April 1, 1960 

Mr. Weldon Holcomb Opinion No. WW- E23 

Criminal District Attorney 

Tyler, Texas Re: Exemption from ad 

valorem taxation of 

properties of Caldwell Schools, Inc., 

under Article 7150, 

Vernon's Civil StatDear Mr. Holcomb: utes. 

We are in receipt of your letter in which you request an opinion of this Department as to whether or 

not the following properties owned by Caldwell Schools, 

Inc. are exempt from ad valorem taxation under the laws 

of the State of Texas. 

"No. l-being: West part of Lot 4, 

Block 80, and Lot 10, Block 184, City of 

Tyler, located at 419 South Bonner Street. 

This tract is used as the principal site 

of Caldwell Play School for pre-school children. It is in the nature of a kindergarten 

and is not officially connected with the 

Tyler Public Schools. Each child pays a 

fee, the principal expenses are paid by the 

City of Tyler and Caldwell Schools, Inc. 

There are no profits, It is operated as a 

benevolent public service. The property is 

used for no other purpose. 

"No. 2-being: The block of land located 

at 727 South Chilton known as the Old Chilton 

Home. On this property are two principal 

buildings, residences which have been converted to school purposes. The property is used 

exclusively for the Caldwell Play School for 

certain activities which can not be carried 

on on the first tract referred to above. 

"No. 3-being: 78 acres of land in the 

A. G. Barrett and Harris Fenton Surveys, Smith 

County. This property is used exclusively as 
Mr. Weldon Holcomb, page 2 (WW-823) 

a children's zoo, and for F,uture Farmers Association activities in the raising of their 

cattle and pigs. The F,ut,ure Farmers Association projects are under public school supervision; the Zoo, charitable in purpose. There 

is no admission fee, no profit. The entire 

expense is paid by Caldwell Schools, Inc. Any 

person may be admitted to the Zoo, but It is 

designed principally for children." 

Your request also informs us that the Caldwell 

School, Inc. is a charitable corporation, organized under 

the laws of the State of Texas and that the three above 

described properties belong to this corporation. 

Subsequent to your request, the attorneys for Caldwell Schools, Inc., advised us of the following facts 

concerning the school: 

"Although it is for pre-school age childrenin the nature of a kindergarten, (a) it 

does teach the children a limited amount of 

writing, such as reading and writing their names, 

(b) it teaches art, (c) it teaches them how to 

study, (d) it teaches them things that educators 

agree may be taught to children in this age group, 

so that they will be better prepared for the first 

grade work. 

"H~i.gh school students, as part of their high 

school work, take practice teaching courses in 

the school, that is, they practice with the instruction of the children as a 

accredited high school courses. 

I? art of their 

Section 2 of Article VIII of the State Constitution 

provides in part: 

II 

. . .the Legislature may, by general laws, 

exempt from taxation. . .a11 buildings used exclusively and owned by persons or associations 

of persons for school purposes . . . institutions 

of purely public charity; . . .' 

The Legislature, pursuant to Section 2, Article 

VIII, enacted Article 7150, Vernon's Civil Statutes, 

which provides in part: 
Mr. Weldon Holcomb, page 3 (WW-&3) 

"The following property shall be exempt 

from taxation, to-wit: 

"1 . Schools and Churches . . . all such 

buildings used exclusively and owned by persons or associations of persons for school 

purposes; . . .II 

"7 . Public charities. - All buildings 

belonging to institutions of purely public 

charity, together with the lands belonging 

to and occupied by such institutions not 

leased or otherwise used with a view to profit, unless such rents and profits and all 

moneys and credits are appropriated by such 

institutions solely to sustain such institutions and for the benefit of the sick and disabled members and their families and the burial 

of the same, or for the maintenance of persons 

when unable to provide for themselves, whether 

such persons are members of such institutions 

or not. An institution of purely public charity under this article is one which dispenses 

its aid to its members and others in sickness 

or distress, or at death, without regard to 

poverty or riches of the recipient, also when 

the funds, property, and assets of such institutions are placed and bound by its laws to relieve, aid and administer in any way to the relief of its members when in want, sickness and 

distress, and provide homes for its helpless and 

dependent members and to educate and maintain the 

orphans of its deceased members or other persons." 

The Constitutional provisions quoted above are permissive and not mandatory or self-enacting, and consequently a charity to be exempt must fall within the terms of 

Article 7150, Vernon's Civil Statutes. Section 7 of Article 7150, quoted above, specifically defines the kinds' 

of public charities that are to be exempted and Caldwell 

Schools, Inc., although eleemosynary in nature is not 

a "charitable corporation" as defined by this section. 

The properties in question, therefore, must come 

within the requirements of Section 1 of Article 7150, 

Vernon's Civil Statutes, in order to be exempt from ad 

valorem taxation. 
Kr. Weldon Holsomb, page 4 (~~-823) 

Judge Robertson, in the case of Cassiano v. Ursuline Academy, 64 Tex. 673, expressed the policy of the 

State regarding this exemption as'follows: 

"It has been the policy of the state since 

1849 to encourage educational enterprises by 

exempting them from any share of the burdens 

of government. . . . 

"The education of the masses is now recognized as a function of state government. Those 

who from charitable considerations, to forward 

sectarian views, or for private profit, have organized or conducted schools, have assisted the 

state in the performance of a duty it owes to its 

citizens, which cannot be too thoroughly performed, and which the state has never assumed that it 

had either the means or the machinery of doing 

sufficiently well without private assistance. 

The Ursuline Academy is performing its part in 

this branch of the public service, and it should 

rather be encouraged by aids, than impaired in its 

usefulness by a tax upon its pitiful revenues." 

The Cassiano case further established that the exemption was to include the land on which the school buildings 

stand and that private educational institutions were not to 

be discriminated against in granting such an exemption. 

Chief Justice Hickman in Smith v. Feather, 234 S.W. 

2d 418, cites Cassiano v. Ursuline Academy, supra, and 

comments on the policy behind the exemption as follows: 

"Private schools were in greater proportion then than they are today, and the theory 

back of their exemption was that they were rendering a distinct public service which under our 

theory of government was recognized as a function 

of the state." 

The buildings involved in Smith v. Feather, supra, were 

used exclusively for operation for profit of a schmffering courses in interior architecture and decoration and commercial art. It was argued that this was not a school within the purview of the Constitution and statute. The Court 

writes on this point as follows: 

"We know of no rule or decision which 

requires or even would authorize a holding 
Mr. Weldon Holcomb, page 5 (w-823) 

that this institution was not 

the terms of the statute." 

a school within 

In Harris v. City of Fort Worth, 180 S.W. 2d 131, the 

Court says: 

"The Constitution and the Statutes of 

this State evince a liberality in the exemption from taxation of property for educational 

or religious purposes. ~ . . 

In view of the constitutional and statutory provisions 

and the authorities referred to above, it is our opinion that 

tracts Nos. 1 and 2 are exempt from taxation but that tract 

No. 3 is not exempt as it does not come within the purview of 

Article 7150. 

SUMMARY 

Tracts Nos. 1 and 2 of Caldwell Schools, 

Inc. are entitled to exemption from ad 

valorem taxation under Article 7150, Vernon's Civil Statute, as properties used 

for "school purposes;" tract No. 3 is 

not entitled to exemption under Article 

7150, Vernon's Civil Statutes. 

Yours very truly, 

WILL WILSON 

Attorney General of Texas 

RAR:ms 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

W. V. Geppert, Chairman 

Robert A. Rowland 

Assistant Attorney General 

Jack N. ,Price 

John L. Estes 

J. Arthur Sandlin 

Bob Eric Shannon 

REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

BY: Leonard Passmore