OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
GROVER SELLERS
ATIORNLY G~NSRAL
Honorable Robert 1. Cherry
county i4ttomty
Etrldlmn, Totar
Dear Slrr
a by reaolutioa
48 rtoovsrtd rraa
relly arrived at
4 given gaer of
a, is a resolution pansad by
8 and R statement or fecta,
udftors has audited the books of a
your oounty sad as a rtoult 0r safd audit,
that ml& tax aollsator fniled to account
ry for ell or tho school tares colltottd by
al alnount 0r taxta oollsatetd and not account5
1935, 18 ln the ag&-rtgnttrum of ~e,839.16 or
has been datmnlatd to be dus th arorgan
strict and :Z 738.16 is due to the eomon
school dlstrlot8 0r the county colitctlvsl,. Since the dtllnc,uant
tax roll8 drs ia bad shape, end it 18 found thst it ~111 br
dirricuit 6nd ~X~~I~VIB to dboorer acourottiy the amount Out dr
the tote1 mua rsoovarsd rt,lch lrhould be ored ted to eaah lndlvldual
comaon school district In tP.:s oouaty, ths aounty board of school
truotces hsa psstd a resolution whsrtby ths, county vuprintandent
Bon. Robert F. Cherry, April 8, 1959, Aga E
la authorlrrd and lastruatod to dlatrlbuta $100 of the mcney re-
oovrrod to the Korgan Indapradent School Dlatrlot and the balance
to tha oomon le?ool dlatrlot aocordln~ to their leaoead rslua-
tlona ror the yaar 1938 to be orsdlttd to thtlr local aalnttntnar
aad.riaklng fund Lnrtaad ot making so audit to datermlnt the rust
lmount:dut eeoh dlatrlot and lnr!ruotlng the oountr dapoaltory to
oredlt eaoh oonnon lohool dlatrltt rlth the amount of tame collrct-
ad rrim luoh school dietriot.
Artlole L7Ws Rarirrd Civil Statutra, lVe5, prorldtr
that the oommls8lonora~ oourt~ahall lrry thr oomnon aohool dlatrlot
taxes at the aerme tlru or lawlag tarts ror oountp purpoata, an4
it 18 rurther ~rovld56 SD roil-3
“. . . The tax aaaoaaor shall aam8ae said trx as
other taxes nrt aaeaaeed and make an lbatraot showing
th e a mo untor l poolal ~XSS 666e660d lgalnat oath rohool
dlatrlot in his oouetp and furnish the aema to the oountr
luytrlnttdmt on or bsrorr the first day of se;)twaber
of the year rot wtloh aald taxes era arsearrd . . . The
teat collaotor aball collrot aald taxes es other taxoa are
0011ected. The tax l66ISIDC shall reoelvt 6 OOm6iSSion
0r OnI-b&if 0r 0110 ptroent ror aas6aain~ 6Uoh tax, and
the tas oolleotor a c~mlerlon or one-halt of one per’rant
ror oollaotlag the lemo. The tax oollootor shall paf all
said taxes to the oounty trtnauror, a ndlald tre8aurer
abell Oredlt aaob lohool diatrlct dth the mouat b6long-
ing to it, and pay out tho aemo ln aocordanco ulth l~.~
Arti e888, ROYid ciTi1 SthitOS, lwio deriW8 the
tern *county treasurer* as roilom
“The ‘county treasurer* sod *county treasury',
tan8
as ured In all prorlalona of ler relating to lohool funds,
shall be construed to atan the Oounty drFOSit0~. Thr
com~laalonera oourt ahall file rlth the Steto Department
or :dua~tlon a OO~J or the bond of said dopoaltoq to
cover 8CbODl anda. Ho com!nlaalon shall be ,mld for re-
calving sod dlsburelne school fuada.a
The r0reg0ing artlalsa clearly damon6trr?to that It wae not
rltilln tho oontemmplatlon or the LeglslatUro that the county aohool
board or any other OfflCtr6 rhould X&S sny SllOC2tiOn or tr266ier
Of the local tame oollsoted In the COpI-ZDllschool diatrlata ot tho
county. Timee taxes when ODl~aCted tom a prticular lohool dlatrlot
are to be :laced to ths credit of such lohool QlatrlCt to be ured
HoR. Robert F. Cherry, A,ril 8, 1~39, Page b
for SOhO purpoara in that dlatrlot. Tho mora tact that ths
taxoa larlod in the va r io us
oommon lohool dlatrlcta may bo col-
loctwl by the ode prroa or Oirlosr does not thangt thr chnraotar
Or three Honda nor would they loo66 thrlr ldimtltr.
In Uataon t. IS1 ~660 County, (T.C.A. lOId), PO2 8. 8.
Ub, It was hold that tho oounty was not ruthorlrrd to bring lult
lgalnat a county tax oollaotor lchDol funds ooIlooto6
to r to o ver
for oomaon school diatricta under faata llml&r to thoao proamtod
here, but that tho trusttar of the vr.rloua comon school dlatrlota
wore the proper psrtlaa plelntlff to reoovtr suah runda.
fare contain varlo88 provialona authorizing
Our school
tho county board of trustroe and the oounty ruprrlntandrnt to
lp p o r t&ateta
o nand county avallabld lohDol funds 6mohg the
various dlstrlota but ln raoh lmtsnoa thr funds whloh arn apportioned
to the dlatrlota by therm offlOor h%vs barn 6:portlonod to or
collected by the oounty rra a unit and thon dlrldod anont tho dla-
triota la tho CDUntJ. In each lnstence, tho rprolflo method and
baala ror asklry such apportlqment la prorldad lo tho ltatutoa,
and Artlclo 9699 oontalns the further provlalon thnt *no part of
the school fundr lpportlonrd to any dlstrlot or county shall be
trsnafarrrd to any other dlatrlot or countyIm except aa provldod
by the tranrfrr statutaa.
It ‘18 aanlfost that an crrbitrary distribution of looal
aobool taxoa, oollooted by the oomnonschool dlatrlota over a.parlod
_. or yaars, Baaod on17 upon the aaaosatd valuation for,ono glraa foar
would lfroct a trunsfer of a ,;ortlon or auoh run.36 frog ow :I: i 3.’ ~
dlatrlot to the Barnsilt Of another, and wa hare bean unoblo to fled
any statutory PUthDri66tlOn for auoh actloo on the part of the
county board or lohool trusteaar
~!s are of the o~lnlon that your qurstlon should ba alllrrrer-
4 in tho negatlvr.
Yours very truly
CCC:E:lw
m
A?iwV ED
(3) GWA.LDc. XhNN
OT.NIik.LCF TiXhS
ATTCiiliZY