Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

OFFICE OF 7I4E ATTORNEY GENERAL OF ‘IEXAB AUSTlN Honorable J. D. Looneg. County Audi tar Boule county Boaton, Teua Dear sir1 We have moalve - our le+y $ recent date which we Quote, ln part, aa fo ows. ?fs. \I\.\ \ ante are lo- aervrtion was 01 Dlstrlot on van set up On the east aide on the land fomer- er Independent School The question ent reaervatlon (Lone Star a at111 a part of the i&ad- Sohool Dls trlct. %everal ohildren 11~0 within this reserva- tion in the houses built by the government for 1ta employeea. The queatlon of providing echcol faollltiea for these children has nrlaen, and we rant to knor the status of thin dlstrlot." Honorable J. D. Looney, pa<;e#2 The question in which you are interested is iv;,et:zer the land ocmpoaing the rerervatlon lo rtlll pert of the school district so that lta resident scholratloe are entltlsd to a pxbllc free school education. We are of the opinion that ruch land Is still a part of the sohool district. Aa far ea ve can determine frm uliexmiinatlon of tne aktutee of tia State, the ovnerahlp of land in no way ef- feota the boundaries of a sohool dletrlct. In other vorde, the boundaries of a sohool dlatrlot are not affaoted because the ovnerahip of lend vlthln lta confines is chenged. True, the State or Federal Government or some charitable lnstitutlon might acquire property vlthln e school district and thus make such property exempt fkm school taxea, but it does not follow thet upon such en acqulsltlon the property 1s removed from the dlatrlct or .that the boundary llnea are altered. It could hardly be contended that the lndlvldualr vho rerlde in hourer or buildings vhloh are part of a Federal hous- ing pro&sot, the title of *ioh is in the Federal Ocvernment, are not reuidenta of the State, county, end sohool district in vhioh auoh projeot 1s located. We 8re of the opinion that those people rho reside in a govarxnuentreeervetlon occupy thh aeme statue. Artlole QQOl, Reviaod Civil Statutae of Texas, provide6 es follovat "Every ohild ln this State of soholaetlo age ahall be pennltted to attend the public free schools of the dletrlct or independent district Ln which it resfdes et the time It applies for edzniseion,notwithstanding that it may have been enumerated elsewhere, or m&g have attended school elaevhere part of the year". You ere, thee*efore,edvlaed that the territory in Red- wetar school dlatrlot vhlch vns takan over by the Federal Oov- ermuent aa a goverwent reaervatlon, ea desorlbed In your IfonorableJ. D. Loamy, pa;e #S letter, Is still a pert of the echo01 district, 01:;' :.rLlt the soholestlcs who reeldo in such territory WC mtitlad to receive a public freeschool education in eaid school district. In other words, the statue of s;1cl: sc!;-llnotIcs is the 8ani6e6 tl.arof my other scholastics reritiingin the district. This conclusion Is conuiotont ulth the one rceched In Opinion No. O-762 wherein it wes held that the lketea of the Methodist Orphanage in Yieco,Texes, ere raaldent soholes- tloa of the Waco Independent School Dlstrlct end, es such, are entitled to receive a public free school education In the schools melntelned by the Waco Independent School Xs- trlot. Article 2766b, Vernonls Annoteted Civil Statutes, provides that the Stete Board of ?Mucetlon ';ley cstaolloh en Independent school dlatrlot upon lny mllltery rcservatlon in Ws Stete. However, we do not believe that the .=ovornment reservation described in your letter Is a rrllltary reservation under the statute.