### GENE-L “raE LtITORNEY

OF TEXAS

Honorable P. G. Stanford CountyAttorney YoaknmCounty Plaina,Texas
Dear Sir: OpinionNo. 0-2230 Re: Vacancies on board of trustees of rural high school district should be filled by remainingmembers 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 AheCekatutoryprovisions therefor, to-wit: As to whether or not the county s&ho01 board of trustees or the localboard of a consolidateddistrict shall appointtrustees to fillvacancies on the,l~al board oiLthe consolidateddistrict, and I cite you toArticles 2745 and 277ka, Acts of 1930,.klstLegislature,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 districtwith this one, to form a rural high school district. 'khena vacancy occurs in the local board of seven members, do the remainingmembers of the local board fill the vacancy or‘is tha appointmentmade by the -county board of trustees?" We understandfrom your letter that the school district in questionhas been organized and is now functioning as s rural h&gh school district. Article 2745, RevisedCivil Statutes of 1925, applies only to common school districtsand is not in conflictwith Acts 1930, klst legislature,Fifth Called Session, page 212 (Art.277&3,Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) since the lastmentioned act does not purport to make provisionwith reference to common school dlstricts'trustees. Your letter indicatesthat the question presented iswith reference to filling vacancies on theboard of trustees of a rural high school district. Article 25%?2e,

enacted in 1925, provides that any vacancy shallbe filled by appointmentby the countyboard 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 (Article277h, 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 courtheld: 1,

. . . .We think the act contemplatesthat, upon the creationof a," newrural high school district,an election shall be held for the. : purpose of selecting the requirednumber 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 schoolboard; eitherby Teason of a failure to elect or for any other cause, the trustees of the rural high school district shouldmake the appointment to fill such vacancy . . . ." '?'rom what we have said, it is apparent that we are of the opinion that the board of trusteesdf the Blum rural high school district, ahd not the county school board, had the right to selectSimmons' successor, and thatHyder, and not 'Clark, has the ri@t ~tofill such office." ,~ It is eppsrent that the court correctly appliedArticle 27748, Section 4, snd not Article 2922e, since the last mentioned statute is ins direct conflict with the more recent enactment end has necessarilybeen repealed by implication in so far as this provision is concerned. Whittenbergvs. Craven (Corn.

App 1924) 258 S. W 152; 39Tex Jur.,p. 137, et seq. It is our opinion thatwhen a~ vrasncyoccurs in the board of trustees of a rural high school district, such vacancy shouldbe filledby the remaining members of the board, and not by the countyboard of school trustees. Yours very truly, APPROVEDAPR. 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