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