,
1!w
OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
QllOVIl sCLLLR* e
-
A~oa”~”.or*cr&x
Mrs. .\rtir Pults
county Attorney
Or Inerr Oounty
Anderson, Terar
Dear Yrs. Fnltz:
Your letter 0
of this departmen
lovm t
The school officials of the
that the surveyor’s oharea
t the General Fund of the
Inlon on an Attorney Generel’a
Are expenees lnourred in surveying
%strIcts tif Grim.8 oounty properly
or the General Fund of the county?
he Handbook l;f Texas Sohool Law’, edited
nsley, and published by %e Steok Conpang
of Austin, on page 261, I find the following %ullng
or Attorney Cageral*.
“,xpenrcs of making neoasrary surveyr to rub-
divide e county into convenient echo01 dietrlote
oannot be pald from rohool funds of the oounty O?
school distrlots but should be paid from thr general
fund of the oounty. (19161.
*I would like very much to know whether or not
the above end forecolng attorney eenetal’r Opinion
has been overruled, and if It still prevall.3, 1 would
appreciate your seading me a oopy Of the 8eme.’
Yrs. Artie Fultz, page 2
Art. 2681, V.A.C.S., authoriser the oounty 8ohOol
truat&r to exerolr8 the authority h8retOfOre rsrted In thr
COD&88iOn8?8’ Courtwith referen to eubdivlding th8 OOuAty
into 8ohool di8triot8, end makin(l ohangee In 80hoo1 distriot
lIne8, Said 8tatUte read8 aa fOlloW8r
“The oountr rohool trustees 8re authorized to
lXerOls0 the authority h8rstoforr tested in the
oomml88Ioners* oourt with respeot to 8ubdIrIdIng
the ooonty into rohool distrlote, and aaklng ohangss
In 8ohool dI8trIot 1Ines. Said trustee shall aall
en mual joint meeting of the dlstrlot and oounty
sahool trustee8 oi the oounty to be held at the
oatnty aeat ‘at some oonvenleat 8ea8on In huguat or
September oi each year, to be presided oYer by the
chairman oi the county 8ohool trU8teeB. They ahall
oonslder question8 dealing with the location of high
8OhOOl8, and the tesohlng of high 8OhOOl aubjeots,
the olasslfloatlon of aohools, and suoh other mattera
ee may pertain to the looation, conduct, naintenanoe,
dlsclpllne 0r eohoola, the terms thereof, and other
0at:erc of interest in 8ohool afialrs 0r the oounty,
and the oounty aohool trustees s!Ml be guided in
their action by the result of the,dellberatIon oi such
meeting, not Inoonsletent with law. l’he county school
trustees may else call other meetlnge. of the distrlot
sohool trustees, shen dceaed necessary by then, or
on the petition 0r e 0ajorIty 0r 8UOh dI8trIOt 8ChOOl
trustees. The oounty superintendent, as seoretary to
oounty school truetees, will keep en accurate and corn-
plete reuord In a well bound book provided for that
plurpoae, the rield note6 0r all changes mad8 IA sohool
district &aids, and of all prooeedin&8 of the oounty
school trustees. A oertlfled copy of suoh change In a
echo01 dlstrlot llns, ehall be made and transmitted by
the county superintendent to the county clerk, and the
ocunty clerk shall record the rleld Aotes end oertlfled
oopy of suoh ohange In a well bound boqk to be dealgnatad
as the ‘Record of School Dlstrlots’. IA’ Drovldlng better
8ohoolIng for the ohlldran aAd oarrylag out the prori-
slona OS Art. 2678, the county superIntendant shall, on
recommendation at the oounty sohool trustees, transfer
children or 8OhOlaatIO age rrom one school dlstrlot to
another, the amount of funds to be transferred vlth raoh
ahlld of 8oholaatIo age shall be the amount to whiOh the
di8triOt from whloh the ohlld Is transferred is eAtItled
to reoe1re.F’
It 18 Dt*rt”d in the CRaC :;f Ltatt 2X rd. f1Or68,
rt al, ve. Breve, 162 5. .I. 24, 1052:
,-
“After June 4, 1911, thr only prop8r authority
to 18y out or ratnbllrh 8 8ohOOl dirtriot, or to
8lter the boundarlas of the 88a6, ~~68 th8 Count+
Board Of ?10hOOl *UttW8, and my etttqt c?n zeptea-
bcr 23, 1911, by th8 Co?u?!Irrionerr' Court of Zapeta
County, to cr.leree tha boundarlro ot C&moA school
Dlctrlct No. 1 m8 wholly VOlU rnd -f A0 erfeot.*
St all]. be n,otad that Mt. 2681, 8upra, ~~r@881y
ruthorir88 the oauntg sol-.sd truet~em to subdivide tha Oounty
Into rohoo1 dI8trlots and t-kc okwa~es irl tfic aohcol dlntrlct
113e5. it 1s ar:raror.t fro-r yxr lcttcr the? !t Is cI;ot.zx~leted
thet 311 2 t+s canon uohool dit'trlCt8 :r 4iXtaT8-fl UslEty arc
to be reccrtc?ed. It 18 not at3tcd th9t t!v &ant; Z!or;r.‘l oi
Zohool ‘PrU8tee6 O:,Attnplat88 a 8ubdltisIim tf the OLUDty 1Lto
8chool di8tTiOt? cr zaklop chmqrr in sob001 dlstrlot llm~.
"3~ thr purpose: of thi8 O~lnlGc, %e x8t a6rwe thet 83id
county ha8 her6:oioce been 8ubdllIdsd lritc 8ohool EIstrIotn
9n2 that the, survey? and thr: flcl.: notca thel’eof hats been
duly roeor>c: by t3c county alcr% 2~2 tht all such prooerd-
iz,a ha-6 bacn In accordsno k:!th la* ap;llca3ic tr, such pro-
CE.?dh&8. ;a xe underrtand your rer;uett, it 18 thi rurpoas or
t;;e County 3oard of .So!:ool 'imrte-sa tz rasurtey rll t?le cozsh
.9C!;OOl di8triCtS :f 6316 OoU.-.ty. It ie O‘Jr oplclon th?t xrt,
2f%?1, 8Up?a, does not astZIcriZ8 8UO!i (LII u368rt9kfng. rr?e 8tatUt6
only aLthorlze6 the 8ubdlvlding of t!w OGwty into eoko~l d?8-
trlote end ;aKlnC oknn;er I:: 803001 dlstriot lineI). VAdsr the
facts 8t8tCd, it does A?t ry;aar thst the County Emrd of School
Tlwste88 deslree to 8r:bdltldo th6 OouEty ints 8oho31 distrlct8
or to 38k8 any chanEcs in th.e 80!1031 dlstrlot lIrre8. Ther afore,
it 18 ox oplslon thet the GocAt)’ 3oerd 3f So5001 Trustees ha6
no 8UthOrIty to retwrl9J sll the 03i%13n 80>001 distriots In th6
county .z;han tuch rcwr+ng!r$, 16 cot Cone for the purpose of
chsnf1r.g t!ie liner? zf 63ld dl.trlcts or sobcIitlC1a.g the aounty
into 8ChOol dll.trlot-. The County Board of .Zo%oal 'Yrost-es,llke
other Cjoternrxntsl edrlA!etretlrc boerdy, dopartrer,to or aEwclc?,
p06666808 0~1~ such. power 68 is authorlead by atetut 02 the
' Canstltutl~n. Thtralme, in the rbeemx of 6uOh authorlr~fl-n, we
hold thet th County ?3Oerd O? soho Tmttte8 ha6 no aUtbOrlty to
r6+urtey a11 the ooxoc 8c?.aol dlstriota lr tqdsrA--n C:.mty. .iS~It
le our oplnloa th9t th8 County Rowd ci Cofinol .I'rustsea dot8 sot
hete buthorlty to resvrtoy the ooeizon rohool. district8 Or said
county, it ceoeassrlly follosa tkt the 75cc:I.x rcrtslzil~ to
the cxpcn~ts lr,currc?d ln au& Y survey wd t%c fund sr fun.?8 fro2
?A 1 CT! Ir?:C!l axpenner. ST? TV b4 r.slC bcoo:ra qo?t WI< I(::cire? 110
.lurther dloossslcn.
You mantlcA an opinion .;? this department rendered
in 1916. A oararul search o? ths riles o? this orflo8 doas
not dlroloss that a oopy of auoh opinion 16 now In the ii.188
o? this O??iOs; hOWW?r, ths Or?iCa Or ths St8tS SUpriAtSAd-
aAt Of F'ubllo IAstrUOtlOA ha8 praG8Ated Us rlth a brIO? 8yAOp818
o? the holding a? sold OplAlOA, and it is apparent that thI8
opinion has no appliostiOn to the qUeStiOn under OonsideratioA
In that sold opinion pertains to expanses incurred In the oraa-
tIca o? a common oounty line sohool dietriot and In naklng sub-
dili8iOA8 O? the COUAty into 8ChOOl dietrlota. IA OUY. OpiAiOA
Do. o-3416, the iollowing qUSStlOA WS8 under consideration.
"Does the County Surveyor become entitled to
iaas or 005paAsatIon for oompillng ilald notes for
the Coiiusissloners' Court? IA the instant oaaa the
County Survsyor compiled field notos on consolldat-
lng tha boundaries o? the Kidway Co.m!!on Sohool his-
trlct No. 21 and the Kara School District No. 100,
into ona oomblned common sohool dlstrlot, and AOW
ha presents tha Commisslonera~ Court with a bill
ror such 8erYloas.'
In that opinion (No. o-3416), It was stated, among
other things:
"Art. 2741 and 2742, V.i.C.S., requires the
Co&nissionaraf Court to give the metes and bounds o?
each oo,mmon school district and da8igAata the 83ma
oaraiully by giving the whole surveys and Darts o?
surveys with acreage o? whole surveys . . . . And
the county oler.- is ranulrad to record tha same. . .
As It is ths duty of the Commisslonara~ Court to
comply with tha'provlsions o? Art. 2741 snd 2742, , .."
The ioragolng statement contained In Opinion No. o-3416
is hare4y expressly overruled.
This opinion Is not to be oonstruad as holding that the
county sohool trustees are not authorized to subdlvida a county
Into school BlatrIots snd make ohsnges In the school district lines
Stated another way, this oylnlon merely holds thot the County Board
c? School Trustees has no authority to resurvey all the common
school dlstriots In a oounty where it It not daslrad to aubdivlda
the county lnto 8ChOOl dlatrlots or mke obsnges In the school
dlstrlot 1in88.
Yours very truly