The opinion
TEE ATTORNEY GENERAL
OF TEXAS
August 18, 1987
JIM xA-
ATToRxEY axaNERAL
Honorable Stan Schlueter Opinion No. m-771
Chairman
Rouse Ways and Means Committee Re: Clarification of Attorney
Room 404C, Capitol Building General Opinion JM-670 (1987)
Austin, Texas 78711
Dear Representative Schlueter:
You ask for clarification of Attorney General Opinion JM-670
(1987). Your request letter states that JM-670 “destroys section
19.022 [of the Texas Education Code] and virtually precludes any
subsequent transfer of properties from one school district to another
because as a practical matter no district is going to agree to give up
any of its taxable property.” You suggest that JM-670 is in conflict
with a recent Texas Supreme Court opinion, Central Education Agency,of
Texas et al v. Upshur County Commissioners Court et al, 30 ,Tex. Sup.
Ct. J. 391 (April 29, 1987, rehearing pending).
Within the limitations proscribed, section 19.022 provides a
procedure whereby territory may be detached from a school district and
annexed to another school district that is contiguous to the detached
territory upon approval by the commissioners courts of the counties in
which the affected school districts are located. Approval by a
majority of the board of trustees of the receiving school district is
required by section 19.022(c). Section 19.022 does not require
approval of the board of the transferring district.
Attorney General Opinion JM-670 concluded:
Before a transfer of ‘1200 residential units’
can be made from the Dallas Independent School
District to the Richardson Independent School
District by detachment and annexation of territory
under section 19.022 of the Texas Education Code,
a majority of the board of trustees of the Dallas
Independent School District, in accordance with
the provisions of section 19.008 of the Texas
Education Code, must give its approval.
Chapter 19 of the Texas Education Code was amended by House Bill
No. 634, Acts 1983, 68th Leg., ch. 7.85,at 1380, eff. Sept. 1, 1983.
p. 3617
Ronorable Stan Schlueter - Page 2 (JM-771)
The billlstated that chapter 19, as amended, was to be "a substantive
"~"'&ision of the laws concerning creation, consolidation and abolition
of school districts." Included therein are sections 19.022 and
19.008.
Section 19.008, subchapter A, "General Provisions," provides in
pertinent part:
(a) Any change in the boundaries of an
independent school district governed by an
elective board of nine members and located in a
county having a population of 100,000 or more is
not effective unless approved by a majority of the
board of trustees of- the district, (Emphasis
added).
The source law for section 19.008 was former section 19.331 of
the Texas Education Code. The Select Committee on Public Education
made the following statement relative to this section in its report
and recommendations on recodification of the Education Code to the
68th Legislature, at 33-34:
The law codified as Sec. 19.331, Texas
Education Code, was originally enacted in 1955 and
its population bracket has never been changed.
Using the 1950 census and the nine-member board
requirement, the law was designed to apply only to
Dallas Independent School District. Because of
either population growth or changes in the number
of trustees, the law now applies to Dallas ISD,
Fort Worth ISD, and Houston ISD.
It appears that the scenario about which you are concerned
involves the Temple I.S.D. and Belton I.S.D. Obviously, section
19.008 does not apply to these districts nor was it relevant to the
litigation involving the Union Grove I.S.D. and Gilmer 1.S.D; in
Central Education Agency of Texas v. Upshur County Commissioners
Court.
Relative to your coasaent"It would hardly seem important how many
members made up the full Board of Education of any district," we can
only reply that this is a matter for the Legislature.
A more basic question is whether approval is required of a
majority of the board of trustees of the transferring district in a
detachment and annexation under section 19.022 where the transferring
district is governed by an elected board of nine members and is in a
county having a population of 100,000 or more.
p. 3618
Honorable Stan Schlueter - Page 3 (JM-771)
The source law for section 19.022 was former section 19.261.
Subsection (a) of section 19.261 provided:
The county school trustees or county board of
education, as the case may be, in each county of
this state shall have the authority, when duly
.petitioned as herein provided and in compliance
with the limitations of Subchapter K of this
to detach from and annex to any school
territorv conti%?uous to the cmmn
boundary line of -the two-districts. (Emphasis
added).
Section 19.022 as it presently appears in chapter 19 omits the
language "in compliance with the limitations of subchapter K of this
chapter" and provides:
(a) In accordance with this section, territory
may be detached from a school district and annexed
to-another school district that is contiguous to
the detached territory. (Emphasis added).
/c- The omission of the reference to the limitatioqs of subchapter K
and the adiiition of the language "In accordance with this section"
gives rise to a construction that the intent of the legislature was
that the procedure for detachment and annexation of territory is to be
governed solely by section 19.022. However, the Select Committee on
Public Education in its report and recommendations on recodification
of the Education Code to the 68th Legislature at page 41 reflects the
following reason for the omission of the cross reference in section
19.022:
Subchapter K of the present Chapter 19,
referred to in Sec. 19.261(a), is codified as Sec.
19.008 of this revision. This cross-reference is
unnecessary and is omitted.
Thus, the inclusion'of both sections in the codification negated
the necessity of a cross reference. We believe this more nearly
reflects the reason the legislature deleted the reference in the
codification. To construe the language "in accordance with this
section" as reflecting an intent on the part of the legislature that
detachment and annexation be governed by section 19.022 without regard
to any other provisions in chapter 19 would in effect render section
19.008 nugatory. Most of the procedures delineated in chapter 19
resulting in the changing of the boundaries of independent school
districts have similar provisions. Section 19.023(a) begins, "A
school district located in a county with a population of 210,000 or
,r- more may be annexed to a contiguous independent school district a~
p. 3619
Honorable Stan Schlueter - Page 4 (JM-771)
provided by this section." Section 19.056(a) states, "If only one
independent school district is consolidated with one or more common
school districts, this section applies." Section 19.057(a) reads, "If
two or more independent school districts are included in the
consolidation, this section applies." Section 19.059(a) states, -Any
consolidated school district may be dissolved by the same procedure
provided for consolidation. . . ." Section 19.081(a) provides, "A
countywide independent school district may be created under this
subchapter. . . ." (Emphasis added).
Both sections 19.008 and 19.022 are part of the same act passed
by the 68th Legislature and both concern changes in the boundaries of
a school district. As such, the two sections must be construed as a
whole and all of its parts must be harmonized if possible, so as to
give effect to the entire act according to the intent of the legisla-
ture . Attorney General Opinion M-650 (1970).
We remain of the opinion that section 19.008 provides an
exception to section 19.022 in that before any changes can be made in
the boundaries of a school district coming within the provisions of
section 19.008, a majority of the board of trustees of that district
must give its approval.
SUMMARY
Approval of a majority of the board of trustees
of the receiving school district is required for a
detachment and annexation of territory made
pursuant to section 19.022 of the Texas Education
Code. In the event that the transferring school
district is governed by an elective board of nine
members and is in a county having a population of
100.000 Fmore, any change in the boundaries of
that district requires the approval of a majority
of its board of trustees. Educ. Code $19.008.
Attorney General of Texas
MARYKELLER
Executive Assistant Attorney General
JUDGE ZOLLIE STBARLEY
Special Assistant Attorney General
p. 3620
,
Honorable Stan Schlueter - Page 5 (J-M-771)
RICK GILPIN
Chairman, Opinion Committee
Prepared by Tom G. Davis
Assistant Attorney General
p. 3621