Honorable R. A. Courtney 

County Auditor 

Angelina county 

Lufkin, Texas 

Dear Sir: opinion lo. O-3134 

Re: Collection of delin(ment taxes of 

abolished independent school district 

by successor comon school distriat. 

We are in receipt of your letter of February 4, 1941, which reads in 

part as follows: 

"For a number of years the Huntington Independent School 

District, a duly organized and existing independent school 

district, has been in existence and conducting school 

facilities in a designated portion of Angelina County. Som 

time during 1939, this indepaadent district was, by an 

election duly called and held, transformed from an independent 

district to a comaon district and is now operating through 

the County as a unit of the County schools. 

"All during the time of the existence of the independent 

district, it levied, assessed and collected taxes on the 

real estate vithin its boundaries, and there is now a large 

sum of money due it in the form of delinquent taxes which 

were levied and assessed during its existence as an independent school district. 

'The question which I desire you to answer is: ' Should 

the said delinquent taxes which were levied and assessed by 

said district in its independent status be collected through 

the proper court proceedings in its name, independently of 

the County,or, should the County attorney collect said 

taxes through a suit in the name and on behalf of the 

County and State?'" 

Tha method of transforming this independent district into a conmron 

school district does not appear in your letter of request and we 

therefore assume that such action was taken pursuant to statutory 

authority and that all proceedings were regular. It does not 

appear whether the Huntington Independent School District had any 

outstanding bonds or other indebtedness at the time of its 

dissolution or the nature of the delinquent taxes in question. 
Honorable R. A. Courtney, Page # 2 (O-3134) 

Article 2767a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes provides that when an 

independeM school district is abolished and has outstanding bonds 

or other indebtedness the county board of school trustees shall 

control and dispose of the property of such district and shall have 

power to levy and collect taxes, bring and defend litigation, and do 

other things necessary for the purpose of paying such bonds or other 

indebtedness. 

Article 2767~~ Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes reads in part as follovs: 

. . 

. . . . 

"When all of the territory embraced within the boundaries 

of any abolished independent school district, having previously 

had legal existence, and having outstanding bonds or other 

indebtedness, enforcible either at law, or in equity, shall 

thereafter be contained or included within the limits of any 

other school district, all taxes against the property of 

such abolished independent school district at the time at 

which it is included or contained within such other school 

district, shall remain in full force and effect and shall 

be levied and collected by such.other school district and 

the proper officers thereof until said entire indebtedness. 

is full> paid. 

I, 

. . . . 

"Such other school district may assume such bonds or other 

indebtedness at an election held for that purpose, at which 

a majority of the qualified property tax paying voters of 

such other district, shall vote in favor thereof; in which 

event, all of the property within such other district, not 

exempt under the law, shall be subject to taxation for the 

payment of such bonds or other indebtedness. And the proEr 

officers of such other district, shall levy upon.such property 

in said district, a tax adequate for .the payment of said 

bonds and other indebtedness, over such a period of time as 

may be necessary for that purpose. Such election shall be 

held in the manner provided for holding an election for 

voting bonds, or for voting a special tax, as the case may 

be, within such other school district." 

Your letter does not d&close whether the common school district has 

assumed the indebtedness, if any, of its predecessor, the independent 

school district. 

Article 2767e, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes, reads as follows: 
Honorable R. A. Courtney, Page #3 (O-3134) 

'When all or part of the territory embraced within an abolished 

independent school district, having at the time of such abolishment, 

no outstanding indebtedness, shall be included or contained 

within the limits of such other school district, all uncollected 

taxes on the property so included or contained for the years 

up to and including the last day of January of the year 

immediately following that in which such territory is 

included or contained, within such other school district, 

shall be levied and collected by such other school district 

at the rate in force at the tima of such abolishment and in 

the same manner as such abolished independent school district 

might or could have done had no abolishment been had." 

All of the foregoing statutes were enacted as a part of Section 1, 

Chapter 294, Acts 1927, Fortieth Legislature,, page 144, and when 

construed together it is apparent that Article 2767a has reference 

to the collection of taxes and disposing of the property of abolished 

independent sckool districts, where the territory is not included 

within the boundaries of another district; and Articles 27670 and 2767e 

control where the territory embraced within the abolished independent 

district shall be included or contained within the limits of another 

school district after the abolition, as is the case presented in your 

letter of request. 

Under the provisions of the foregoing statutes the independent 

district which has been abolished would no longer function and the 

liquidation of its indebtedness and a collection of the taxes theretofore 

levied and assessed by it would be subject to collection by the county 

board of school trustees or its successor embracing the same territory. 

It is our opinion that the taxes in question should be collected as other 

common school district taxes by the successor common school distict, and 

should therefore be collected in a suit by the county attorney for the 

benefit of the common school district, along with other taxes due the 

State and county. 

APPROVED FER. 19, 1941 

s/ Gerald C. Mann 

ATTORRRI CEXRRALOF TEXAS 

APPROVED OPINION 

COMMITTEE 

BY B. W. B. 

CHAIRMAN 

Yours very truly, 

ATTORNEI GENERALOFTEXAS 

s/Cecil C. Cammack 

BY 

Cecil C. Camamck 

Assistant 

CCC:db/ ldv