“raE LtITORNEY GENE-L 

OF TEXAS 

Honorable P. G. Stanford 

County Attorney 

YoaknmCounty 

Plaina,Texas 

Dear Sir: Opinion No. 0-2230 

Re: Vacancies on board of trustees of rural 

high school district should be filled by 

remaining members of board. 

We are in receipt of your letter of April 12, 1940, requesting the 

opinion of th?s department, which reads 8s follows: 

"I amesking for an opinion on a question that seems to be contra- 

&icMryas to AheCekatutory provisions therefor, to-wit: As to 

whether or not the county s&ho01 board of trustees or the local board 

of a consolidated district shall appointtrustees to fill vacancies 

on the,l~al board oiLthe consolidated district, and I cite you 

to Articles 2745 and 277ka, Acts of 1930,.klst Legislature, Fifth 

Called Session. 

'There seems to be a contradiction in these statutes. Last year, 

we .bring at that time a consolidated sbhool district, grouped.two 

other smaller common school district with this one, to form a rural 

high school district. 

'khen a vacancy occurs in the local board of seven members, do the 

remaining members of the local board fill the vacancy or‘ is tha 

appointment made by the -county board of trustees?" 

We understand from your letter that the school district in question has 

been organized and is now functioning as s rural h&gh school district. 

Article 2745, Revised Civil Statutes of 1925, applies only to common school 

districts and is not in conflict with Acts 1930, klst legislature, Fifth 

Called Session, page 212 (Art.277&3, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) since 

the last mentioned act does not purport to make provision with reference to 

common school dlstricts'trustees. 

Your letter indicates that the question presented is with reference to 

filling vacancies on the board of trustees of a rural high school district. 

Article 25%?2e, enacted in 1925, provides that any vacancy shall be filled 

by appointment by the county board of trustees. Section 4 of Acts 1930, 
Honoralbe P. G. Stanford, Page #2 (O-2230) 

4ls.t Legislcture, Fifth Called Session, page 212, Ch. 66 (Article 277h, 

Section 4, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) provides that if the rural high 

school district fails to elect a trustee the County Board shall appoint 

such trustee: It also provides that the members of the board remaining 

after a vacancy shall fill the same for the unexpired term. Article 2774S, 

Section 4, wascolstrued and applied in Clerk vs. Wornell (T. C. A. 1933) 

65 S. W. (2d) 350. The court held: 

1, 

. . . . We think the act contemplates that, upon the creation of a," 

newrural high school district, an election shall be held for the. : 

purpose of selecting the required number of trustees, and that, if " 

for any reason there is a failure to elect any one or more of the first 

board of trustees for such district, the county school board shall 

make appointments to fill such places. If, thereafter, there is a 

vacancy on said school board; either by Teason of a failure to elect 

or for any other cause, the trustees of the rural high school district 

should make the appointment to fill such vacancy . . . ." 

'?'rom what we have said, it is apparent that we are of the opinion 

that the board of trustees df the Blum rural high school district, 

ahd not the county school board, had the right to select Simmons' 

successor, and that Hyder, and not 'Clark, has the ri@t ~to fill such 

office." ,~ 

It is eppsrent that the court correctly applied Article 27748, Section 4, 

snd not Article 2922e, since the last mentioned statute is ins direct conflict 

with the more recent enactment end has necessarily been repealed by 

implication in so far as this provision is concerned. Whittenberg vs. 

Craven (Corn. App 1924) 258 S. W 152; 39 Tex Jur.,p. 137, et seq. 

It is our opinion that when a~ vrasncyoccurs in the board of trustees of a 

rural high school district, such vacancy should be filled by the remaining 

members of the board, and not by the county board of school trustees. 

Yours very truly, 

APPROVED APR. 20, 191i.O 

s/ GROW SELLERS 

FIRST ASSISTANT 

ATTORNEY GENERAL 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

s/ CecilC cammack 

APPROVED OPINION COMMI!M'EE 

BY B. W. B. CHAIRMAN 

ccc:w 

By 

Cecil C. Cammack 

Assistant