Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1944 )

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, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
, AUSTIN
GROYIERsKLL=~s
ATe”“r*O&ll.a
EOAOrablO A. 31. fklyaro
CoAAtJrAttorney
Dfillaaaounty
Rlhara, Taas
Dear Sira
uertlone are
iAiOA 08 w QUWtiOA&l
erning the following
4,5 and 6 ot said cot hate to do
Board of Truetee; ror said Sohool
Dirtziat itr oitiasra, aAd tha terme of
ofrioe 0) said otfforrr, and trustees, whloh
reotions are as follawar
863
Ronorablr A. W. Salyarr we 2
"'9.0. 4. The oontrol and menagement or the
Dam woAsolidated Independent Sohool Nstriot
is hereby vested IA a Board of MYBA (7) trustee8
as above provided, rizr 0. X. Raillard, .K~ank8.
yarwell, Frank Mi Tatum, George E. Mlker, Roy
1. Thorn MA, F. EL Thomas, cuzdH. U. oouAt8,
and the P r suo0d8aor8 in otiioe.
Said _trurtees rhall organize as 800~
;&&g 8 hot t&a8 eifeot, a8 map be praotloable,
by eleotlng from their number a president, rice-
pre8IdsAt, and IeOr~tary, @id racy also shot or
appoint suoh other otiioere and employess ae they
may deem aeoessary, who may or are0 not be aembete
of rald Board, aad my, ii raid Board-•leotr PO
to do, provide for the aasea&wmt and colleotlon
o? tale8 by Its own a8aeamor aAd oolleotor, othn-
wise said rohool taxes shall be a88esssd and ool-
looted am provided by the Osnaral Law, by the
County Aasmrror and Coileotor of taxed.
m)Seo, 6. The term of ofrior of the 8etan (7)
trz above named rhall be divided Into two
(2) dirlslons, aa follow8: The,first threr
aamd tomserve until the goneral eleotlon of
trustee8 fop fnde eBdrBt Sohool Diatrlots,
held a8 proYlded iip law, in the year 192l,aAd
the last iour named trustee8 to serve until the
genersl eleotlon of truatea8, as provided by
law, ln the pear 1922, and until their 8uooe8aor8
ahall be elsoted, and shall qualify.'
Wy questiona ariee ou) of 'the protlslone of
said Section 6, For a Auabsr of yeUs tollowlng
the passage of this Aot thb eobool trustees ot
said Distrlot were eleoted a8 provided IA said
Sootion 6, that 18 three trustsss w8ra sleotsd
in one yesr for a two ypr term, and, in the
f6llowIng ysqr four trustees were slootsd for
a two peer tern,,and so on In rotatloa. Bowever
aaveral years ago the provlsionm of eald Sootion
6 were Ignored by the truat6es of said School
Rlmtriot and lnsteailof sleeting trustees a8
864
Bonoreble A. W. Salyarr Pw 3
provided therein the praotlae of eleotlng
trtmteer for three year term waa bagual two
818oted one pear, tvo eleoted tha tollowing
year, SAd three the following ysar, all for
a thrse year tera\ aAa so on in rotation.
That praOti8e began OYer tweltr year8 ago
and obtains t&day,
"All Crueterr 8ertIng now ware elsoted under
the preeer.t urangnaad.
*'Ro qWStIOA8 of lOOA intsrert hare presented
thaarelre8,
*he the dL@OtiOAS and terms of Otfioe of the
trustee8 Of Dalhart Consolidated Independen$
Sobool Dirtrlet oontrolled by the eprolal sot
Of th0 trgirlaturr oreating raid Dlatrlot?
*If the abors question is anowlrred in the
ltflr ma tlts
pleaas an8w6r th18 gUest.iont
Are the trustees who are now serving and who
were eleoted for three year term da raoto
oriiorrr?
“I am Of the OQiAiOA that both qWJStiOA8 should
be ansrarsd in the atfir%atire. It is IPJ oon-
timtiM that there har bsen AO law parred rlnoe
tha enaotman8 of the Speolal Aot waloh wopld
ohsnge or have aAy lireot whataoavar cm Seotloa
6 of eeld Spoolal Aot. There have been levers1
law8 parred whereby prorlsioA8 were made for
the 8leotloB of trurtses. Yoet of the88 aotr
or artloles hare to do with yartioular DIatrIotr,
and thi8 Sob001 Dintriot in quartion is not
subjeot to the prorlrions of any of tham beoause
of the faot that the largest olty In this Sohool
Dlrtrlot I8 Dalhart, T8xas with a opulatlon of
4,691 aooordlng to the lart P'edera P CeAaus. The
0al.yartIsles Ohat might hsrr applied to the
Dalhart cOASOlia8tOd IAaepeAdeAt Suhool DIrtrlo$,
In A$ opl~lon, are Artlolar 277&, 2757 cnd 2758.
I do not bslIeYe they epply beoause Artiolr 277&a
provider for Dirtriots oreated in a oertain
manner other than by Sp6oial Aot of the La&ala-
ture, and the Dalhart Consolidated Inde endent
Sohool Dlstriot was ln existenoa prior e0 the
eAaOt%eA$ of Artlole 277h And had followed
.
Honorable A. a. Salyarr Page 4
Seotlon 6 oreatlng raid Dlstrlot for ertsral
yeam. Art1018 2758 would not apply In that
Dalhart Conaolldated Indapcndont Sshool Dlstriot
was created by a +eoisl Aot and not aa provided
In Artlola 2757.
*The tollowIng oaeem seerato hold quita olsarly
that proriaione of SpeoIal Aota oresting sohool
dlatrlota oontrol ovar ganeral lohool lam. I
have iailed to find any general law rnparording
or attempting to bhtangrthe Speolal Aot la question
rlnor Its anaotmrat. I refer you to the tolls-sing
oagea; 256 S.W. 672; 277 5. 1. 7511 and partioulerlg
;$s;ot!on 7 thereor on page 754 266 3. w. 607;
e a. 10261 204 S.W. 115; 2A3 9. f‘.11781 277
5. 8. 971 61 S.W. 114) 65 s. #I,(2) 414; your
opinion No. O-593; and 85 5. w. (2) 853. In thr
laet sited daae, smith va. Morton Independent
Sohool Dlatrlot deoldad by the Court of Civil
Appeal6 of Amarillo, Taxsr, In 1935, the Court
uphold the spsolal Aot oresting said Distrlot
lnsorar aa It provided ror the sldotlon of three
trustee8 and held that the sleetion In ssld
Diatriot of alx truatbea was unauthoriaed. That
Court went further ad held 8het the alx trustees
ware not da faoto offloere because there was no
de jure offIoe. I quite agmo with that holding,
but I bellevs the faota In my oaaa olrarly ahow
the trustees to be de iaoto baaansa the Spealal
Aot provldsd for nevsn trustses and aavon truetsss
have been sleeted, bra raoognlzed as auoh and era
holding of?Ios. I have no trouble with thk-aooond
qusatlaa propounded to you but I do need the
ralsht of your oplnloa on it.
‘1 azn enolorlng a oopp of the Speolal .4otoraatlng
the Dalhart Conaolldatsd Independent Sohool DIrtHot,
whioh you may ua8 for rsteremoe and oonTanianoorn
Wo havr hsretofora dlaousaed a rlzilar question
Ino~~n~on NO. O-593, a 00py Of which oplai~onwe dIlOlOSe
.
,
866
lionorabla A. S. Slayara Palie 5
Ko wlah to thank you for &ring u8 thr bsnaflt
oi your reaaaroh In oonnaotlon with the quaatloaa propounded
w YOU*
Your8 very truly