dietriots ‘rffested in
. annexing distriots to form a rural high sohool diotriot Is
not Ascesaarv where an eleation is raauired and held undsr
proviSion of art1010 2922a (Cox V. kieard 8Q 9. ‘it*(2) 803.)
9horofor8, wa hold that where the district Is loaatrd
wholly within one oounty snd th4 araa of the propsad dlatriot
Is more than one hundred squ&re mIleo, and not more than ssvsn
sohool bistriots UPI Involvsd, that the oountg ~ohool trustees
of the artioularoountymay oall an olsotion for the purgoso
of forD&l g a rural high sohool distriot of mors,thaA on0 hun-
dnd square milss, and not to sx4red seven llsmcAtary dIStrlOt8
without the consent of the trustr~s of the Auolear distriots
IAvolvod and if a majority of all of the alsotora voting at
the 8100 t Ion hsl& ror that purpose, and ths whole of the t&r-
ritory Involved, voto In favor of suoh rormation or a rural hish
sahool dIntrIot, It ir the duty of tho aounty aahool trustees
to so organis@ ths saao.~
kss bolievo the abova puotod statutes and opinion fUlll
Wswar YOlW rirst two'@<iOA$. The oases oitad by you IA your
/ -4- ;,
.
briar sustain this answer.
Our opinion Nor 04338,~ So whloh you refer, dealt~ with a
transfsrof territory fraa one rural hI& aahool distriot to
another IYD and not with the SorPliag of a rural high ashool
distriot IA th8 first Instanoe, as antIoipate4 by your
questioni therefore o,piaion C-4298 is 19 no way ayplloable to
your questlonr
appearsto be a
a of artlola 2802
As stated &a the sass
PJhE~;%t~Yd*
oonetrusdtogether.”
a& with the or;o;Ida-
gh sohool 418 r a 8
lo 2922 +, as4 would
thsrsrore not be aQp1Ioabls to the situdtion a8 prese;nte4 in your
questions and the brief aubaitted la oonneotion therewith. See
our opinion No. O-2394, a aopy of whloh Is attaahed.
The eaoond paxt of yaw Srd questIonI vi%., as to whsther, In
:‘h~g$$yyg% or the aontigusus ooirmon sohool 4Istrlots to
81 not Sake plaoe, whether the Berafox-4 X9D aan
refuse to aapqt stu4sds from sush aommoa 8ahool dIstriats, al-
though thsy othsswise oonply with the law with rSfer8Ac8 to suoh
trazsfrre, we rotor you to artIolss ~~7~61~9a~0.1, 2295 and
2696, (Xs lOa&, ) In the oaso of Lo Y r imim, I-3up St)
40 3. id.(El 80, ia sn oxhauutiV8trsataentof the transfer
statutes or thie state, the oourt hold1
“;5inoe the ooA#titution doea not permit the taxation
of the people of a sohool diatriot for the support of
t&t dIstriot,eroeptupon a vote 0r the peo9lesof tiw dis-
briat, It Is not dobatabh that the Lsgislatursoanaot
ooapel BII~dlstriot to use the funds and projmtles for
ths eduoaticm of eohola8tlos from snother 4IstrIot, without
just ooapensation. Howe~sr, la visw or the long operation
of ths tranafsrstaDute8, we bslisrathat where a sahosl
distrfot has faoilIties snd teaohers In 6x0088 of those
nnores~ry for its cmn sshalastio8, the state hao the right
to requlro It to aosept transfersfrom another distriot,
but oaly upon the payment of reasonable aompenaation
theretore Ths l.egislature, however, Is without gowere to
ooaipel Amy 4IstrLot to provide adtlitional faollitIes,
tsaahers, et%, for the cdua~tlon of soholastios from
ancthsr dIrtriot.* . . . . ‘jn4er our iAtsrpretatioJl 0r the
not (artiole 2678a) in OoAAbOtiOA with the tranS?Or
statutes a sound disoretfon is left to the looal school
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I
boards to dotersnine whether or ~00, In vIsw & all ths
diroustanoeo surrotidindj their dlstriots, the admission
of AoWr88idMt sahalastlos will 0, p&e-JudIaial to the
soholaetlos of their 4IstrIots an4 ~whebheror not the
atatutoyy foe wmld be oompenaatory . . . . This d&s-
oration to be exsroirsd by the loaal bJard8 will not be
dieturba4 by the oourts aroopt in oases Or i%ttAirOst
abuse.”
‘\.
Under authority of. the above oited oaae, it Is our opinlm
that the Board of Trusteesof the iiererord lndspsadant Yohool
~Istrlat has tb power to reruss transrer 0r soholastios ma
other 4istrIsts if suoh trensfersaro prejudioial to the
saholastIos of lisreror4 157) due to the lack of faailitIes In
auoh CIatriot.