Hon. W. 1~.Edwards

CountyAttorney Victoria County Victoria, Texas

Dear Sir: Opinion No. O-7183 Rer Whether an independent school distriat is authorized to finance and conducta ccmununityrecreational center

Your request for opinion hasbeen received and carefully considered by this department. We quota fromyour request as follows,

"In behalf of the Viatoria Independent School

District, I request an opinionupon the following:

"May an independent schooldistrict conduct and finance, out of a surplus remaining in the localmaintenance funds derived from looalmaintenance taxes, a community recreational aenter?

"The recreational center contemplatedwould involve taking oVer the recreation and assetibly building formerly used by the USO, on a lease basis foi a long term of years ati.a nominal rent. Money would ix expended for the employment of a full time director, and also physical eduoation teachers and play ground direotors on a pgrt timebasis. The primary purpose of the projectwouldbe to combat juveniledelinquency by a progrsm of physical education and supervisedplay.

"NO bond issue is contemplated,and the provisions ofArticle 2802E-1 of the Civil Statuteswould not apply."

Powers of boards and officers over funds belongingto the school districts, and themanner in which those powers shall be exercised, are prescribedby statute, and the course prescribed by law must follow to the exclusion of other methods, 37 Tex. Jurisprudenoe, p, 966; Thompsonv. Elmo Ind. School Dist. 269 S.W. 868 and Godson v. Jones, 190 S.W. 253.Hon. W. L, Fkiwards, Page 2

Article 2784e,Vernon's Annotated Texas Civil Statutes, sets forth the purposes for which the trustees of a schooldistrict may levy taxes.

Article 2827,Vernon's Annotated Texas Civil Statutes, sets forth the purposes for whioh school fundsmay be expended. Sections 1 and 2 ofArticle 2827, reads as follows,

"The public free school iUds shallnot be expended except for the following purposess

"la The State end county available funds shall be used exclusively for the paymentof teachers' and superintendents' salaries,fees for taking the scholastio oensus, and interest
on money borrowed on short time to pay salaries of teachersand superintendents,when these salaries become due before the school funds for the currentyear become availavle; provided thatno loans for the purpose of payment of teachersshall be paid out of funds other than those for the then currentyear.

"2. Local school funds from districttaxes, tuition fees of pupilsnot entitled to free tuition and other local sourcesmay be used for the purposes enumerated for State and county funds and for purchasing appliances and supplies,forthe payment of insurancepremilrms,janitors snd'otheremployees, for buying school sites, buying,building and repairingand renting school houses,and for other purposesnecessary in the conduo++ of the public schools to be determined by the Boardof Trustees, the accounts and vouchers for COMQ districts to be approved by the oounty superintendent; provided,that when the State availableschool fund in any city or district is sufficientto maintain the schools thereof in any year forat least eightmonths, and leave a surplus, such surplus may be expended for the purposesmentionedherein. Acts 1905, p. 263:Acts 1919, p. 189."Hon. II.L. Edwards, page 3

The case of Madeley, et al v. Trustees of Conroe Independent School District, et al, 130 S.W. (2) 929 (writ of.errordismissed, judgment correct) held that the local tax levied and collectedby the trustees of an independent school district for themaintenance of the schools could only be used for the purposes of maintenance *to the extent needed for that purpose.' The court in its opinionmade the following statement conoerning the use of surplusmoneys in the maintenance funds

"

.What shall the Trusteesdo with this surplus? '1; cannot be expended in the supportandmaintenanoe.of the publio free schools, for it is not needed for that purposes it cannotbe diverted from public free school purposes, for under the Constitutionit
was collected for that purpose. It csnnotbe returned to the tax payers.

"Its allocation to the maintenance fundwas by legislative edict for the purpose of supportingand maintaining the public free school. When that purpose has been effectuated, the tid is no longer sub ject to the control of the statutes, for the purpose of the statuteshas beem fully effeotuated. If and when the statutes cease to control the fund, then it becomesa constitutional fund, andmay be used by the trustees for the constitutionalpurposes; one oP the constitutionalpurposes is 'theerection and equipment of school buildings'within the distriot. 7fnat ms have said is in full recognition of the legalproposition that the fund oolleoted for the supportand maintenance of the pnbllc free schools,to the extent that it is needed for that purpose, aannotbe diverted to any other purpose.
"The following illustration is in point on our holding: mere a distriot has issuedbonds and voted a tax to retire them, Ihat becomes of the surplus of the tax when the bonds are retired? Since it is not reasonable that the exact amount of thebonds will be colleoted, on every bond issue the trustees will have in their hands a surplus. Again, a tax payer permits his tax to become delinquentuntil after the bonds are retired;when sued, canhe defend on the ground that the bonds for kichthe tax against his propertywas levied have been paid off? When the delinquenttax is collected,how shall it I be expended? These questions find their ansrers in Sec. 3 of Art. 7 of the Constitution)where theHon. W. L. Edwards, Page 4

bonds have been paid off the statutesregulating the expendituresof the funds for their payment cease to oontrol the power of the trustees in the expenditure of the surplus,and its expenditure rests in the discretion of the trustees, under Sec. 3 of Art. 7 of the Constition,"

Article VII, Section 3 of our State Constitutionreads
as follows;

"One-fourth of the revenue derived from the

State occupation taxes and poll tax of one dollar
on every inhabitant of the State, between the ages of twenty-one and sixtyyears, shall be set apart annually for the benefit of the public free schools; and in additionthereto, there shall be levied and collected an annual ad valorem State tax of such an amount not to exceed thirty-five cents on the one hundred ($100.00)dollarsvaluation, as with the available school fund arising from all other sources,will be sufficient to maintain and support the public schools of this state for a'period of not less than sixmonths in each year, and it shall be the dmty of the State Board of Education to set aside a sufficient amount out of the said tax to provide free text books fer the use of children attending the public free schools of this State3 provided, however, that should the limit oftaxation herein named be insufficientthe deficitmay-bemet by appropriation frgn the general funds of the State and the Legislaturemay also provide for the formation of school district(s)by general laws; and all such school districtsmay embrace parts of tnc
or more counties, andthe Legislature shall be authorized to pass laws for the assessmentand collection of taxes in all said distriotsand for the management and control of the public school or schools of such districts,whether such districts
are (are) composed of territorywholly within a county or in parts of tvo or more counties. And the Legislaturemay authorize an additionalad valor-cm

tax to be levied and collectedwithin all school districts heretofore formed or hereafter formed, for the furthermaintenance of publio freeBon. W. L. Edwards, Page 5

schools,and for the erection and equipment of school buildings,thereon~provided that a majority of the qualified taxpayingvoters of the districtvoting at an election to be held for that purpose, shall vote such tax not to exceed in any one year one ($1.00)dollar on the one hundred dollars valuation of the property subjectto taxation in such district,but the limitationupon the amount of school district tax herein authorized shallnot applyto incorporatedcities or towns constitutingseparate and independent school districts, nor to independentor common school districts created general or special law. (Sec. 3, Art. 7, adopted election November 2, 1926; proclszation January 20, 1927)."

Under the authorkities above quoted, it seems to us to be clear that schoolmoney may only be expended for schoolpurposes. The Community recreational center as outlined in your letter contemplates the use of school funds for purposes incidentally beneficialto the schools,but not exclusively schoolpurposes. We must, therefore,
answer your question in this respect in the negative. However,we know of no legal reasonwhy the Board of School Trustees of the Victoria Independent School District may not establish such a recreational oenter and to conduct the same as a part of its educationalprogram, as it does any other school activity, provided the privilegesand adwntages offered by the center are limited.to those who are legally entitled to attend school dn the district.
Very trulyyours

ATTORNEY GEEBRAEOF TEXAS
By /s 7fn.J.-Fanning

7%. J.Fanning Assistant

APPROVED APR 17, 1946 GROVER SELLERS ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS

APPROVEDOpinion Committee By E7iB Chairman