The opinion
- ,
E OIRNEY GENERAL
*
EXAS
August 5, 1949
Hon. Jas. M. Simpson, Sr. opinion MO. v-874,
County Attorney Rer The vallcJlty of an
coneho FeMty order by the County
Eden, Texan Board of Sohool Trus-
toes to consolidate
the Conah County
portion OS a dormant
ixnxntp-line common
school dlstrlot wlth
a rural high sohool
Dear Sir i aistrict.
We rots* tQ yotkb *0@tie0t for Qur opinlen aa to
the validity of an order 0%’the County Board OS Sob001
Trusteea, Con&o County, acting under .rtlcle VIII, S.B.
116, 518% Legislature, consolidating that part of.Salt
Gap County-Line CommonSchool District (determined to be
‘ndormant’~ under S.B. 116) lying in Concho County, with
the adjoining llllersvlew Rural High School Dletrlct,
lying in Goneho County.
The ioIlowlng laots are reflected in your sub-
mitted copy of tbe,Goneho County School Board order
passed on July, 6, 1949. It shows that an election was
held on Jung 31, 3949, in Salt Cap County-Line School
Dlstriot (of Gonoho and MoCuliooh Counties), Melvin Goun-
ty Llna Gonsolldated Indepsndent Sohool Dlstrlct (of
G&a&o md YeGuIlooh Counties), r*d Yfhiteland Common
Sahaol Dletrlet (of’ YcCullooh.County) for the consollda-
tlon of the three districts named; and the Gommlsslon-
ersf Court of McGulloeh ,Gounty on June 14, 1949, canvass-
ed the returns thereof and declared the election carried
in iaoh of said districta, and Issued an order consollda-
ting the three dlstrlotr named.
In Attorney General Opinion No. v-866 constru-
ing Article VIII, S.B. 116, slat Legislatuw, this of-
fice held that a edor!@nt dlstriot? as defined in S.B.
116, may be aonsolfdated dth an adjoining district or.
dlstrlcte under the provielone of Article 2806, V.C.So,
provided a oounty board has not previous1 consolidated
such dormant district with an adjoining dI strict under
Hon. Jan. M. Simpson, Sr., page 2 (V 874)
the authority granted it in Article VIII. For the rea-
sons therein set out, that holding would apply also to
consoIldation proaeedlngs aonsummated under Sections !Ta
and Sb o!’ Article 27&b, and Article 2743, V.G.S.
Article 2806, as emended by H.B. 828, 49th
Legls,lature, provides In part:
” whsn it is reposed to consoli-
date &$uous county- Elne districts, the
petitions and election orders prescribed in
thla Act shall be addressed to and Issued by
the County Judge of the count having jurls-
dlotion over the principal so iti001 of each
district and the robults of the electlon ahall
bo oanvassed and aeqlamd by the Gommlsslon-
era' Court of said County.”
Se. also like provisions In Article 27&b, Section 9,
V.C.S.
When the orders were passed creating the Salt
Gap County-Line District and the Melvin County-Line Dls-
triot, it was then determined which one county should
manage and control, that is, have jurisdiction over, the
public schools therein. Article 27&b, Section Sa, and
Article 2743, V.C.S.
If, therefore, inview of the noted provlelons
of Article 2806 and Section 5b of Article 27&b, McGul-
loch County had jurisdiction of the schools in the Salt
ffap,County Lisa and the Melvin County Line Districts,
its County Judge was authorized on proper petition to
call the election and its Commissioners* Court was au-
thorized to canvass the results of the election to con-
solidate those two county line districts with the Whlte-
n McGulloch County, m
130 S.W.2de,1038 (Tex.
k.
judg )* Dona dson v
App. i9&.2+&3?
ha situation, coupled
tlon eleotlon was oall-
ed prior to the action of the Gonoho County School Board
and carried as prescribed by law, then the election con-
solidation (June 14) prevails over the subsequent order
(July ,6) of the Con&o County Board purporting to act
under Article VIII, S.B. 116. The Salt Gap dlstrlot hav-
Hmn. Jaa. Y. Simpron, Sr.‘~, pige 3 W-874)
lng boom _goarolldatod by an llmotlom with
an ao,tlvo ad-
puxpoom of Artiolm VIXI has bein
of C&o Salt Gap County ‘Limo Dls-
tl’tat ljsag la Gphe GmWy was the+maftmr ~no longer
in etistaaem ep dormant” and would not nmw bm rubjeot
ta an Artlgl) VIII% ooarmltdrtlolp order of the Gonoho
Coumty Ward,
For the paawtn stated in tho above paragraph,
and because this oonseIldation is not made under S.B.
116, the provisloma of S.B. 13.6 reatrlotln& oonsolida-
tloa of 80-t aeumtf limo aohool distriotr to torrl-
tesy iJl&$ *thin t&e County are not applicable. Art-
lole VIII of S.& 1~6 provldaar
“If a county $1~ dlrtiGt Is or be-
aomoe dormant . . ., the prevlrlmu 0P thla
Aot ahall apply and bo followed . . . to
the extent of the tmrrltory in each rmsnmc-
tive 00unty.”
That same Section further provides, howovor,
that:
"The provlalons horela Par tha oomeollda-
tion
- . of Waool dirtfiotr by ordrr of the
county Board 0Z Tiwatoma ? a . ahall riot
bm construed to repeal, uuperrode or lim-
it any mxl8tlog ltatuto rovldlng *thmr
methods for othool diutr r at oonaolldatlon
aad aakwxatloa."
Thoreforo, it 18 our opinion that the order of
tho Conoho Goumt~ school board, considered heFeiA and
dated July 6, 39E9, io invalid and of no effect. This
opinion construes only, the validity of the’ order submit-
ted fox consideration and the queatloa pxrsentea, Ir, the
light of t&e tcata luM%ttod and thoro herein pl?oaU*od.
The Salt Gap County Line School Dls-
trlot, tkm Ymlrln County LIM Gonaolidated
Indopendont Sobool District (under the jur-
lsdlotion of McGulloch County) and the
Whiteland CommonSchool District located
in MoGulloch County, having boon esnsoll-
datmd on June 14, 1949, by an olw$tlofi held
in coaformanae Mt$a Artlolm 2806, V.,G.S.,
in Conoho County dth
igh School Dltitriot in
the .wnm oounty Is invalid. A.G, Opinion
No. V-866.
Very truly yours,
ATTORNEYGEHEJRAL
OFTEXAS
,e7’0-
CEO:bh:a Cheater $. Ollison
Assistant