E 

# A~~ORNEYGENERAL OF 'FlEXAS

Hoa. Clan lb VmZandt County and Diatriat Attorney Qrayson Couaiq Sheman, Texas
Dear Sir: opinion No. O-6868 Ra: Authority of oounty board of truateer of Gmyson County to detaah a **por** tion of the territory of Soutimayd Cm moltSahool District **and** anned it to Dorahester Independent School Dintriot, He are in receipt of your letter of recent data requesting &)I~&$&r fromthis depW+mont OIItha 

### l lmvo etated mtter, aracmp&ed by 8 l&t~r ad. dressed to you frun the roumty tohool auperinteadorrg of Graymn CQIJ&J?. TQ~ letter fromthm sow&y 8ohooI mpsriatondoat attach& to your requoat row& amfOllmw!I

“On &rob 86, 1646 WI 0lsoU021~~o **hd.d** ia **Phrsaat** Qdm SohoOt Dir- @iat Ne. 61 is drtormlno wh+thrr **or** mot Plomaat HornsComma Bahoo3.Piatriot NQ*61 should oonrolldato with Bouthmyd ComnonSohool Dirtriot No. 117.

%a tho awe day 8outhwyd Gohool Dlatrlot No* 117 votod oa raid ocmro%idrtlom.

“The voter gollrd In Plarrwt Ham were 48, 30 

### for ooarolidation and 18 votar rgrlnlt ooaaolidation. The voter aaef la Southmaydworo 54, all for oomolidrtloa - rmo agohat.

“Dorohrrtrr DWbriot No. 2ISham, UPW prtitior rignrd by pWlO83. livlag ln,.oad 

### prrmw owning propert in a 

### port of Plmraat IIorpr Dlrtrirt No. 61, requort*dtho Qrayeon Couaty Sohool Bow4 to dotroh l pnr bëdthrítarStow of thr original Ploarant HamaDbtrirt and rtrtaok to Dwohortrr #3.

“The quartiosi 

### lnvolvrd~ ‘Door the County Board hare tiuthoritpr bo mrko detuobnont Imr BouthnmydOonaol$datod Sohool Dietdot Ibe 117 and attaoh to DorohoBtbr District h SST”

It in 

### our underrtaading,‘from the abve quoted lettor andfrom a reoent oonfaraaoo with Xr. Ray Be Short, County Bohool Bupsrintendent of Graynon County, that the Plarrant HOBO Common Eohool Distriot No. 61 aad the 8outbmayd coxanom Sahocl Dlrtriot No. 117 have been duly ad logalfy oonrolidatod andthat the territory formerly oanprlsing the original two diatriets am oompri8ar the territory of a logally oonM.tuted nuwlion. Olan 8.VenZaudt, page 2 (O-6868)

Consolidated conmcn school districtknown as Southma@/CcamncnSchool District. We undarstand further thatyou desire our opinionas tcwhether the Counti School Board of'

Grayson County is authorized to detach a portion of the Southmayd ConsolidatedConsnon School District aad annex such territoryto the Dorchester Independe~o~rict.

The case of County SC 001 Trustees of Orange CountyV. District Trustees of PrairieView Ccmmcn ohool District No. 8, 137 T. 125, 153 S.W. 2d 434, inrrolved

the question of-the authority of the County School Board to detach a portion of the territcry of a ocnmmn schooldistrict and annex such territoryto an indpendent school district. In the opinion the Supreme Court pointed out that sn Act of 1936,which proposed to amend Article 2742f, was unconstitutionaland held that the matter of detaching territory from 

### a common school distriot and annexing it to an independent schaol districtuas governed by Section 2 of Article 27420 and by Section 1 of Article 2742f,- construedtogether. In this connection, the Court said:

"An examination of our statutesdiscloses the fact thatwhen we eliminate the Act of 1935, this case must be governedby Section 2 of Article 2742e,Acts lQ29, 41st Leg., 1st C.S. p. 259, ch~.109; and Section 1 of Article 2742f, Bats 1929, 41st Leg., 1st C.S. p. 106, oh. 47. Board of School Trusteesof Young CountyV. Bullock Common Sohocl Dist. No. 12, Tex. Comm.App., 55 S.W. 2d 538, 539. In thecase just cited itwas held:* Both of these actsmere passed in the year 1929, at the same session of the Legislature; and both were in effeotwhen the change in questionwas made by the county bard.* Further in the opinion it was held: 'It is to 'benoticed that House Bill 25 concerns schooldistricts generally,whereas the other act has reference to common school districts. It is further noted that the first-mentionedact containsno provision relative to notice and hearing3whereas section 2 of the other act does.1 Finally the opinion holds: Ws are in accordwith the holding of the Court of CivilAppeals, in this case, to the effeotthat the twoacts mentioned, having Men passed at the same session of the Lcgislature, and bth comprehendingthematter of authority in the ocunty beard of school trustees to change boundary lines of c-on school distriots, should be construedtogether as being supplementaryto each other in the lastnamed respect.* As a matte r of convenienceto those examining this opinion in the fcture,we deem it expedient to quote the two statutes nhiohwe think govern this case.

e~Sec. 2. (A%. 2742e)That on and after the passage of thisAct the County Board of School Trustees in any county in this State shall have authority and full power tc create common school districts, to subdivide districts,and to change boundary lines of any or all oommon school districts legally oarsing

under the jurisdictionof the County Board of School Trustees, subjectto the supervision of the District Court having jurisdiotionover the countywhere the County Board is appointed or elected;provided that before any changesmay be made in %cunduy lines of school districts the trustees of the common school dir&riots affected shallbe notified to appeap beforethe County Board for a hearing,and after saidhearing, or the date_ .,-

Hon. Olan VanSandt, page 3 (O-6868)

set for said hearing, the County Board of Trustees may pass such order or orders as will carry out the provisions of thisAat? provided, further, that the trustees ofthe districts affeotedmay appeal fromthe deaision of the County Board to the Distriot Court.'Aats 1929, 41st Leg., 1st C.S., po 259, oh. 109.
s%o. 1. (Art. 2742f) In each county sf this S-ate, the county Board of Trustees shsll have the authority,when duly petitroned as herein provided, to detaah from and annex to any sohooldistriat territory aontiguous to the common boundary line of the two districts;provided the Board of Trustees of the distriot to whiah the annexation is to be made approues,by majority vote, the proposed transfer of territory and provided, further, that where the territory to be detached exceeds ten per cent (lO$) of the entire district the petitionmust be signed by a majoritg of the trustees of said distr,ict

inaddition to a majority of the qualifiedvoters of the territory to be detached. The petition shall give the metes and bounds of the territory to bs detached from the one and added to the other district and must bs signed by a majority of the qualifiedvoters residing in the said territory so detached. Upon receipt of the said petition, duly signed, and upen notice of the approval of the proposed annexationby the Boardof Trustees shallpass an order transferringthe said territory and redefining the boundaries of the districts affectedby said transfer, the said order to be recorded in the Minutes of the CountyBoard of Trustees, provided that no school district shall be reduced to an area of less than nine squaremiles.' Acts 1929, 4lst Leg., 1st C.S. p. 106, a. 47."

~fithfurther referenae to the statutoryp-ovisionsrelative to the netice required and the hearing to be held by the Couu+yBoard of Trustees before territorymay be transferred from ? c-on schooldistriat, in the case of Board of Trustees of Young County 0. Bullock Cemaon Sohoel Mstriot No. 12, Tax. Comm.App., 55 S.W. 2d 538, a'bove referred to, the Court said:

"So construing said a&s togotker leads to the conclusionthat the Legislature intended the pra$aion for notice and hearing, contained in section 2 of &use Bill 220 (Sec. 2,Art. 2742e) to operate as a limitation sf the authority conferred on the county board by the other aef (Seo.,l,Art. 2742f) so far as a change in the buadary lines of a oonmoa school i¶istriot is involved. Complianaewith said provisionwas prerequisite to theexercise, by the countyboard of schoel trustees of Young County, of authority to ohange the boundary lines of the Bullock Commen School District, and, sinoe therewas no suoh oomplianae,the order for such ohangewas unautherieed and therefore is indireatly to the oourts, in the first instance, for relief against said invalid order." (Parenthesisours)

m view of the&we and foregoing,you are advised that the County Board of Trustees is authorised to detach a portion of the territory from a camnon school district and annex said territory to a contiguous independent school distrist, mibjeot to the conditionsprescribed by Sectioa 1-i

.. _

Hon. OlanVanZandt, page 4 (-6868)

ofgticle 2742f, and Section 2 of Article 2742~ He point out further that the Coun-@ Sahool Board isvested mith the discretion to determine whether the power given it by the above mentioned provisions shall be emereised in any given ease. (F'rosper IndependentSohool DistriatV. Collin County School Trustees, 51 S.W. 2d 748, affirmed 58 S.11;2d 5).

Under the abovementioned statutoryprovisions,the County Board of Trustees of Grayson Countywould be authorized to detach a portion of the Southmayd ConsolidatedConsnon School Distriot and annex said territory to the Dorcboster IndependentSchool M&riot subject tothe following conditions:

&, A petition setting forth themetes and bounds of the territory proposed ‘,J Ue detached fromthe Southmayd ConaeUdated District signed by a Njority of the qualifiedvoters residing in said territorymust be submittedto the county Board. We aallyour attention that the term, "metesand ~boundssis defined in Ballentine'sLaw Diotionary, p. 814 as follows: "The boundary lines and corners of a piece of land." In this oonneotion see Grand Lodge of the Order of the Sons of HermannV. Curry, 108 S.W. 2d 5743 Lefler V. City of Dallas, 177 S.W. 2d 231.

(Wenote further thsnwhen the territory proposed to be detaohed "exoeeds ten veer

cent (10%) of the entire District." theabove mentioned oetition "must be signed‘by a majority of theTrustees of said Distriat in addition to a majority ofthe qualifiedvoters of the District to be detached".)
2... The Board of Trustees of the Dorchester IndependentSchool Districtmust approve, by a majority vote, iheproposed transfer of territory.

3. "Before any changesmay be made in the boundary lines" of the above named schooldistricts, the Trustees of the Southmayd ConsolidatedDistrict "shall be notified to appear before the County Board for a hearing."
4. Upon receipt of a proper petition and ths above mentioned motice of the approval of the propesed annexationbythe Board of Trustees of Dorchester District, "andafter said hearing, or the date set for saidhearing," the County Board of Trustees, in its sound discretion,may pass an order transferring the territory from the Southmayd Consolidateddistrict to the DorchesterDistrict and redefine the beund?ries of said districts, "said order to be reoorded in the %&es of the County Board of Trustees."
5. MO district &all be reduoed to an area of less'thu nine (9) euuaremiles.

We point out further that the"trustees of the districts affectedmay apyaal from the decision of the County Board to the Distriot Court."

&PROVED KAY 4, 1946 /s/ Carlo8Ashley FIRSTASSISTANT ATTORNFYGSNSSAL JAS:djmr egm Yours very truly

ATTORSSYGENSRALOF TEW By /s/J. A. Ellis

J.A.Sllis Assistant