; . ‘
ENJERAL
OF EXAS
Honorable Ernest Guinn This Opfnion
County Attorney Modifies 0 Inion dated
El Paso County +
,fi/36
El Paso, Texas
Dear Sir:
Opinion No. O-3235
Re: Residence qualfflca-
tions of persons en-
titled to vote for
county school trustees.
We are fn receipt of your recent request for
our opinion with reference to the resfdence quallflca-
tions of persons entitled to vote for county school
trustees.
Article 2676, R. C. S. 1925, a8 amended, Acts
1934, 43~d Leg., 2nd C.S., Ch. 28, p. 108, provides:
"The general management and control of
the public free schools and high schools fn
each county, unless otherwlse rovlded by
law shall be vested In five (5P county school
trustees elected from the county, one of whom
shall be elected from the county a% large bx
the qualff'fedvoters of the common and con-
solidated independent school districts of ahe
county. and one from each CommissIonera P -
cfact by the qualfffed voters of each Common-
sfonerra'Precinct, who shall hold offfce for
a term of two years. The time for such elec-
tfon shall be the first Saturday In April of
each year? the order for the electfon of coun-
ty school trustees to be made by the county
judge at least thirty days prior to the date
of said election, and such order shall desig-
nate one votfng place for each common school
dfatrict. The election officer appointed to
hold the electfon for trustees fn each common
school district shall hold the election at
the same place therein fop the county school
trustees. Each year there shall be elected
I
Honorable Ernest Gulnn, Page 2 (O-3235)
alternately two (2) county school trustees
and three (3) county school trustees in each
county. The State Superintendentshall pre-
pare a proper form of the ballot to be used
In such election and such other explanation
of the laws as he deems necessary>and trans-
mft the same to the county judge of each coun-
ty a% least sixty days prfor to the date of
such election. All vacancies shall be fflled
by the remaining trustees.+ * +' (Under-
aeorlng ours)
Thfs artfcle expressly provfdes that the county
trustee at
large shall be elected "by the quallffed
voters of the aommon and consolidatedindependentschool
districts of the county". OUP opfnfon No. 0-2066, a
copy of which has been forwarded to you, supports the
conclusionthat this provision fs controll%ngover Sec-
tfon 8, of Acts 1927, 40th Leg., 1st C.S., Ch. 84, page
228 (Artfcle 2742a, Sectfon 8, Vernon's Texas Clvfl
Statutes).
The above quoted statute further provldes
that one county trustee shall be elected "from each
Comml.sslonerslPzoecfnetby the qualified voters of each
CommissfonerslPrecinct",wlithoutfupthep lfmftatfon.
St was ruled by this department in opinions dated Feb-
puary 9, 1935, to G. l4.Mann, Letter Book 360, page
927, and Map& 30, 1932, to II.IX.Schuemann,Letter
Book 332# page 763, that qnalfi"fedresident voters fn
Sndependen% school d%stpfc%s ape elfg%ble to vote fop
the county school trustees elected Prom the Comnfssioo-
epsl Preoincts; the Pequfrementonly befng that they
be qualaffed voters of a CommfssfonePs8Preefnct. A
sfm%lar rulfng was made fn an op%n%on dated April 8,
1936, addressed to Honorable Hapry d. Schulz, however,
in thh%sopinion ft was stated that persons residfng
fn muniefpalby controlleddis%r%eta may not vote for
county school trustees for their Commfssioners'Pre-
&nets, notwithstandingthe opfnfon recognized that
Article 2676 "speeff%eallgauthorlzee all qualgffed
voters wfth%n the Commfssfoneps'Precinct to vote in
safd eleetfon." We do no% agree w%th the dfstfnctfon
made %n the.%opinion between mun%c%pallg controlled
and other %ndependen% schwol dfatrfcts, afnee the stat-
ute makes no au& ~PQV%EO%O~.
It fs our opfnfon that only qualified voters
of the common and eonsolfdatedindependentschool dfs-
%r%ets of the county may vote fop county school trustee
Honorable Ernest Gulnn, Page 3 (O-3235)
at large and that all qualified voters of the Commls-
sloners'Precincts of the county may vote for the coun-
ty school trustee from their respective precincts wlth-
out reference to whether such voters reside In common
or Independent school districts of whatsoever nature.
Yours very truly
ATTORNEY GWERAL OF TEXAS
By /e/ Cecil C. Cammack
Cecil C. Cammack
Assistant
ccc:ul;LM
APPROVED MAR 31, 1941
/a/ Gerald C. Mann
ATTORREY GENERAL OF TEXAS
APPROVED
0PlN10Ip
COMMITTEE
BY BWB
HAIRM
O~.K.
GRL
Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion
Combined Opinion