EA

OF XAS

October 10, 1961

HonorableAlbert Hutson OpinionNo. WIW-1161 CountvAttornev Triniiy County" Groveton,Texas Re: !Whetherthe County School Boards of Trinity and Walker Countles, under the provisions of Article 2742f, Section 1; have the authority to detach territory situated wholly in ?JalkerCounty from an independent schooldistrictwholly in Walker County and attach such territory to another independent school district situated in both counties. Dear Mr. Hutson:

Your letter of September 19, 1961, submits the following inquiry:

"Under the provisions of Article 2742F, Section 1, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, do the County School Boards of Trinity and Walker Counties have the power to detach territory situatedwholly in Walker County from an independent schooldistrict situatedwholly in Walker County and attach such territory to another independent school district situatedpartly in k?alkerCounty and partly in Trinity County, provided the otherrequirements of such statute are compliedwith?"

The power of countyboards of school trustees to trans- .ferterritory from or to a county-line independent schooldistrict emanates from Section 1, which reads as follows: Article 27&2f,Vernon's Civil Statutes,

"Section 1. In each county of this state the County Board of Trustees shallhave the authority, when duly petitionedas herein provided, to detach from and annex to any school district territory contiguous to the commonboundary line of the two districts;provided the Boa,rdof Trustees of the district to which the annexation is to be made,approves,by majorityvote, the proposed transfer of territoryand provided, further, thatwhere the territory to be detached exceeds ten per cent (10s)Honorable Albert Hutson, page 2 (~-1161)

of the entire district the petition must be signed by a majority of the trusteesof said district in addition to a majority of the qualifiedvoters of the territory to be detached. The petition shall give the metes and bounds of the territory to be detached from the one and added to the other district and must be signedby a majority of the qualifiedvoters residing in the said territory
so detached. Upon receipt of the said petition, duly signed, and upon notice of the approval of the proposed annexationby the Board of Trustees of the district ,to which the territory is to be added, the County Board off Trustees shall pass an order transferring the said territory and redefining the boundaries of the districts affected by said transfer, the said order to be recorded in the Minutes of the County Board of Trustees, provided that no schooldistrict shallbe reduced to an area of less than nine squaremiles.'
First, as you note in your letter, the exercise of thispower conferredby the statutemust be in strict compliance with the mandatoryprovisions of the statute or it will be void. Wortham Independent SchoolDistrict v. State ex rel. Fairfield Consolidated Independent School District, 244 S.W. 2d 838 (Civ.App.1951, err. ref. n.r.e.). Assuming strict compliance is achieved,your inquiry relates to whether the county schoolboards in question can detach territory situated within a single county from an independent school district wholly within that county and,attach it to a so-called "countyline" independent schooldistrict.

Ik!e are of the opinion thatyour question shouldbe answered in the affirmativeas such action has in effectbeen upheld by the Supreme Court in the case of South Taylor County Independent School District v. Winters Independent School District, et al, 151 Tex. 330, 249 S.W.2d 1010 (1952). The Supreme Court, speaking through Justice Sharp, said in part:

"Petitionerconcedes that if the action of the County Board of School Trustees of Taylor County, Texas, in transferring the territory to Winters Independent School District was complete and final, and incompliance with Article 2742f, the decisions of the Court sustain the transfer of the territory to the Winters IndependentSchool District." (Citing \:einertIndep. SchoolDist. v. Ellis, 52 S.W.2d 370 (Civ.App. 1932),Mathis Independent School District
v. Odem Inde (Civ.App. endent School District,, 222 S.W. 2d 270 19 9). 5L ’

Honorable Albert Hutson,~ page 3 (~-1161)

Further, in the case of DibrellWaldrip, et al v. County Board of School Trustees of Guadalupe County, et al, 307 S,.!!.2d

158, err. ref. (Civ.App.1957) substantiallythe
sameproblem as you presentwas before th& Court, which in upholding the action, said in part:

"A majority of the residentvoters of the StaplesArea pet-itioned the County Board of School Trustees of Guadalupe County for such detachment and annexation,under the provisions of Art. 2742f, Sec. 1,Vernon's Ann.Civ.Stats. After a hearing, said County Board granted such petition.and entered its order detaching the area from the CeguinDistrict and attaching it to San Narcos District. This order was authorizedby the above statute and was legal in everyway.

. . .<'
Therefore,you are advised that the County School Boards of Trinity and Walker Countieswould have the power to detach territory situatedwholly in Walker County from an independent school district and attach such territory to another independent schooldistrict situatedpartly in Walker County and partly in Trinity County, provided the other statutory requirementsare compliedwith.

SUMMARY

County School Boards have the power to detach territory situatedwholly in one county from an independent schooldistrict situatedwholly in that county, and attach such territory to an independent school district locatedpartly in both counties provided all other requirementsof Section 1,Article 2742f,V.C.S., are strictly compliedwith.

Very trulyyours,

BYHonorableAlbert Hutson, page 4.(~-1161)

AFPROVED:

o.CINION

COMMITTEE

9:. V. Geppert, Chairman N. Ray Scruggs Bob Shannon Slmer XcVey John C. Steinberger

REVIENED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: Houghton Brownlee, Jr.