OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Sonorabla Glenn Ca;ps
County Attorncly, I(eson Couatp
mason, Texas
S3ar sir: Gpinion No. o-6585
he: Legality of md th8
to be followed in a
‘60 h,#s your l&t
request an oplalon on the toll
n wsbool district
10s within ftr
has been oondrtcted In
a parlod of tire yeam,
r rote of the reeident
and over the protect of the
aoutlguou8 ooniwm so-1 axu-
he event of the. attaohlng of the tsrri-
iguous oomnou school district to said
ependerrt aohool diatriot by said oounty
board would the territory and property wlthia aald uom-
&on school district attaohed be liable in proportion to
its aseeesed value for tha outstanding ‘bonded indebted-
nese of the independent school district to which it is
attached without a majority vote of the reaidsnt cltizen-
ship of maid attoclad cmxmn school d&strict end/or the
lndepeadent district ae a whole?
Honorable Glenn Cagps, pa&e 2
*lb. would the tax rate ror sohool purpose8 of
the independent sahool diatriot apply to the territory
of the attached ocmson 8ohool diatrlct wcit.kmut a major-
ity vote of the qualified reeldent oitieenship of the
attached territory (preeent tax rate of 1ndepenUnt dls-
trict being tl.00 on om hundred dollar amessed mlua-
tion ror 8ohool purpotia8 and in oomuw eohool di8trlot
attached $.lO (lO#) on the one hundred dollar raluution)?
"lo. tiould the valuation of territory and property
within attached ooaam sOhoo1 district be fixed and a8-
aermed for rohool purpose8 at value Ilxed and as8888ed for
oounty and etate taxe8, or at valuation au fixed and a8-
aessed by independent school Uistrirrt for sobDo tax pur-
pose87
"ld. Would County Board of 3ohool TrusSeer or Tru8-
tee8 of Independent Gohool District hare authority to ap-
ply valuation8 and tax zmte OS independent eehool dlatriot
to territory of attaohed oommon eohool dlstriot?
"E. m'ould the County Board of ;ichool Trustees of
teaconCountr, finding it neoe88ary ror the intereet of thm
a~ohool ohildron, have authority under the provirion8 ot
Art. Z9Ua or Art. 89U. to detaoh territory from a eontigu-
ou8 eonumn rohool dimtriot add add the territory 80 detaohed
to oontiguou8 independent scflool district, eald ooamn (iebool
distrlot containing 1M rquare miles or more and heti~ no
bonded indebtednelu'i
*eS. Would the oonsezt or approval of the mejorlty
of the resident cltlzenrhlp or tlm trusteae of said ooxtnon
eohool dietriot, br petition,vote or otherwi8e, be neac8-
sary before the County Board of aohool Truetre8 ocluld legally
detaoh territory from the o,mnon aohool dietriot and attaoh
sake to independent sohool diezrict?
"eb. Gould territory eo detaohed from eomuin aohool
dietriot aud attaohed to independent aohool distriot bo
liable for pro-existing bonded indebtedness of independent
school distriot without majority vote of citlwn8hlp ot
tarriiory detaohed or district as whole a8 enlarged?
“80. lould
tax rate and ralui~tioas for tax pur-
goeer, of sob001 dlstriot
iodqmndent bo legally applicable
to dataohed territory of ooamoIL school dletrict without
consent of majority of oitlzenehip of detached territory
by vote, petition or othmwite?
-26. bould mticle 2741 or Article 2742a be ep- L
plicable, or would or nhould the procedure as set iorth
in ;,rtlCle 2941 or 27480 be rollouedV
m3.%ou14 the county hoerd or tehool Trust&err under
the provlolons OS irtlole 2741 and 274tf, have authority,
when duly petitioned, by e majority of the reeident oiti-
zurshlp end the majority of the trusbeee of 8 ooatlguous
oomm~naohool district to annex the territow of @id oom-
a08 school distriot to a aoatiguoua indegmadent eollool
diatricb?
“5a. When annexed, rorlld the territory of meid OOP-
anon aohool dietrict be liable for pre-exlatiog bowled in-
debtedness OS iadependent eohool 4latrlot to whioh at-
taohod without a vote of majority of unnoxed dietriot OT
distriot voting aa a wholo?
“3b. H’ould tax rat6 0Ad ValuatiOar ot t;ixable
property ror eohool pupoee 0r lndepenaent sohool dir-
tr io tbe applioeble to ltmmxed oomn sohool diatrlot
without maJoritI vote of oitiaensh~lp ot aoaexed district
or dlstrlat aa a whole?
“4. #here reoords of the rsotrrded field note8 cod
deocription of Independent and Co.mon Sohool Gietrlote of
County have been lent or destroyed and the County Judge
and/or the County Board of ~ohool Trustees bate been petf-
timed of desire to order an election to oonmolldete or
amex (six) otmtiguoua uomnon school dlstrlota to e oentral
oontl&guous independent eolwol dietriot In county, and de-
s%re to set forth rlelu notes and deacriptlon or OOWIKB~
eohool distriot an4 Independent sohool dlstrlot in eleo-
tion order and natiaer, would the Comiiseionera’ Court
under term of Artlele 2942 be legally authorlxed to oauee
to be cede new mete6 and bound8 of said sobool diatrlote,
hollowing original boundnrioe in 80 far %A#pmatiaable
and can be ransonably aooerthined of oomwm arohool dle-
tricte and independent sohool dfstri& of the County and
approve saul~ &e true bmnndoriea of eatd school districta
IA s&id oounty and b%ve seid field notee and descrip-
tions filed and reaorded in proper reoorde of the
county.
“4a. Kould said field notes 80 made be valid
field notes of the ,netes and bound% of the school dis-
tricts within oounty an4 oould same be legzlly used
wnen inade In election order and election notices in
eleotion for consolidation or annexation of oontiguous
eahool distriate under the provieions of .-rtiole 2806
end hrtfcle 2922a7"
‘ne ahall answer your queetione in their numerical
order, using the %%medeeignation a8 that oontained In your
letter.
artiole 2742m, 1925 Revise4 Civil Statute%
was passed in’& and has been supereeded by nrtiole 2742ez1,
passed in 1939. Thle latter aot ombreoe8 the s%me oubject
matter oontained in Mtiole 2942m and being the latest expree-
sion OS the Leglelature, 1s oontrolllng. *e advioe you to
follow the prgvIsIona ot Article 2942e-1.
la. The added territory of said contiguous oommon
sohool distrlot would not be liable In proportion to l@ aseeaee4
values for the out%tanding bonded indebtedneae of the independent
echo01 4istriot until aster an eleotion wae held in the district
as a whole aseumIng e,uoh indebtedneu. See Crebb v. Celeete
Independent Sohool District, 140 9. W. page 528, et cetera.
lb. The tax rate for school purposes of the lndepen-
dent eohool district wouid not apply to the territory of the at-
tached oommon school dietrict without e majority vote of the quali-
fied resident taxpayer% of the district a% a whole. In other words,
after thie 00?8[11on school district territory has been attached to
the Independent school district, it would be neoessary to have
an election throughout the dietrict ae extended, on the queetion
of voting a uniform tax over the entire dlstriot.
lo. If the Independent dletrict has Its own t%l ae-
sessor or its own tax aseessor and collector, the valuatioti of
property for school purposee could be assessed at a different
valuation from that assessed for state an4 oountg taxes, but If
the taxes :,re assessed and colleated by the County &mes8or’-
Colleotor, the valuations must be the sad* 8s those for 3tat.e
an4 oounty purgouee. Of course, after the Independent district
is enlarged by attachIn@, the added territory, an election .mst
be held In the dlstriot ae enlarged before any tar may be ool-
lected on %Ay of the property in the district.
ld. In view ot answers to your questions la and lb,
we answer this question lh the negative. However, if after the
territory of the oomon school district Is attached to the indepen-
dent sahool district, the trustaes of the independent school district
would fix the tax rate within the rate authorized by the quallrled
tax paying voters of the enlarged district at an election held for
that purpose, unless the rate voted is a speoiric rate.
The valuationa will be determined 5.n aaoordanoe with
our answer to lo,, subject to equalication by either the Board of
Equalization of the district or the county according to the method
of aeaaeslng the taxes adopted by the truataee of the independent
school district.
2. The County Board of School Trustees would have
authority under Article 2742a to detach terrftory from a contiguous
oommon school district oontaining 126 equare miles or more which
has ho bond.ed indebtedness, ii necessary for the interest of the
eohool ohildren, and attach saxe to a eontlguous independent school
district, provided that no common sohool dlstriat, when so reduaed,
shall contain less than nine quare miles; provided reasonable
notice is giveu to the public and to the trusteer of the dletriote
atfeoted and sufficient opportunity ia given for all interested
persons to be heard.
ea. The eonsent or approval oi the majority of the
resident oitixenehip er the trustees of said eonmon eohoel district
is not required, but mtiole 2748a does require that the truateea
of the common school distriot and the independent school district,
and the public be given notice of the hearing before the oounty
board, after which hearing, the county may proceed to enter Its
order.
2b. The territory so detaohed from the oomnon sohool
district and attached to independent school dlstriot would not be
liable for pre-existing bonded indebtedness oi the independent
sohool district without majority vote of property taxpayers at an
eleotion held to determine whether the enlarged district should
assume the outstanding bonds of the Independent school district.
20. This question ie answered by our anewer to
question ld.
26. The procedure set out in 2742a should be folloWed.
3. HO. Article 2742f does not authorlee the county
board or school trustees to annex g of a oommon sohool dfstriot
to another district. The proper procedure in such oasea would be
to have an eleotion in each district to authorize the consolidation
of the district, pursuant to the govisions 0r Article 2806, a
later statute than article 2741.
3-a, 3b. In view 0r our answer to your queatfon 6,
It lm not neoeasary to antawer theae questions.
4. Where the records or the recorded field notes of
a oommon or independent school district has been lost or dertroyed,
we think the County Board of i;ohool Trustees should paae an order
re-derining and re-eotabllshlng the diatrlot or dlrtrlots, rollow-
lng the original boundaries Insofar es praotIoable,and when this
order has been paseed, it should be raoorded, together with the
rield notes, in the proper records ot the oounty~.
4a. The answer to this q!~&%sU
on 18 yea.
Trusting this satis~aotorlly enawera your questlone,
we are
Your8 very truly
A'lTOP3IZYGENE&&L
OF TFXAS
C. P. Glbron
Assistant