Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

Y4 OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN Honorable H. A. Hod@8 County Auditor wllliamaon county Gaorgetolra, Taxar Dear 8lrr aubalt for the 0p4.n10s quertionr,wbiah we quot.: rlrad by a noolution parr- ota oi said beard aowe no of the tracte or land, a nambar of tha board? lffllit'b neoes@e~ 28 ordar to par6 %a to.laoh propert for the Oeala8loa6rr* Court or williamson coaatf to enter am erdar aa- thorlzlng saah 8hlet Xoaorable E. A. Eodgaa, Page t Board o? ICduoatloon, whiah lxerolaoa t& me power8 In thla oount7 that eount7 8ohooltrae tee8 lx e r a lalaa other ~oountlea, to .paaslnf kind of roaolutlon luthorIrIa@arch mila? -5. VIll it‘br neooaaar~ for the State Board o? Edooatlonto pa88 or adopt ln7 kind of raaolatlonor other m&ion lothorlz~ngroah ..le.? l‘b i Ii l dea d lxdouted In the maanar and authorlmd b7 a reeolutlon 88 mentioned In the above qaaatlona1 end t ~111 not oonvoy title to said tract or land to luoh pttrohaaera, pleaae adklae ma how title to soah land ma7 be acquired b7 muoh purchaaera.* The Thrall Indepandent Sohool Matriot in ~IllIamaon aomnt~ ~88 oraated b7 rproI.1 8et of the LegIalatora,8peaIal Lma 01 iexaa, tQgS, Seth kgi818ture, Zhapter 01, p. ZS5, whloh becane lfiaatlreon AprU 4, 1923. &mong other things thi8 iot prorlded that t& Mu Independeatldhool dlatrlot would Inol6de all of the terrl- tor7 of the Thr.ll Conon Sohool DFstrIat lo. gl; that It would take otar aI1 02 the 888et8 end ~Iabllltle~of the #aid eoamoo.aahool dirtriot; end that the new lndependeat dlrtrlct #hotid %ave aad lxerolae all the rIghta, powerr, duties and prlrllegeerot a :om or vIllagO ererted an4 incorporatednndkr tlw general lara of Texas for lohool purpose8 onlf, and all of the rlghta, power8, 6otlea ana prlrllegeaaou lxlatjag, or that ma7 be hereaitar lonterred upon independentaohool &I8trIot8'anderthe Oon.8tltutl- and lora ot thI8 8tate.. SootIon S oi thl. &t mad8 08 follow8: l Tbeboardo?Tmateei OfthThrallXa- dependent Sahool Dlatrlot ah.11 mnage and control the pub110 free lohoo1.rla the m8Id dlatrlot, to the lxolu8Ion of ever7 other luthorIt7,lxoept, In a0 iar a8 the State 8mper- interndentof Pabllo 188trrotIoaud tk State EOno?.blO E. A. If0Qe8, Pa@ 8 Board o? Edaoatlonmar be tested with aupenl- 8or7 8uthorlt7, uader the general 18w.* Zt is farther prsrlded In Seotion ts that *hIa Aot 8hall bc eumulatIre,a? lll general laws, regulatfng, goremlmg and pertainingto Independentlohool 6latrIota, end ia 80 far 8s much general lawa are mot I.8oon?lIot herewith; the 8cme 8hall be eoqatrued and oonaldored ma a part hereo?. Two rtatatea In -x-s8 provide for the Bale of **ho01 property. They lre Artlolea Z75S and W75, 8. C. 8.. 1925. The latter 8tatate roads es ?ollwar *Art1010 tWS. Aar hotiea or.landr held ti trust br any city or town? or pub110 tree 8ohool purposes may be mold for the purpose o? insrestingla more ooBrenIeBtcad deaIrablolohool property, with the oonaent o? the State Board, by the .bo.rdo? trust..8 o? 8aoh olty or. torn; Old, in aaoh oaae, the prealdeat OS the rohool board shall exeoate his deed to the &amha8ar for tho came, reeltin& the resolution o? the State board giving aonaent thereto and the naolutIon or the board o? trust+%8 lathorlxlng the aale.o As ointrd out in 8. 6. bpeaoer and Oarpony XI. Brown, at al s Clr. 4p. 1917) 198 6. W- llT9, and as pointed oat In ho prerloa8 opInIo~8 rendered by thI# Ae- partrent,Article 2!?5SlpplIe8 only to 8ele8 o? land br o o wmo l ~ohool 4IatrIot8,rhllo Artiole ZT7S applies to 8elea o? lend b7 Inbepe86ent8ohool lIatrIota~ The two opInIona relax-redto above arm: (1) An oplnlon b7 Clark C. Wren, A88lahnt Attorney Gexmral, to ~onorebleEogene J. UIlao~ Gout7 Attorney, Bay Cltr‘,Texa8, detedSeptember 10, 1936; 18) en oplnlon by Ceoll C. Cewaok, Aaaiatant Attorney General, to m. ]c.Ti.&rtarliag. County County, fet?eraon Oounty, Beaumont,Texas, dated April 25, 1939, and numbered 04l5. ,Aafoa will uote, the lbwe quoted 8tAato pro- tiUa8that houses or lcnda a? a Qlatriot ma7 be sold ?or the purpose or Imreatln& I8 more convenient and 8eslrable lchoolproperty. That la the oal7 purpose provided ?cr b the statute, aad the question lrlrea whether or rot school 8. A. Hodges, Page 4 Ifonorablo hoaaeror laBdO aa k Cold for 887 other purpose bf Independentaehool 6latrIota. Mameroaa deolalona both in Texas and In other jurIsdlatloaapoint out that 8chool 4IatfIata are oor- poratlona with vex-71Mted powara. %ohool di8triCt8’Cm public qU88i mai- olpal corporatIoaa,lomatfrea termed *inrol- untar7 oorporatIona*. . . .The7ma7 make *on- traota, ler7 tour and )Oaaeaa property. The7 are OrgSBixOd not for the parpoai 0s profit or geln, but mole17 for the pablla benaflt, end hare onl7.much lImIted,porera08 ma7 be ~eoeaaarf for that purpose. The7 hare therefore been Bald to be aorporatlonmof the moat lImIted powers known to the world. Pasadena Bahool Dlatrlot TS. Pasadena, 166 C.1. 7 IS6 P.O. 985, AUII.0.8. 1915b 1059, 4T L. R. A. IRS) BQS. The7 are bat the 8gentr 0s th8 state for the sole purpose of edmI.aIaterIng the state 87atem of pub110 ad- 8oation, and hate only ouch pwerr 88 are con- ferrea express17 or by neoesae~ ~llcatIon.a 24 R. 0. L. 564, 2eo. 1. The oaae 0s Earl en dependent School DIatrIot vs. Page Brothers, 49 5. 2d) 985, b7 the %X88 Ooax't Of Civil Appeela, maem langua@ very almllar to that q-ted *bore from RalIng #ame Lw. lfeq8ote: wm boerd OS trustees posaea8e8power8 express17 conferred upon It b7 law or aeoeaaarll7 Impllcd from the pewar8 00 lo nfer r ed.~ ~The Court In ie7.e bdOpOBdOBt Sahool Dlatrlct to. ReInhardt,159 8. W. 1010, b7 the Oourt of Girl1 AR- P..h, U.08 this taE6.a~: lSImoe a board of ldaoatlo. la the oreaton 0s lretate, it her only maoh pwen as are OOBi rermd upon it 8ud mch Implied powers 08 era aeoesaaq to lxeoate sa o hlr p ~08i p W*f*.* Honorable 8. A. Eod&~m, Pago S Oorpaa furls pOiBt8 out that propert devoted to l public USC Oan Only be diapoeed of by lXpr~a8 l8- thority, and a general power 0s dl8poaft~on has been held to be reatrlotedto propert not needed for the nae of pobllo lohool8. 56 Corpus Jnrla 439, Sec. UI. Thla aathorIt7 lta teathat tb0 SslO mmt be redo in oo~plle~ee with the terma Of the atetats lUthOrltlBg it, bat tbrt lubatentlalproocdarcl lompllanee Is larrloIent. Ee rfah to ltreaa the fast that Cl1 of there luthorItIeahold that lohool boards have onl7 th els~naa CathorIt7 glten them in the SktUtOS and odlf moeh lmplled ~~~aI~a~~aet~;a~~~ to lx y a moh teexpress powers. e rods reaaonabl7leaeaaa~ for the osrx7in6 oat o? lxpreaa ponrV OS la ~aa611~ the earn0 with regard to pwara of other eorporatlonr. The geimral r&lo in tb laao of ordinary private oorpcretIona Is that the oorporatlon has luoh l8plled pow- ers as are reaaoCabl7aeeesaar7 to ~arx-7oat lta Orproms powers - aot~eoe~aarll~ ir~lled kt~aaoaablt lmslled. Under tlm wel&t of there luthorItIea,we arc impelled to hold that lBdepaCdent8ohool dIatriet8ma7 dlapoae Of propert a0 1-r needed for School ptirpoaea 0x07 I? it la neoaasarfto 40 80 to aaqulre other propert whloh la more lultablo. You atat* 18 7orv lotter that Thrall Independent School Dlatrlot has no such objeotlre %n derirlng to make this aalo. It la our opinion that it eannot 0011 thla propert for the porpoae 0s pCtMCg the prOMOd la the loaal uiatemsoe ?uad 0s cold Aim- trlot. Xe bellore that the quoted Artlile 2WS amwer8 tour qaeatIonaBwbOmd 8, 4 mnd 6. lJB4U this lrtiOlO~ and murderthe provisions of the Cot areatlq the UIatrIot lbove quoted It 18 not 8eaeaaary for the Conanlasloner8~ Conrt 0s YIlil~~8o~ Oonnt7 to lBtU CC o r & l onthorICIC8 r the proposed aalo, nor $8 lt Beeeaaa~ for the Coantf B00ti Or iidUC8tiOn, ~088 it %C ?SOt 18 thC E~C8rd Of ~ruateea of the Thrall IndependentSchool DICtrIot, t0 pa88 an7 kind or rosolotlorrlathorlt~ It bat it la aeoeaaar7 for the 6tat.eBoard 0s JMaaatfon to l Jo*t 8 reeolatfon aathcrltlngouch 0810. IO bellow that this utiale 8100 7 Honorable H. A. Bod6e8, Pace 6 prorlder~ the snarer to 7~ qneatlonlo. 6. I? the prorIalona of Art1010 9993 me rollwed, laaumI~~, of eoaraa, t&t fee simple title Is la the Board, auoh title me7 be oonre784 to a person who ia not, a mmber,,o? the aohool board. Thla answera Tour question Roe 2. Ahe Otif remainfng qaeatfon to ba lna wemd there- ran Is roar question lie,1. It la poIntoh oat In T~O~PSOB vs. Xlmo Inde- pcrndent Sohool DlatrIct (CIT. App. 1925) 859 s. k. 868, And in Royme IndependentBahool Dlatrlot vs. Relmhardt, supra, that Independentsohool dlatrIota are loos1 public corporationaof the 8010 general oharacter 88 rcnIolpal corporatlonabut for school p)upoaea 0x&7. In Woods ‘IO. Potter, 6 0.1. 41, 95 P8o. ll25, it la held thct members of oltr oounaIlr oooapy a pocltlon o? trust and .?e bound to the came maaare ot @od felth to- yartthe r oooatItaent8that a trustee 18 to hi8 oeatoi quo . hlIs o o a r tltetesl1 *The rere Toot th a t l mmbar 0s 8aOh body sots es such In oonaeotlonwith a4 ut- ter in whlah he ti Intereatcd rltlatea the tr.B..otlon . . . It will be presumed that ander aaoh CirC\mstCnOCS #Cl? interest pn- vents the aember ?rm proteotlq the riC;htr o? the pub110 l~a Inahis t OWD.~ lfoodat. Potter, aupra. To the acme lrfect, 2ee Moplllcn on l&mIolpcl Corporationa, Sea. 1242. IOU are, therefore, ld+Iaed thet a member of the Boerd mey not bay the land end that the proper prceedame to be followed b7 the Boerd o? Truateea of the Threll Independent Sohool Diatrlot In 8011~ proport 00 lonqer needed for Aohoolpurposes Is thet met cut in Art1810 2975 (R. C. S., 1925). whloh ln effect prcyldeat The Board of Traateea must wet and n&opt a raSOlUtiOB,evldenolng thelr daoIalon to cell the land8 then the oonaaot of the State BoarA nut be leonre6 md thir evldcnocd 6160 w l nrolotlong mad rlnelu the PreslbiM of tha board 0r Trurtaer 0r the Thrall taa0- pondwit Sohool DLtriat muat oxeaute the dood to the prospsotlre pnroheser,6nd the 4004 must rralte thr rmolutlons Of both ths Threll fabependent Sohool Dlr- triot Board and th6 ststo Board. Tta6rosolutloa br the 10661 8a6 StBt6 B o a r 68 lhould r*olt* tb plupo66 ror rakia(rthe rals riaa6 8uah male woulQ be ralld only if the laad ~66 ‘oh xith the objeat or buring oth6r lohool land. Your8 r6ry truly ATTORlEYCE!iDkLOFTXXAS APPROVEDOCT23, 1939 ~.-a44J ATTOFINEY0EIUBA.L OF m