Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

OFFICE OF l?lE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN Honorable Jamma K. Evrtta Dl#triot Attornry ~pasas, Texas Dear Sir: whioh you subnil The county Sahool met on neptomber 9, 19 whloh purportedly oon Comon Sohool D IndependentEC& county. Bo ala nion of this doprrtment now efieotive aa suoh. ty sohool trustees ahall hwe aoholaetiopopulation and fndopendmt rohool illstriotehating 10~s than trs huMred and iitty aoholaetlopopulation for the purpose of eatrb- liahhingand operating rural high sohoels,.pm- vided alao that the county sobool trust@ee mar amex one or more ~oiumoneohool distriots or one nonorabls James K. Rvotts, Pegs 2 or more Independent sohool distrlots having less than two hundred and fifty soholastlopopulation to a oom!nonaohaol dietriot having four hundred or more soholastiopopulation or to an indepandant district having two hundred and fifty or more soholaetiopopulationupon the approval of the boerd of trustees of sash sohool dlstrlot affeotsdi provided that xhen one or mom oonmon sohool &IO- tsiots are 60 annexed to a oommon school dlutrlot having four hundred or more soholaatio populatIom, or to an IndependentdIstrIot having two hundred and fifty, or mars ooholastlopopulation, as the oaae may be, a board oi txusteer shall be slsotad from the distriot at large and ahall have the man- agameot and oontrol of the,dIetriotas enlarged until the time for ths next alaotion and qualltl- oatione of trustsee for oommon and Indapsndsnt alstriots, as prarldod by Oenaral Law. . . .)I The oaso 0r county ward of Pohool Tntstetraet al V. Gray et al, 42 9. W. (2&l 697 (w, Z. Ref.) dealt with tha z$:on of a ocmmoa?eohool dIstrIot to an fhdmpendontoohool The oourt In oonstrulng Artlola 29%2a, et seq., rile the rdlibrsSIg mitiosfqtt wo al*otion wa6 r.quIrsd. !rheoonrent ot the trustow of bath dimtrlota was euffiolrnt to authorize the annexation by order o? the U@unfy Board 0r Sohool Trusteos.~ The oaae of Barnhart v* county Board or gahool Trus- boos oi Young Oouaty, lb8 9. W. (2d) 770, 8180 dealt with the annaxatlon oi a o-on sohool dlstrlst to an In4apandmt sohool bistrlot under Artlob 29220. We quote from the opinion of tha oouxt 86 mlowt aIf It oould be said that the patltion by the two trwteea or tha Flint Onok Cionwa Rshool Diatrfot oould in aSy nay atirot ths nlIdItY Of the order of the oounty board In Rnneling that dlstriot to tha Graham ludapanbantDIstrist On Map 9, 1935, the dafaota wwo oured by tha validat- Ing Aot of the &l&h LsgIslatars,1935, Regular ges- ~lon, ohap. 221, p. 530 (Var%an'sAan. OIv. -3. art. 2e15g-7), vhhiohaot beomm sfreotive Mw 10, Rouorable Jasm K. Yvette, Page 3 1935, as well also by the Aot o? the Firat Called Seasion, 14th Le&alature, 1935 (ohaptor t&8), now artiole 2806a, Vernon*s Am. Clr. St..whIah aot beoame l??eotIve on Ootober 17, 1935. Thea0 validating aots ooverc0 almo6t every aonoelvable irregubriby, OYOrSight, inadvertenae,end barn+ ,108saamlI0tion In prooeeaingsleading up to the ?ornation,deelgnatlon,oonsolIaetIon,and ahnax- atlon in.matterso? school dietriots, and, a0 statad, we believe the aouuty board was warranted In aooaptlng the petition and request of the two trustees of the oomon 8ohool aIstrlot ailin go@ ?aIth being the sot of the board o? trustees o? that dietriot, y8t these broad validating rots nere paeaed by the Legislatureto set all suoh apparent dab.atabls,derloisnoIos at rest; and we thlhk they:ara sui~loimntror that purpose.v we a0 not ?Ihd It woewary to aO0ia0whetherthe annexationwas,valia 0~ otherwi88. We .klImva that even ii .,*.the oom?mlIdatIohwer~lnvalld, IlrtIOla~28158-25Is amply' : au??foiontIn Its tsrw to vslldata the ?om&lon of the ~.. sohof3l~dIstrlot.Seotlone 1, 2 and 3 of hrtiele 2815-25 xaaa as rollowat "Gaotlon1.: All Sohool DIst~iots,,,I&WUhg Common soho rdstriote, niaepenaent sonool’ Dfs- trlats, OonsolId'ated Common Soho DIstrIots, ~RuralRigh Sdhool Dlstriots,all OaamtyLIne Rahool Distrlata, lnoluding.OountyLine Common Sohool Districts; Oouhty Line fndepeadentSohool DIetriots, County Line Consolidated!&muon Sohool Distiiots,cOusty.&inO~ ~OnsOlid&i86 Ina~pena~t Sohool Dlstriots,OoUty~Linr Rural %iIghT?ohool Dlstriots, and,D$strlots formed by Coneo~datlon or Rurel High sohool Dlstrlota and o~utiguOus~In- aepenaent~Sohoo1Districts,aud all othe.~,Suhool Distrlote,group8 or annexationsof whol~~:'DiatrIots or parts o?,DIatrictsby vote o? the people roaid- i ’ Ihg In auoh-Clstrlotsor by aotion o? Gountp Tahool Roar&a, whether areated by Oaneral cirr:!peoIal Law In this Bate, and hsretoiore laid out atidestab- lished or attemptad to be establishedby the propar o??Iaers o? any County, or by the Leglalaturb O? Honorable Zamea K. Evetta, P%g% 4 the State of T8X%%, findheretofore reoognized by either State or County suthorltieaa8 Sohool Die- triots, am hereby validated In all zeopeota 8% tfloughthey had.been duly and legally eetablished In the rirat instanoe. All sots of the Board% of Trustees In such ~Plstrictean8 all Comulaaloners* Oourts in ordering an eleotion ,orelaotiona, da- olarlng ths results or such elootions, levying, attempting or purporting to levy tare% rar and on behalf or suoh Sohool Districts, and all bond% iaaued and AOW outstanding, and all bond8 horeto- rore v0tsa but not yet.kaaued,ana all bona aa- aumption tax eleotlons,‘arahereby In all things validated. The fact that by Yqadvertenoeor over- sight anr sot or the orrioer0 0r any county in the~oreatlonOttany Distrlot was omitted shall in no wise lnvalldats such Diatrlot~ 8na the ra0t that by inadvertenooor oversight any eet wae omitted by the Basrd af Trueteee of any auoh Dlr- triot or the Cosnale%ion%r8~ Court of any County in ordering an eLdotlon or eleotlons, or in de- claring the results thereoi, or in levying the taxee ror suoh Dlatriot, or in the lssuanoe of the bonda ot any suah Dlstriot, %hall iA no ni%e invalidateany of suoh proossdings or any bonds 80 ieeued by auoh Dlatriots. *All eat% of the County Roards of Truetea%. of any and all Countlss in rearranging,ohanglng, or aubdivld5.ngeuoh Sohool Dlstrfots or lnoress- ing or aeoreaaing the aree tbereot, in any Fohool Dlstriot of any kind, or in oreating new Dlstriota out of part% oi existing Diatrlots or otherwiee, are hereby in all things validatsd. "sao. 2. 411 Sob001 Dlatrlote mentioned in thla Act are hereby authorized and eagomr%d to levy, a%%fw%, aAd oollsot the a%me rate or tax a% 1% now being levied, aesesead end colleotedthem- IA, and heretofore authorized or attempted to,be authorizedby any eot, or aots or said Distriota, or by any Act, whether -Gmerhl or rfpecial,oi the Legialaturs. *i?80. 3. This Act shall not apply to tm~yDfs- triot, the organizationor oreatlon of whloh, or Honorable JamaftIL Evatts, Pago 5 oonsolldationor annexation of any territory in or to suoh Distrlot whioh 1s now lnvolr%d ln llti- &ion, or the validity of the organizationor oreatlon of whloh, or aonaolldstlonor annaxatlon at territory in or to suoh Dlstriota, is attaoked in any suit or lltlgatlonpending in any ocurt or competent jurladiotlonwhich has been filed hrre- torore or wlthln tventy (20) Bays arter the 8ft8Ot- lte date of thla Aot. Prcwldid furthar that thla A%t %hall not %pPlY to any Dlstrlot whlah nk%yhat% bson @atabll%hrd'oroonsolldated,and whloh ma later returned to lta orlglml etetue.” Chief Su%tio% Our&on, apeaking tar tha Suprome court in ths aaaa 0r Anam90nCounty Rowi Matrlot no. 8 T. Pollard, 296 S.~W. 1062, had the following to ear regarding validatingclots: Tha gonaral and e%t%bli%ho#rule is, rihet the Legislature aould hare authorlsed in the first inatanoa it oan ratify, 1v at the time or ratlrl- oation it haa thr inltlal authority to aubhorlco." kid JwiOo aritt, ~peclki~ror the Oanrari%8lon or Appeal% in tha ease oi Lyford IndopendontSohool Dlatrlot at al v. WUliaar IndependentBahool Diatriot et al, )O S. W. (Zd) 854, raid the followlag: Vhe validating aot ln quaatlon la not a apeoial but a genaral law,.and the power ot the Laglolatureto enaot auratire atatuter or this kind la no longer an open qu%atlon la thl8 at%fb.* Me aleo Twing t. Rhodo%, 16 8. W. (2d) 258; Tom Onan county Y. Moody, 289 8. WT. 3811 Brown t. Trimeott, In&ependantSohool Dirtflot at al, 34 S. W. (2d) . In view or the,rooMgoing authorltiea,It la tha opinion or thie dapartment that %v%n if the oonsolldatlon were invalid at the tlm% of the ardor of thm aouaty Sohool Board, the oonaolid%t%ddlatrlot 1% mu, by virtue of it% validationby Artlole 2815g-25, a legal %%hool dl%trlot. Very truly your8 ATTOBBEY OBWBBAL OF TKXA?