OFFICE OF THE A'ITORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Bononbl~ Tr P. Tdmbl,
.” Bet Would the faoQ that the Board
of Bqualit3atlotl og t&B Amarillo
Inde~enUont 8ohaolMatrlotla -
ittmpowd Of rho mbboro In-
validate the a~tioa @ aald
Board end rttndor void the au&
aequent.tax rell? a&d related
qui0tlonq.
Ton Fabritary lB, oUr Sohool BtwU appointed
I). II. Owen, L.'lL 41~ and &nr~ Bevimly wasthe
aoeru oi’Pquallmatlon mr t~‘tuablo,y6ar 1941,
whlbh lno ldenta ll~ luotlr,the
wa tt erillrr~Boardwe
~ wad last fear.. !&de Board ww aleo appkoved
about the same tlme.a8 an Equallsatlon Bon@ ior
the olty; .The Soha Beard;tho City of &u-l110
and thg Oottn~yOammlrri~tmr8had pmrlowl~ en-
torod itit0l 00& r a o %.tiw th e i?eb t?@fI.
Ghr enb a r g
Oompatty ior a 8ax 8upve)t.to be made during the
wlntttr and on l@ g o u@B t,
110ma&r slajor ad$uetmnts
ln+alua~iow,Zfwa8 ev$denttherewouldbe eon-
BderabLo aejbatloti over pFog+u?~~Valuations whloh
o? nese+tty had to be r&ted in order to equalim
with other raluett, 80 8hat tha members oi the
BquaUzation #o~~,unan5Mu8ly expre8eed a desire
to have the Eqiml~etlon rJaard 1noraaseU to five
.nmmber8,whi,oh requerrt r&S aooeded to by b&h the
Qi*l OOPppi88&on anU the Board ot Truttteeo.
-
..-
481
Honorable T. M. Trlmble, Paga 8
Tan Kay 81 the Board of Tructass passed
an order approving the pdior of adding ,tna
Mp);borttto tke~Bwrd of Equalfratlon, aad with-
out rsaoindlng their pretiow lotlon in rhioh
the:~~tWee~member Board m8 appointad. &S&o*;
lng 18 a oopy of the order t
**The following ardor was introduoodt It
le thd ioaae of the Board *hut on aoeount of
the axtFa Ordingry taark ootUrout1n.g thd Board
of 6quallwtlon thltt feat, that, thla, Board nbuld
be $ttkaared to iire lnstaad of’ Umtr.
~~otlon was made by Ls. lItant&,
scroon4Mb8~~:'.
Mr.. Car that the erddr be~adopted and approv?d. .
HoWm oarrled.
%otlon watt mat¶o by Kr. Rush, beaogulad bt
Kr. Mowing that the following aen.bs waeb a6~
bhe' BoaM of Kqual~atlon for the Board of hua-'
tow ott~:~l~oS~e~nb~tS~hhoolMetriot
and the .lrplirriUo Jm.lor c0l.b~ Dbtrfab io* 1941,
and baat tkmy wrnb in tkla aapaoity amt rmoelv~
ao oorpenaatlcin fzw the Board oi Trustees ai
mid mstri0t.
.r
'L. Is; LYl.8 D. W. Owen
Henry Barerlp u. M. 0llvar
w. I. Cllrford
%.etlon oarrled.'
mm, one taxpayer whose prcppo*t~ had b~mu raised,
appmed before the Board nith the threat that he
WouZd~sontest tha lsjptlitr of the organ&satlen
-sf ~,.Equsllsatloa Board in that the Borzd should
be mad8 up of thsse rembus lnstsad of rive,*
Based on theme .faoOsyou: ham asked us the follw-
lqg qusstlont
Q,TIOM: would tha taot tha% thw Bau%l of
Eqwlimtlon or the &rlllo Indsp*ndsntSohool
Dlstr$st is oay)ossd oi fivs ssmbars lnvalldsto
ths aotion of said Bsard aad render t6lU ths sttb-
roquont. tax rdll?
Semate BlZUtat6, 10 Chapter8 Of khs Aots of the *
Thirty-&rst~Le&lslatu&s, 1969, whlop pimrldCd~f?r ~the oreatlon
';; thp&4llo Ind8pe”“” Ssheol mstF+ ~rQ01608 " Dart
"The said hard of Tfrust6w shslL w vested
dth the full manuaentsnd oontrolorthe r-e
oohssls ot'sa5.d dlstrlot, and shall be mitidrlth
all.the powbrs, rightsand dutlosthatam pm-
vldod br gsnorallaw ror boards of tmutteesor
tanu~andvillagssin6orpsrrtsd for ire0 88h00x
~~~O&nly, lnoluding ths powws and nsnner of
bttlsls8791 of.thsRsvlssdCltli %atutis of
'hxas reada in put as follosst
I. . . It shill be withinthd lsoretlon
or the Board of Trustees or any fsd Iipendent 80h001
dirtriot to mum an a8sessor of taxes who 8haU
ass888 the tsxabls prspsrty.wlthin the limits or
the lndopsndsnb sohosl dlstrio~rlthlnths tirae
and in the manner provldsd by uistlnglaW, In
so far ai they a m lpplieabls, and when said as-
sesammnthas been ewiallso6 by a board of eausll-
sation apsolntsd by th board f t t r0r
p@j#gg#~s~d&~ygg&~~$&~d
the oouuty tax oolleotor as provldsd for in the
suooeediqj artlols.. ."(Ugderscorlng ours)
Artlole S791 being a gsnsreil law gvsrning the
boards or trustee8 or aownm and village8lnoorporated for
J
Honorable T. M. Triable, Page 4
irite sohtil purposes oily it was hsld by this dspntttent
in opinieu~%oi O-8589 that Art&ala 8791, Rirleed-Old1 stat.
utee or lkxaa, applkss to the Lma~lllo Xndwmndsnt Sohm1
Diatriot.
It is our uadws.tandln6thatthO 'bmrllloIrmmpoad-
lnt Sohool Distrloti~aotl~ under the authorlty~grantsd usdsr
this &tl@e, has a pi&ate _ it8 (111'0
amMaojr attd OOl.l~~r.
This being true it s.lno~bent upon It to'appoint its ws
Board Of BqudSSstlOn. Chspibera(I. Cook (Cl% 4~. )-:lat 8.
Al 665; Hller v',Van08 (au&. Oh) 180 8. W.~759. This hie
the oasm it '%a the oplnlon iof thla dsputment tht Artlolg
8791 being silent ae ta tM number~to bs appointed onths
Board of IIgualSsation~~dlreoti~d~to be appqlnted under its pro- -
visions, the Board of Trurtses 18 at 1lbaWy to appoint any
number that &t deems reasonably neoessar to oarry out the
run&ions or3ala Board, ktlole 1048, ROYlaed %&l stat-
'&tee of mxas,.whioh readit in part as tollmt
"The olty oounolls of oltlos and towns in-
osrpor&od under the genera;llaw8 shall annually,
at the%&$Jrst msetlng, or a8 soon th@maiter as
'., praoti6eBh, appoint thne o0mlsaion*ra, eaoh a
.~ quallfl~d voter, a rssldsnt asd propetiT owner
of the oity or town $or whloh ha is appointed who
shall be stylsd ths board of WU%ll!4atiOh. . .-,
1'~
In our opinion does not applf.%Othe 4uarllloInd6pandent
soho Di&rlot under 'the faotual 8ltuatlon sat r0rth 8bsvs.
f
Rsrarrlng to the mggsstlon oontalnsd in your l.sttsr
that ths original board or thrss msmbsn oertffy to the tu
roll by authority of their having been amolntad a 80~4 of
gquallsatlon on February 18, 1941, whioh aotlon was savor
,ngslndsd, and to rsmve all question of tin validity of tha
tccr ra to have tha flrb member board attaoh a OOrtiftOata
statlng'that it is made by authority of thalr aPPointseat by
the hoard or,lmstees by Potion of &y e;L? 1941, YOUM ad-
vised that it 1s the oplnlon of thle delwr*Ont that tbe mra
irregularity of appolntlng a thrum me&or board and lubrc
qtmntiy thtueo apDoint3.nga floe memberboard by adding ho
-08 to the onbtt alwady appointed Without m@Oindiagt&
former aotlon would not invalidate the tax ~~11 of the rrp&llo
Iudspandsnt 8ohool Dfrtrlot. me oertlfloats or th. tire
meg&erbmrd; in the opltt%Onof this depart-% -riLdbs
aurrioient. Kate irrsgularities are insuifl0isut a8 a bati
484
Honorable T. Y. Trlmble, Page 5
~ti~p~e~~~s~alldatl~ the lota of tha Board oi Equal-
Sinton Xndipeqdent Soh001 Dlsttiot, 218
8. w. l&t .Blmett~r. Biohardsoh Indepndsnt SOhool Dlstriot,
es0 S. W, 85s (Civ. App.), 840 '8. W. SSQ (Ooa. App.,).
Ii0 express no~oplslon herein with regard to the
gentlemen in que&&on ~slttlng ss .a Bmrd of Iquallsatlon
for the city or Amarillo, but OPC Oplpion is OOnWmd to the
oapaolty cif tha gentlamen 1s qgs@iion sitting as a Board of
Bquallsation for the, &earl~lo Znd4pendent SOhool Mstriot.
We trust thst bhO-r0MgOittg opinion fully 0ov3rs
the matlmr lrapuilrmt
ab0uO in pur letter.
.perytwuly yours
.
m SEP 9,@941" ATTORWEP
OXRBUi OF TBXAS
0
hPPitOVU
OPINION
COMMIRU
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