The opinion
June 4, 1970
Honorable Kenneth Bain, Jr.
County Attorney
Floyd County
Floydada, Texas
Opinion NO. M- 645
Re: At an election held in the
Lbckney Independent School
Distriat in Floyd County,
Texas, for the election of
the County School Trustee
at large and for the
County School Trustee for
the precinct in which the
Lockney Independent School
Distri~ctis located, who
pays for the expense of
purchasing the election
supplies and the fees of
the election judge and
clerks for holding the
Dear Sir: election?
your letter of recent date requests our opinion
on the above question.
The applicable statutes are to be found in
the Texas Education code, enacted by the 61st Legislature.
Regular Session, 1969, and in the Election Code of the
State of Texas, enacted by the 52nd Legislature, Regular
Session, 1951.
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. . ._
Honorable Kenneth Bafn, Jr., page 2 (M-645)
Article 17,03(b) the Education Code reads as
follows:
"Election officers appointed to hold
the election for district trustees in each
school district shall hold the regular
election for county school trustees or
county board members."
This statute clearly provides that the officials
charged with holding the school district election shall
also hold the election for county trustees, and we think
the statute necessarily implies that the officials are
to be eampenoated solely by the district.
With respect to the expenses incurred for supplies,
we refer you to Attorney General"6 opinion No. O-943 (1939).
That opinion was based upon an interpretation of articles
of the Civil Statutes that have been in substance incor-
porated into the Texas Education Code, and held that the
election supplies used in the election of county school
trustees should be paid for out of the available main-
tenance funds belonging to the school district in which
the election is held. We think this holding is still
applicable to your inquiry concerning the expanse incurred
for supplies.
The election under discussion is clearly a school
election. There is explicit authority to the effect that
the supplies are to be paid for by the school district
rather than by the county in Article 7,12 of the Election
Code, which reads in part as follows8
"~11 expanses incurred in furnishing the
supplies, ballots, and booths in any general
or special election shall be paid for by the
county, except costs in municipal and school
electiona."
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Honorable Kenneth Bain, Jr., page 3 (M-645)
SUMMARY
-------
Blection officers appointed to hold the
election for district school trustees
in each school district shall hold the
regular election for county school
trustees or county school board members.
Such election officials shall be com-
pensated solely by the school district.
and the district shall pay out of its
available maintenance fund for the
election supplies used in conducting
the election for county school trustees
or county school board members.
C. M AR T I N
Prepared by James S. Swearingen
Assistant Attorney General
APPROVED:
OPINION CCUWITTEE
Kerns Taylor, Chairman
W. E. Allen, Co-Chairman
Glenn Brown
William J. Craig
Malcolm Smith
Fisher Tyler
MEADB F. GRIFFIN
Staff Legal Assistant
ALFRED WALKER
Executive Assistant
NOLA WRITE
First Assistant
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