Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

OFFICE OF THE AmORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN --=-- goaorable Li A. Woods State Superlntehdent of Public Instruotions . -AU&ill, Texas .. nine months ax monies for sses ror adults Suoh funda in State nnd Fed- ed for Vocational Ed- 1 of the Constitution of Texas era1 +iffusion ot knowledge being o the preservation OS the liberties 8 of the people, it shall be the he Legislature of the State to eetvb- make suitable p~ovislon for the sup- port and maintenance ot an effioient system. of publio free 8oho018.w In eocordonoe with the constitutional mandate that a Wtem or publlo irea sohools be establishsd, the Legislature has authorized the creation or independent school districts.. &he local taxea, or rmintenanoe taxes, voted by sald dlstriots 30 TroaorableI..A. Foods, Page 8 are authorized by Artiale 2790 of the Revised Ci*Il Statutes of 1.925,whloh reads, in part, as tollows: “If an Independent school distriot votes a maintenance tax, the boa&of trustee8 shall thereafter annually levy and cause to be assessed and collected upon the taxable property in the limits of the district for ths naintcnence of the pub110 free schools of the said dfs- triot such ac valoreu tax a3 the qualifi- -voters of such district authorized at the eleotion held ror that purpose; * * *I1 .. -tithe o&e oi Adam v. ‘Wles, et al, 35 S. ?i. (26) 123 (Corn.App. Tex.) stated: *h school district is a quasi corp- oration of a public nature, and the trus- tees of said district cannot &awfully expend swney belonging thereto exoept for : the purposes ,authoriaqd by statute.” The authorized expenditure of public school funds is provided for in Article 2S27 of the Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, whioh reads as foll.ows: . ‘The pubiio tree sohool funds shall no; be expended except for the following purposes: ‘1. The .State and county available tunds shall be used exolusively for the payment of teachers’ and superintendents* salaries, fees.for taking the scholaetio census, and int%%st on money borrowed on short ttne to pay salaries of teachers and superintandents, when them salaries be- come sue before the school f ucds f’orthe curreat year beooze available; providsd that no loans for the purpose of payimnt of teachera shall be paid out of fund8 other thau those for the then current year. “2. Local mhool Suudo from dis-, trict taxes, tuition faea 4r pupils not entitled to free tuition and other local . . -. . . 310 gonorable L; A. Woods, Page 3 sources may be used SOT the pnrposes enumerated for State and county funds and for purchasing aDpllance3 and au?- plies, for the paymnt of insuranoe premiums, janitor6 and other enployes for buying sohool sites, buying, buil&- hg and,repairing and renting school houses, and for other purposes necessary In the oonduot of the pub110 schools to be determined by the Doard of !l?TUSteeS, the accounts and vouchers for county districts to be aDproved by the county superintendent; provided, thnt when the Dtate available sohobl fund in any oity or district is sufficient to maintain the schools thereof in any year for at least eight months, and leave a su~plu3, such surplus may be expended SOT the purposes mentioned herein." The question in this case resolve3 itself to the prop- osition of whether or not the conducting of~classes Scr adul.te is a part of a public free school systen. The scholastic age of students'who are to receive.the benefits of our public free eehool syeten is set out by Artiole 2902-0s the Devised Civil .jtatutesof 1925, whioh reads as follows: *All childTen, without regard to color, OVeT'six years of age apd under eighteen'years of age at the beginuing OS any.scholastio year, shall be ineluded In the scholastic census,%nd shall be entitled to the benelit of the public school fund SOT the year. The board of 'trustees of any cltj‘or town oT indepen- dent or oomnon sohool district shall admit to the benefits of the public schools any person over six and not over ~twenty-one years old at the beginning OS the schoiaetio year, if such person within said city, townor or hi3 parents or legal guardian reside district.W It is the opinion of this Dep%rtsent that the holding l: elassee'for adults is not suoh % function of the public free tQhoo1system of this State as to authorize expenditure of local ~~utenance publicylhool funds SOT said purpose. A3 stated by honorable L. A. 30iai3, Pi66 4 the Supreme Court.of Alabama in then--case of State Tax Cotis- 8i0n II.county Board of Eduoatioa or Jerrerson couatg, 179 southern 197, Within0r Of *Operation ‘oi adult schools is who& ISt+tUtOryCUId Mt the systen lic.eohools aerinea in section 260 pub- ths : Constltutlon.” 2 way of analo$y,our Constitution and Statutes, in. setting up tii e public free school system and allowing the collection of alocal maintenance tex for said public free schools,oontan- plate that the bencflts of said publio free school system should inure to students 02 public school age as defined by the Legis!ature In Article 2902, supra. In this conneatlon your attention is called to Ar- tiole 2904 of the F&vised Civil Statutes, whioh reads as Sol- lam: ‘“The trusteh of schools shall have the power to admit pupils over and under scholastic age, either In or out of the district, on such term as they may deem .proper and just; provided, -that in admit- .tlng.pupils over and under the scholastlo age, the schoo3.shall not be overcrowdea to the neglect and injury of pupils vith- in the scholastic age. They mey suspend fxom the privileges of schools any pupil found guilty of incorrigible con&dot, but such suspension shall not extend beyond the current term of the school.n It $8 the opinionof this Department that the above Quotsd ‘ktlcle looks to the allowing of pupils over and under ‘acholastlcage on ‘suoh terms as the trustees of the school may deem proper to, classes regularly conducted for pupils of schol- astio age as a part of the public free school system. Nowhere does this ,%rtioleauthorize .the trustees to establish and main- tain classes for persons over tmanty-one years of age. Certatily it does not give the trustees authority to spend money from the local maintenanoe fund jMr.the establishment of such adult classes, Vihile it oonnot be denled that the establishment of adult is,a pio~rthwhile ~l~$sse's- project, this Department fails to Bonorable L. A. Woode, Page 5 tlnd any authority for the expenditure thereon ot local main- tenanoe f und8. Yours very truly BG:RS . ATTORNEY GXNERAL 03 Q?XIS