Hon. W. 1~. Edwards 

County Attorney 

Victoria County 

Victoria, Texas 

Dear Sir: Opinion No. O-7183 

Rer Whether an independent school 

distriat is authorized to finance 

and conduct a ccmununity recreational center 

Your request for opinion has been received and carefully 

considered by this department. We quota from your request as follows, 

"In behalf of the Viatoria Independent School 

District, I request an opinion upon the following: 

"May an independent school district conduct 

and finance, out of a surplus remaining in the 

local maintenance funds derived from looalmaintenance taxes, a community recreational aenter? 

"The recreational center contemplated would 

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 time basis. The 

primary purpose of the projectwouldbe to combat 

juvenile delinquency by a progrsm of physical education and supervised play. 

"NO bond issue is contemplated, and the provisions of Article 2802E-1 of the Civil Statutes would 

not apply." 

Powers of boards and officers over funds belonging to the 

school districts, and the manner in which those powers shall be exercised, are prescribed by statute, and the course prescribed by law 

must follow to the exclusion of other methods, 37 Tex. Jurisprudenoe, 

p, 966; Thompson v. 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 school district 

may levy taxes. 

Article 2827, Vernon's Annotated Texas Civil Statutes, 

sets forth the purposes for whioh school funds may be expended. 

Sections 1 and 2 of Article 2827, reads as follows, 

"The public free school iUds shall not be 

expended except for the following purposess 

"la The State end county available funds 

shall be used exclusively for the payment of 

teachers' and superintendents' salaries, fees 

for taking the scholastio oensus, and interest 

on money borrowed on short time to pay salaries 

of teachers and superintendents, when these salaries become due before the school funds for the 

current year become availavle; provided that no 

loans for the purpose of payment of teachers shall 

be paid out of funds other than those for the then 

current year. 

"2. Local school funds from district taxes, 

tuition fees of pupils not entitled to free tuition and other local sources may be used for the 

purposes enumerated for State and county funds and 

for purchasing appliances and supplies, for the payment of insurance premilrms, janitors snd'other employees, for buying school sites, buying, building 

and repairing and renting school houses, and for 

other purposes necessary in the conduo++ of the 

public schools to be determined by the Board of 

Trustees, the accounts and vouchers for COMQ 

districts to be approved by the oounty superintendent; provided, that when the State available school 

fund in any city or district is sufficient to maintain the schools thereof in any year for at least 

eight months, and leave a surplus, such surplus 

may be expended for the purposes mentioned herein. 

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.error dismissed, 

judgment correct) held that the local tax levied and collected by the 

trustees of an independent school district for the maintenance of the 

schools could only be used for the purposes of maintenance *to the 

extent needed for that purpose.' The court in its opinion made the 

following statement conoerning the use of surplus moneys in the maintenance funds 

" . What shall the Trustees do with this surplus? '1; cannot be expended in the support and maintenanoe. of the publio free schools, for it is not needed 

for that purposes it cannot be diverted from public 

free school purposes, for under the Constitution it 

was collected for that purpose. It csnnot be returned 

to the tax payers. 

"Its allocation to the maintenance fund was by 

legislative edict for the purpose of supporting and 

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 statutes has beem fully effeotuated. If and 

when the statutes cease to control the fund, then it 

becomes a constitutional fund, and may be used by the 

trustees for the constitutional purposes; one oP the 

constitutional purposes is 'the erection and equipment 

of school buildings' within the distriot. 7fnat ms 

have said is in full recognition of the legal proposition that the fund oolleoted for the support and 

maintenance of the pnbllc free schools, to the extent that it is needed for that purpose, aannot be 

diverted to any other purpose. 

"The following illustration is in point on our 

holding: mere a distriot has issued bonds 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 the bonds 

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 delinquent until 

after the bonds are retired; when sued, can he defend on the ground that the bonds for kichthe tax 

against his property was levied have been paid off? 

When the delinquent tax is collected, how shall it I 

be expended? These questions find their ansrers in 

Sec. 3 of Art. 7 of the Constitution) where the 
Hon. W. L. Edwards, Page 4 

bonds have been paid off the statutes regulating the expenditures of 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 Constitution reads 

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 sixty years, 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) dollars valuation, 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 six months 

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 of taxation herein 

named be insufficient the deficit may-be met by 

appropriation frgn the general funds of the State 

and the Legislature may also provide for the formation of school district(s) by general laws; and 

all such school districts may embrace parts of tnc 

or more counties, and the Legislature shall be 

authorized to pass laws for the assessment and 

collection of taxes in all said distriots and for 

the management and control of the public school or 

schools of such districts, whether such districts 

are (are) composed of territory wholly within a 

county or in parts of tvo or more counties. And 

the Legislature may authorize an additional ad 

valor-cm tax to be levied and collected within all 

school districts heretofore formed or hereafter 

formed, for the further maintenance of publio free 
Bon. W. L. Edwards, Page 5 

schools, and for the erection and equipment 

of school buildings,thereon~ provided that a 

majority of the qualified taxpaying voters of 

the district voting 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 subject to taxation in such district, but 

the limitation upon the amount of school district tax herein authorized shall not apply to 

incorporated cities or towns constituting separate and independent school districts, nor to 

independent or 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 school money may only be expended for school purposes. The 

Community recreational center as outlined in your letter contemplates 

the use of school funds for purposes incidentally beneficial to the 

schools, but not exclusively school purposes. We must, therefore, 

answer your question in this respect in the negative. However, we know 

of no legal reason why 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 educational program, as 

it does any other school activity, provided the privileges and adwntages offered by the center are limited.to those who are legally entitled to attend school dn the district. 

Very truly yours 

ATTORNEY GEEBRAE OF TEXAS 

By /s 7fn. J.-Fanning 

7%. J.Fanning 

Assistant 

APPROVED APR 17, 1946 

GROVER SELLERS 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

APPROVED Opinion Committee 

By E7iB Chairman