The opinion
OFFICE OF THE A-i7’ORN”Y GHNEML OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
al school board ntxbcro. 2?i6 QU6S-
local school board 1owf~Uy
use FJC&OO~ fnndc to ?ny t%6 manb6rshi:,
~~6s 0: the ;lGnbGrs of the local board
in the Bin?,6 Ol'@XiiZ6tiOl.I?
"c~fa the local so.h.001board lcv:iully
~$6 school -funds to py tha cxpcnsos of
incident to 8l;d
t!;e 10c:;l board zG?ib?baYs
j.ncuryed by tha in t&&i ottondanoo UpOn
~OnOrabl6 Gerald Stookard, pa?,6 2
Th6 JNl~OsES for Which th6 public fr66 school
my be expended 826 S6t out in &tic16
I’untis 2627 of
Vcr&Gn'ti Amoteted Civil Statutes, 03 follows:
"'2h6 pl;blic free zchool functs shal.1
hot be oXCcnd6d 6XO6pt f0r th6 folkowing
purposes:
"1. 'ihe State and cwhty ovnil6bl6
funds iksll be used 6Xclusiv6ly for the
.~.6:Jc--sr?t
of tiscixr3' snd scnerintcndsnts~
9 3ularis3, fh-23 Ccr takiq tie scho:cst:o
cc29u3, and iaterznt cr. ::coneyborrow6
on short ti:ae to psy aakrias of tenchers
nnd aupcrintcSdcntS, v:hen theue sal,erias
becOn due before .tiisschool funds for
the current year becLx6 availabla; pro-
vidcd that no loam for the g,ur?o~s of
p3p-znt 0:’ tcachre Sfdi be paid out
Of fund9 Ots6r than tkOSG fO2 the then
cwrcnt yew.
“2. Local school L^und3 from district
to+es, tuititrtlf6e3 of pupils not entitled
to free tuition and other local sources may
56 used fcr t&o puri;ones enuuer~tod for
Etuta end county funds c&d for purcha3izg
appliances and supplies, for the paymnt
of iscuranoe prmiu.m, Jc-aitors end other
wployes, for buying school sites, buying,
building cd rcpairin6 end renting school
houseS, und for other pur~oses~nocassory
ir. the ccnduct of the public schools to
be datzmined by the Eoard.of Trustacs,
the cocoum3 arid muchars for county districts
to b6 epprcved by the county superlntcndeut;
provided, that --hen II the !;tnte svailnbla school
fund in any city OT district is SUffiCieht t0
mintsin the schools thereof in any year for
UC least 6ight z!onths, end 1aaVG s SUlplUS,
such suq~lus ,my b6 fxpended f-Or th6 >lWpoS63
mentiOh6d her6iiL1*
Eonoroble C6rald Stockard, >op.!e 3
&?OtiOlI 1 Of Chapter 5 Ol' t&G t.CtE Of the
Fourth Csllad Faszion of the Torty-third Legislcture
(1931,) aC26d tha ~ollo~~i~~~section to said Article
2827:
. “3. X11
!.r.dcw,ndantschool districts
hVi2,s t’ithix
t&i= llr,its ZI city *:.eith
a
popu1n tion Of 160,000 Or aore accorC’lry,to
the lnet preceding Padeyal c6nsus &ail,
in addition to tin6 pov:ero nox possamad by
thez for the use a.xl exyerxiiture of 10~~21
scho-01 3s.~~ srid Tcr the issuance of school
bonds, be cxpr~.sr.lyauthorized and eqowred,
.at the optios of the ~overnl~g body of ozy
such school distrlc t, in the bugin:: of school
sitss ar,d/or nddit:ons to school sites o,?d
in the buildir.: of Schcol hxses, to iSSU6
aad delivar notes of the school district,
neSotiablc or non-necotiabl6 in Torz, xpre-
Senti% all pr a part of the purchase price
or cozt to the scXoo1 district of tka lend
er,d/or build:>3 so purchased 02 built, sad
to~3ecuro such notao by a vendor's lien
i;zd/or deed of trust lien sp.aizst ouch lsnd
and/or SuilEing, and, by resolution or order
of tno g;overninc body of the school district
mde at or before the delivery of such notes,
to set csidc OI;~ c?,?propricteas a t,mst fund,
agd the sole Xld O.Tiy fiil'ld,iOr t&6 ?ZyEIelit.
of the prioci?al of and iotsreat on such
-.notes such ;nrt 2nd portion of th6 local
sc:;ool fur:As, levied 2nd collected by the
school district 1~ that yasr k&/or subse-
cl,u:nt yc3r6, m We governi% body of the
school district any detar.nlne, provided
t23t in no event s;1011 the zg::(rejieteamunt
of 10~~1 fjchool funcis z&t as1136 ir.or for any
subseqient yecr, ten (10%) ner cent of tha
locel sahool f\;nds collect& duriw mch
year. H
.QI sxaaination of Artiale 2627 discloses that
the::a is ;1o crpreso authority t0 US6 the ~?ubl.icfr66
school funds fo; the purnoses covered by Your quastlons.
?t is well settled that ihe powers of a schFo1 board to
expend public free 3chOO1 fUldS~ Or6 limited to the Pur-
EonoroblG Gcrold Stockorcl, pags 1*
~o.si;sprGGcr:bed by tDa statutes, !i3rlioCer.IxldegGn-
aont School Distriot v. C. H. Pace and Erothcr, 48
C.
5 C. (2d) 913 (Coz111is6ionof A>peeln.)
it is true that Article 2227 przsoribGs tnat
local school funds zxy be use6 "for other purposes noc-
essnry in the CO3duct of the public schools to bc dG-
tarnined by the Doord af TrustGG3.f* Under this provision
of the lm::, it has been held th3t tha board of t$ustecs
my, v:ithix certci.rllimits, exarcise a discretion as to
thy purT0sG.s for kiich the pub110 froc.sohool tinds my
bG expanded. Yo%eley v. City of Dallp:s, 17 S., 7:. (26)
36 (Conmission of E.:Qeals.)
Xc believe, hoxevm, thet the school bocrd
is 113ited in the excrche of its discration to "rur-
poaas ncccssery in the conduct Of the public sohools**,
and that tlce purposes ' hich are cet out ir.your ques-
tions do 3ot qsna within the statutory provasions.
ThGrG is fiOthiIl& t0 ir,diCFitG *diet thG G%iGtGIKzG Of tha
stotc-wide or~sniz3tion school trustGe3 or their
of
3oiti:qs in kztate-v&de conventions is 3ecGs1'azy in tho
coniluct of thu public schools. As you stat& in your
IcttGr, thG?G is no stotutory authority ?or the cres-
tioa of 5 state org3fiiz3tion of local sohool board ~GLu-
bars, and there is 20 statutory require.aent th3t thGy
bclonr? to oilchan orCynizetioo. Xiiatever benefit night
accrue to the sohools through the zeabsr&ip of the
school trustees ir.the stunts-wide orp2cizotion or their
att,.Xl&lZCG upon StGtG-Wi6G 5GGtiAF.5, IVOUli! be r&illOtG
an6 indirect. :'ieare threforo of tha opinion that
t&o 10~31 schoo: board CZ..O~ i3vZull:; USE SC:?OO~ fuads
to pay tlie :,enbe.shi:,dues of ‘the ambers Of ~the lOC3l
board in tlzostate orpnization, nor can ths local
Gchool boerd 1wPilly u%G School pnd3 to pGy thG EX-
yensas of t,holocal board mmbers imidont to and in-
curred by thG3 in their attend&Doe upon iaeetings Of
the state org3nizat~on.
Yours very truly