OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
%;a reoeived your
lw aett-lng out oerti8crin ia
k cpation based upoa said
Tour Letter dated reads. la pert, 88
cborne was re-
, 1840, the County aoard of School
Cotzty, .Texas, being und~or the im-
there ~38 a vramoy in said offioe,
ollowln~:. in the ?-iinutes of s@,lC board,
at tl co,~ll zeetj.rg thereof 1
"On or about the 8th day of April, 1940., 3. 3.
Earrla took the oath of offloo, but thereaftsr, on
or shout the 20th day of April, 1940, be resi@ned~
as trustee for the r @ason. that he has oot resi,ded
in the district for six months prior ttiersto and
ma dfagualifi3A. On the aam. date that Rarrfs
rsslgned, Osborne took the oath oi office end filed
the aarm wfth the Couuty 3uperintendent. Curing
this ar$lrr period ol! tine, Osborne has oontinued
to act as trustee+
WDurin& the y&r. 1922; Oljbome was comioted
ei Felony theft In the Fedaral Court. ne lo not
8’ qualified voter and hsa not been durtng,t&ia
eatfre period of timhw~
Your letter bated fune 21, 1940 mbmitting additional
faots reads,. In prt, 4s tollowst
*After the a9~o~lntmont of Earrts 68 truatae, ,.
Osborne .eontinued to aat as trustee and his’ sots
in signing vouoher8, eto, were aoooptad by the
County Superintendent.
,?Wnxis never at any time parrormsd any’ aat ’
es trustee resignation
and his w&s accepted by the
County Sohool Board, and on the County Bard enter-
ed an order aocepting the maienatloo ot mrria, iC
entered en order stating that oald aonkxon aohool
dletriot would have only two trustees Xor ths year .,
1940-41.
*On the 6th day of, rune,, 1840, u,pon the re-
pueat oi Bubort Osborne, the County Board entemd
the rtdbfirg ordert~
. **It apparlng tomthe Roarti of Oou3t.y ’
School Trustees of Rusk County, Thrxae,
that hewetotors there have been .%ade
various orders in r~t$sd to the posltioa
0r on4 of t&4 trustees of the Tine Hill Com-
non sahool District No. 4d, of Euek Comty,
TCXde, in that the se14 couoty isonrd WRIBun-
der Me tipression that a vacmoy erlstod
In the plme l-da by nubart Osborrm RS ona
of the trustess of oatd distriatl
*tXndt Mi?d board having found that the
said Hubert Osborne hsa at al.1 tines alno
hia eleotlon ooted as trutitee of aaid die-
r,
! : qps i
triot, and that he hae fakan the oath of
offics required by 1%~ end ft fnrthor ap-
pearing to thIa board that the Xstr!at
. . ..~Attorney of fiusk County, Taxeg, h??s oertl-
iied a question to that Attorney Caneral of
~the state of ‘i%xas, In regard to the at&us
of the aald Subert Osborne 88 trustee of
eaid dls trlat ;
**Xi Is thersfofe ordared by the County
B08rU of Sohool Trustees that a~11 orders
herntofors entered by the board and which
now agp%ar bn the minntss 02 this boerd be
set aside bemuse of the taat that this
board did now knog ~the true status or” Hubert
Osborne as trustee of said d1striat, and be+
owsa of auoh orders a8 now appeer on recordt
there rrould bs only two trustees for said
dtstyilrt; and it is the further order of thi%
board that the said Rubsrt Osborne shall con-
tinue to sca.v% as t,rustss of tha mid Pine
Eill co&ion Bab001 pietriat Ko. 46, unti3.
furth%r crders of tNe bosrd in the:eoent
said opinion of the Attarnay G:anarel ehouLd
be adverse to the olalm! of the said Bubert
Q6bwns to said office.’ ~, .,:
“So a,ppeal wim lasde to the County Boarb other
than tha or&emid% by Oabornet as refleotod by the
above order. vi% night also note thtlt Ocborm haa
had hia cltlzensfiip restored to hln ainca t.he 13th
day of ?:a~, &an we submitted OUT orl~innl~requestb*
Based upon tho above faafs you ask the follbwlng
qaestioar
Doee the County Board ot Wuml Trustees of Rusk
County, Texas,
herve tka power at this ti~xe to X4nofe Cnborne
aa truatea of said dintriot, or deolnre a -?hoenoy 15 auoh
Oftics and c;tpoint enot;her to taka his i&m%?
‘“Al%* 2746.
“r . + . No person shall be trustea wha
csxnet read and w1t.a the I:sqlish Lan;,uage fntei-
igibly, rtindv&o he5 not been a reaidmt.of allah
district for &Lx mmths px1or to hia elaot~on.
Providing no person shall be qualifhed as trustee
unless ha is a gmpsrtp taxpayer in the distrfot
.
to which he is elsoted ejnd otherwise a puallslt
(qualified) voter ih said distriot . . . .,
seiS1 trusteas ahall first take Zhb) offielel oath
an4 shall, es aooa as prnotioable, file s&me with
,the County SuperintkIdent~or County Sddgr. All
raosnciee shall b8 filled by the County 2oard of
Trustees for the reLmainder of the tom in xhioh
the vaoanoy o~oura~ . . em
"Ia% 9747.
‘fr a truatea so cleated or 6,npolatad es here-
in groylded, who in the opinion of the oounty super-
intendanti does not possess the puallffcations pm-
saribed by law the county auperintendant shall ore-
faae to reooe, 13 ze plush person who has been 80 eleoted
and make writ&an request within twenty days after
.suoh eleotion, Of ths oounty attorney, or airrtriot
attorney if there be no county attorney, to instl-
tute end prosecute with dtaaatoh suit in the name of
the Sate for the removal of such trllstee, in the dls-
tiiot court of the county where such trustee resides,
at the ‘optIon of said attorney. Upon good oause shown
~~it?An the dieoretlon of the aourt where such suit
la pendin,%, .lt ehsll be lawful to enjoin and restrain
such person from eating as suoh trustee dcrinE the
pendecoy of suoh ouit. It shall ,be lawful to summon
suoh truetee before thou court in the Srial of ouch
oetxie, and there mke sxminatibn OP him ENIt0 hi8
guslifiostions to serve se auoh, If s.fter being 80
sumaneil, ouoh trustee rails, negleots or refuses
to obey said su~~~one and Pa3J.s to ap;:ear for the
purpose of examination, an4 folls~ or refuses-to’arubmft
to such sXcamination, such failure, ne&iot or refumal
shall. be prima faaie evlrlenoe of his dia$uolifioa-
tlou, end beoeuse thereof the court trying oaoh cause
shall be authorized to ran&m th8r0llpOZl judgn@nt by
default against euoh trustee so defaultin?, rWAoolng
him from his aeid ‘off’ica and c?ac!larins, the same
vaoant . The cminty boa?d of cEuct&fon of the county
where suoh truate% has been eleatcd shall ap::olnt some
suitable person, viho ia c;uallflod by law to agt ne
such trustee, tf during the pendeooy af ziaoh suit reid
trustee shall be enjoined from so rratinn. If ,auoh
trustee so elooted shall be 80 rrmaved than such
trustee so a??ointed shall oontinue’to se:*96 until
.~,.
. 727
mmr&ie Joe C. Gledneg, Page 6
the next reqlsr eleotion of.school trustees
sor such .dlatrict. The aountg bomd of eduoe-
tion shall 1111. a vacancy in said offioe by
ap>ointin~: a suitabla ?erson qgallf’iad by lsw
to cot as trustees untfl~ tht next re:qular eleo-
tion of eohaol truetees for such diatrlot.”
:Te heve be& unable to find sny authority for the
p~posltion that the County, Eozrd of 2ohool Trustees hae the
,p~er to rmove an unr,uel.ified soho trustee tmn office.
To the cOt!trQQ', the natbod for euch reinoval ap?eers to be
met out in i.rtlcle 2747, eup3-a.’ See StQtc cm rel Eevll.le 0.
ganderson l38 r,.:.;‘. (2) 1058.
The faots show that ~stOlTie i!ns duly eleotsd~ to the
olflae or trllntett. Eo has been and i,a now perfomln~ the
diltles of trustao. Eo has nm taken the oath of. offioe. Ve
f!nd no facts which vrould jusltifp a determimtion by the County
&?ard ol Sahcol. Trustwa that Osborne has abandoned- or Veeated
thq office of trustee,
Pe cocolude that the County Board of School Trusteea
has no authority to rmove Osborne from office. Me aso of
the opinion, further, that the Dow.%‘oannot at this time de-
olrre mob office vaoant.
Lee Shoptaa
Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion
Combined Opinion