THEATTORNEY GENERAL

Honorable

T.H. Trlmble First **hesat** State Superintendent Departmemt

of Education Au&in, Texas Oplnlon **No. O-7042**  Ret Under the provisions or Senate Bill 167 Sea. 2, Aeto 1945, 49th Legislature,

RegulerSeselon, would a uorimton

eohooldistrict

be eligiblefor aid ii the valuation ot the propertylocated thereinfor the school year 19&j46 was set at a flgure leswthan that of the previous ysar?

Pour letterof reoentdate requestIn& an opinion

on the above eubJeaC

has been received

and given care?Cul

conelderation.

we are Quoting below the body of the letter you receivedfWun Hr. H.C, Hinton,ae well
as the seaond

paragraph

al' your letter.

"Article

1, Se&ion 2, Paragraph 2 of the Eguallzatlon

Aid Law reads ‘

no. sahooldlatrlat will be eligible

fop aid under ihe provi&ma of this Act which hats

reducedits tax valuation in order icad& budgetary

need."
%dgetary need 1s defined in Artlale1, Se+ tlon 5, Paragr- 1, as 'thediirerenee betweenthe total of all revenue6 or the dfstrlet **and** the tot81 of EU operating

expense if such expenses me greater than tha revenucs.t

"Please ask the Attornay

ffenerelto

give us an opinionon the following question.

"Would a saho@Zdietrict

that show8budgetary need using 1944-45

amessed valuation be ineligible for ald If the valuation of the dlstrlat Xor the school yeer 195-46 ia lesa than that of the pretious yew?"

The second paragraph of sour letter Is as follows: t,

. . . . . . "Thioque&lon ia broughtabout because the Cmmlsslonors~

Court of El Paso County **requested** the Counts Assessor to lower countyvaluatluna ln view of the f ct

B that it wa* nnt necessary to maintain last year e va ua-Honorable

T.W..Trlmble,

Page 2 O-7042

tlons la order to 8eauns enough aounty taxes to operate tti.county

governmant, When the aouhtyvaluations were raduoed,

of oourse the valuations for sohool

purposea la cumon S&a01 dstriots were likewise reduced.

" "

. . . . . Seation2 of Senate Bill No. 167, a6 passedby the 49th Legialatur$,

RegularSeasion,

1945, read8 in part a8 follower

"sec.

2. Tax levy. No eohooldistrict shallbe eligible

to receiveany type of sZd authorleed under the provisiona

of this Aot unless it shallbe providing for the annualrmpportof its achoola by voting,levying, axul aolleatlng

for the CuITentschool year a loaal ten&me sohooltax of no t less t an Fifty Cents (50# oh

r T”- the **One** lhmdred

Dollars ~lOO.O# of property valuation in the **entire** dlgtrlat. The property valuations

mhalf not be less than saidpropertyis valued **for** stateand county puqwnea. The lnuomefrom such a malntenaaae tax la exuem of the requ%red Fifty Centa ($50#)

maintenance tax mw6t firstbe used to **retire lndebtedmes,**  **ii any,**  la tha k&al and l@ualiaatioh (Rural

Aid) sohoolfunds.After th6 indebtedness

In these funds, if any, haa been retired the inaomefrcm this malntenanaetaxin exaeas of the **requlmd Fifty**  Cantn (504) malntenaace tar may be used at ~the dlsoretlon

of the local sahoolauthorities of the dlrtricrt

for any lawfulsciwol purpoeeexaept increastng
or supplementing any tcaahcr’s or admlnlstratlve salaries. Any ur all malntenancetax above FiftyCents (504) racy not be lmluded in the calculation of need for aM but shall be reported

in the budget

with an ltemleed stabstent of its etxpenditure. If t e lntwm Prom the tnslntenenae tax above %i+ty Cents (!5C$ f ls not **spent** amprescribed hereln, it shallbe lnoluded a8 reae~ptain the budget. In order to oomply

with the termsof this aectlon, it shallbe neeeamry far suoh aahool diutriota apply%ng?or any type of ald authortaed

under the temaa of thle Aat, to report all valuations

w;fth%n suoh dlstriata, Smluding al.1aonsolidated

distrIcta

and aunexed

dirtricta,

and failura

to reportall.

muh valuations

&all prevent sucPh

dZatx?lat

from retmlving

6ny type of aid authoricaa **under** this Act.

"No sahooldUtrict will be eligiblefor aid under the prevloio~ of **this** Act whlah has reduced its tax rate within the **tw6** years innecdiately precedingthe year for which aid I.8

applied for hereunder or whlah haa reduued It8 tar valuation

in order to show budgetary med."

a8 followai Article2795,Vernon'6 Annotated Civil Stntuten; reads

+e Caavniselonera

court, at the time of levydng taxe6 for munty purpo6es, shall also levy upon all taxable property

within shy mamen aahoolBiatrlGtthe.

Ekonorable

T.#. ‘&&able,

Page 3 o-?o&

rate of tax 80 voted ii a apealfie rate has been voted; otherul~ said aourt &all levy uueh a z-ate wIthIn the limit I)O

voted ae has been detemined by the board OS truateee

02 raid dlstrlat

and the countysupeHntendent and aertlfled

to ae.Id

aouzt by th4 county supQrIntendent. If auab tax has been voted after the levy of aounty taxes, It &all be lt%vIed

at any meetingof eaid courtprior to the delivery

of the a8serement

rolls by the aemeecr. !l%he tax **anaemor** shallaweas Bald tax as&her taxer are **aaseraaud** and meke an abetreat6howlngtha amount of spealal texes stseeeed

e&%Inst

e&ah **school** ditatriat In his aounty end f’uamioh

the came to the aounty ruperintendent on or **before** the first day **of** Se- of the yeku.fOr which euch taxesam roeeseed. The Wxe6 leviedupon the real property In seld dletrdata ahell be a lien thereon end the sem shallbe sold Sor wpald taxes in the lsapner and at the time of sale8 **for** State an4 oounfy t3xm3. The tar collaotor

shall colleat

maM taxes a6 other taxeewe collected. The tax aasetms thall receive a aomlsslon of one-~half

of one per oent for assessing Q.&J tax and the tax collector a aommIasion 0r~,otwial9oi one per tent r0r aolleeting

the efkme.The tax collecrtor ahallpay all such tams to the countytreasurer, en4 said tree&urer i&all crediteaab echool dirtrlet

with the emountbelonglztg to it, and pa?;

out the came In acoordance with law. Aats 1321,p. 56.

Ye fM no etatutory authority

whloh wouldpezmkt a common eahool dirrtrlct

to piece a different value on its property, that LB,, propertylocated

within It,6

erea from thet nkiich uould be Ipaced on It by the county-tex

aeeessor

or the Ca1~lse1cmerrs ( Court for Stale enU oounty tax pnpomaa. Tbecefore, when the murky aomnleelonerr electedto lower thevaluatlonofproperty In the aountyfor aountytexpurpoeeothere

w an automatln

reduotIon

of the valuefor school purpoees. The common e&o01 di8trIat

or the ccemwn aahooldistrict: trustees

had no volaa Ln the matterw?mtsoever and we oennet say that they %educed the tnx valuation In order to show budgetaxy needs.’

It 3.e our opinion,therefare, that a ccewon echo01diatriat that shows a budgetary need, using either the 194445 or the 194546 **assessed** veluatlon

under the fact **situation you**  presented would be entltlod to ald under the provisions ar SeneteBill Ho, 167, provId&d, of course, It meets the requIsItea OS otherprovlslons In the bill.
Trueting

the above satlefactorlly anewer your inquiry,
weare

Yours veqr truly

ATJ!ORNSY QEKKRALOF TEXASildnorable

2.H' Trimble,

Page 4 1

APPRoVED

Fm 20 lg46 e/ Cerlos C.ASl:ieyFZRSASSASTORKEY C?- o-7042