HOll, Ben L. King

County attorney Burnet County Burn&, Texas
Dear Sir: Opinion lb. O-7265 Re: Title to Deed from Scottish Ametican

MortgageCo. Ltd. to Board of Trusteesof F. & T. Consolldatsd Common' School.District

No. 18, Burn& County,

Texas, 'and

relatedquestion.
We acknowledge

your letterof June 3, 1946, requesting an opinion of this department on&he questions

therein set out, pertinentpcrtions of vhioh letterwe quote for the purposes of this opinion

as followst "Enclosed

herewith is a oertified ccpy of a' deed frog~the

Scottish

American

Mortgage

Company, Ltd. to Board of Trusteesof the F & T Consolidated CSD or WlrnetCounty, Texas.
"In this connection the #300 consideration shown in the deed was paid at the time the deed was delivered from public free school funds of the granteedistrict caused

the clause

you will find at the end of the deed inserted,

by whioh it was soughtto fix the title for the benefitof the community rather than the school. I

. . . aJ.fter the dxecut,ion

and deliveryof such deed to such district

a school

housewas oonstrwted thereon with funds barrowad by the districton~itsbonds. School +aa maintained,there for ,several

years, but in 1945, as a result of an election held in each district, the F & T Consdlidated

CSD,was consolidated with the Marble Falls ISD, and beoame a part of a consolidated district

known as the Marble Wlls Independent SchoolDistrict. Since the ,date,of

this last oonsolidation o schoolhas been maintained

in the schoolhouse

on the land conveyedin the deed, copy of which is enclosed, and it is not ini:i;r,ded by the schoolauthorities to ever~maintain

another schoolthere. The sohoolhouse constructed

on such land was of rook and cannotbe removedas a building.Hon. Ben King, Page 2 (O-7266)

"The proper schoolauthorities desire to sell the lot and the building together. This raises the following question

whioh I will appreciate **your** an8wering

for mar atUpon consolidation of the F & T Consolidated CSD with Marble Falls ISD, and the removal of the school from such premisescweyed in said deed, and the oessation of use of same for schoolpurposes, did the title to such lot pass from the schoolauthorities into the last Board of Trustees

of the **F** & T Ccnsolidated CSD for the use aMbenefit of the community, or is such alause ineffective,

and couldthe proper sohcolauthorities now sell such lot and the building erected

thereon

under the provisions

of law relating

to sales of schoolproperties?'" The deed referred

to in your letter executed on January11, acknowledged

on January

23 and recorded

on February

2 in the year 1939, in the Countyof Burnet, Burnet, Texas,reads in part as follows: "The Scottish

Bmerioan

McrtgageCompany,

Limited,

. for and in consideration of the sum of Three Hun- &id Dollars (#300.00) to it in hand paid by the Board of Trustees

of F& T Consolidated Corm&on SchoolDistrict of Burnet County,

Texas,
. . . have GRANTED; SOLD and CODVSYED

unto the said Board of Trustees
. . . ; and to their successors

in offioe,for schoolpurposes, the following

described

land,

. . . in said County
. . . t "Five and one-half (!&) acres of land,

. . e (Described)
,,, "TOMyG&DTOHOLD.,
. , together with al.1

and singular the Aghts and.appurtenances thereunto

in anywise belonging,

unto the said Board of Trustees of the F & T Consolidated

Co8xaon School M&riot So. 18,

. . . and their successors and assigns,

forever, (General

warranty clause).
"It is further

a provision

ofthie oonveyanoe

that in the event that said lot may ceaseto be used for school purposes

by reason of the removal of the school or for aw other reason,

then that the title thereto shallvest in the individuals

ocmprising

the last Board of Trusteeaof the above named sohooldistrict as trustees for the ccmmunity, to be held and administered by them as a trugt, and for the use and benefit of all of the people of the Fairland

and Toby ommaunities."Hon. Een King, Page 3 (O-7265)

We understand

thst no bonded indebtedness exists concerning the lot or the schoolbuilding built thereonand that, therefore, no qua+ tion of assmnption of indebtedness

is herein involved. Under the facts submitted, the land was oonveyed to the Board of Trustees

of the F & T Consolidated School District

for schoolpurposes, was paid for by said Board with public free schoolfunds of the grantee district, and subsequenttheret8, a schoolbuilding

was constructed

on this land with funds borrowwd by the granteedistrict on its bonds; that in the gear 1945, the.F & T Consolidated Ccnmon SchoolDistrict was acnsc:'idated under Art. 2806,V.A.C.S., with the Marble Falls Independent Schooluistriot and became legallya part thereof; that since the consolidation o school has been maintained on said land and that presently the~proper

soh~olauthoritiesdo not intendaver to maintaina schoolthereon.

It is definitely

settled,

we believe,

that a deed of land to schooltrustees"for schoolpurpolsssa wher-in the habendunclause was to have and to hold unto the schooltrustees a8 assignees

forever

was a conveyance of a fee simple title,and simply that. Gladewater County Line Independent SchoolDistrict v. Hughes, 59 S.i% (2d) 361, and the many oases cited therein. The insertion in a deed of land to a schooldistrict of the words "for school

purposes

only " does not restrict the title of the district. T. W. Phillips

Gas & Oil Co., v. Linge'-+elter, 5 A.L.R. 1495. The mere expression

of a purpose

will not debasea title. Wilsonv. CountySchool Trustees,

229 S. W. 669, and Gladewater 0888, supra. Under the line of oases above quoted, the deed in question herein operated

to conveya fee simpletitle in the trustees of the F de

T Consolidated

Common School

Trustees,

its sucoesscrs

or assignsforever, in trust for the schoolor schools of the district

in which it is situated, provided

the clausethereinstatingin substarrc that in the event the lend ceases to be used for schoolpurposes,thentitle thereto will vest in the individual

designated

therein in trust for Fairlandand Toby communities, cannotbe construed a8 a conditional

limitation

divesting

title, under the facts, out of the schooldistriot trustees,

their suooessors

andassigns. Based on the facts suhnitted in your letterand heroin sunmarized, it is shown the F & T Consolidated Coon School Trustees paid for such land with public free schoolfunds and caused the provision

to be inserted

in the deed by vhioh it was soughtto fix the title for the benefitofthe community ratherthan the schooldistrict. We are of the opinion that said provision is ineffectual and thereforeis inoperative to divest the fee simple title out of the trustees of the schooldistrict, their suoess)rs

and assigns and into the last named individual trustees

of the district

as trustees

for the community.

It is elementary

that the F & T Trusteesin causing the insertion of such a provision clearly

were acting beyondand without the scope of their authority

as schooltrustees. They have no authority to give away schoolproperties. Furthermore, the grantor

having conveyed

all the titleHon. Ben King, page 4 (O-7265)

it had in said land, legal and equitable, for the consideration paid in hand with schoolfunds,preserving no right of reversion in itself, was withoutright or power to make, or attempt to make a subsequent condition

of defeasance. Our answer, therefore,

to the first part of your questionis that the title to such lot did not &mss frcmthe school authorities

into the last Board of Trustees of the F & T Consolidated Common SchoolDistrict for the use and benefitof the ammunity.
Art. 2806, V.A.C.S., as emended

by Acts 1945, 49th Leg., p. 416, Ch. 264 providesin prt as follows:

I

. q . Where one or mars independent schooldistrictsare oonsolidated t,gether or with one or more common schooldistricts the consolidated

districts

shall constitute

an independent

schooldistrict,

and shall have all the rights,

powers and privileges granted

to independent sohooldistricts by the lawsof this State. "If only one independent school districtis oonsolidatedwith one or more ocmmon schooldistricts, the consol dated districtshall bear the name of such independent schooldistrict,

and the board of trustees of said independent schooldistrict shall serve as the board of trustees of the consolidated district

until the next regular electionof trustees, as prescribed

by generallaw, at which time the consolidated district

shall elect a board of seven (7) trustees, whose powers,

duties,

and terms of office shallbe in accordance with the provisions of the generallaws governing independent

school districts,

as they now exist or may be thereafter enacted;

. . .a It is our understanding that under the provisions of Art. 2806, the F & T Consolidated Common SchoolDistrictconsolidated withthe Marble Falls Independent

SchoolDistrict

and the new districtis now known as the Marble.Falls

Independent

School District. The powers and duties of the Marble Falls Independent SchoolDistrictBoard of Trustees, as designated by statute,

shall be in accordance with the provisions of the generallaws governing

independent

school districts. The schoolproperties whioh prior to the consolidation were vested in the BDard of Trusteesof the F & T Consolidated

CommonSchool Districtin trust for that school district

are now vested in the Board of Trustees of the krble Falls Independent School Distriot,

the successors

in officeas designated in the deed, by reason of the consolidation

of the district,

and in accordance

with the provisions of Art. 2772,

Vernon's

Annotated

Civil Statutes. Art. 2773,

Vernon's

Annotated

Civil Statutes,

provides

as fol-. -

Hon. Ben L. King, page 5 (O-7265)

"Art. 2773. Sale of schoolproperty. 'Any houses or lands held in trust by a~ city or town for public free sohoolpurposes may be sold for the purpose of imesting in more convenient and desirable schoolproperty, with the consent

of the State Eoard,by the board of trustees of such city or town; and, in such case,

the president

of the schoolboard shall execute

his deed to the purchaser for the same, recitingthe resolution of the State Board giving consent

thereto and the resolution of the board of trustees

authorizing

such sale." Under the facts submitted and for the purposeas set out in Art. 2773, it is the opinionof this department that the proper school authorities

of the Marble Falls Independent SchoolDistrict

now can sell such lot and the buildings erectedthereonunder the provisions of the statuterelating

to the sale of school property. Trustingthat the above satisfadorilyanswers your inquiry, we remain Very truly yours ATTORNEY

G-2NEWLOFF

TEXAS

w /s/~ester E. Ollison

~Chester

E. Ollis& Assistant
APPROTJED

JUN 20 1946 /s/ CARLOS

asmy FIRSTASSISTANT ATTOREEY

GENE&U CEO:fb:agw
AWRDVED Opinion t+mmittee By BWB Chairman