Y4 

OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Honorable H. A. Hod@8 

County Auditor 

wllliamaon county 

Gaorgetolra, Taxar 

Dear 8lrr 

aubalt for the 

quertionr, 

0p4.n10s 

wbiah we quot.: 

rlrad by a noolution parrota oi said beard aowe 

no of the tracte or land, 

a nambar of tha board? 

%a 

lffll it'b neoes@e~ 28 ordar to 

par6 to. l aoh propert for the Oeala8loa6rr* 

Court or williamson coaatf to enter am erdar aathorlzlng saah 8hlet 
Xoaorable E. A. Eodgaa, Page t 

Board o? ICduoatloon, whiah l xerolaoa t& me 

power8 In thla oount7 that eount7 8ohooltrae 

tee8 l xer a laa la other ~oountlea, to .paas l nf 

kind of roaolutlon l uthorIrIa@ arch mila? 

-5. VIll it‘br neooaaar~ for the State 

Board o? Edooatlon to pa88 or adopt l n7 kind 

of raaolatlon or other m&ion l othorlz~ng roah 

..le.? 

l b i Ii l dea d l xdouted In the maanar 

and authorlmd b7 a reeolutlon 88 mentioned In 

the above qaaatlona 1 end t ~111 not oonvoy 

title to said tract or land to l uoh pttrohaaera, 

pleaae adklae ma how title to soah land ma7 be 

acquired b7 muoh purchaaera.* 

The Thrall Indepandent Sohool Matriot in 

~IllIamaon aomnt~ ~88 oraated b7 rproI.1 8et of the 

LegIalatora, 8peaIal Lma 01 iexaa, tQgS, Seth kgi818ture, 

Zhapter 01, p. ZS5, whloh becane l fiaatlre on AprU 4, 1923. 

&mong other things thi8 iot prorlded that t& Mu 

Independeat l dhool dlatrlot would Inol6de all of the terrltor7 of the Thr.ll Conon Sohool DFstrIat lo. gl; that It 

would take otar aI1 02 the 888et8 end ~Iabllltle~ of the 

#aid eoamoo. aahool dirtriot; end that the new lndependeat 

dlrtrlct #hotid %ave aad l xerolae all the rIghta, powerr, 

duties and prlrllegeer ot a :om or vIllagO ererted an4 

incorporated nndkr tlw general lara of Texas for l ohool 

purpose8 onlf, and all of the rlghta, power8, 6otlea ana 

prlrllegea aou l xlatjag, or that ma7 be hereaitar l onterred 

upon independent aohool &I8trIot8'ander the Oon.8tltutland lora ot thI8 8tate.. 

SootIon S oi thl. &t mad8 08 follow8: 

l Tbeboardo?Tmateei OfthThrallXadependent Sahool Dlatrlot ah.11 mnage and 

control the pub110 free l ohoo1.r la the m8Id 

dlatrlot, to the l xolu8Ion of ever7 other 

l uthorIt7, l xoept, In a0 iar a8 the State 8mperinterndent of Pabllo 188trrotIoa ud tk State 
EOno?.blO E. A. If0Qe8, Pa@ 8 

Board o? Edaoatlon mar be tested with aupenl8or7 8uthorlt7, uader the general 18w.* 

Zt is farther prsrlded In Seotion ts that *hIa 

Aot 8hall bc eumulatIre, a? l ll general laws, regulatfng, 

goremlmg and pertaining to Independent l ohool 6latrIota, 

end ia 80 far 8s much general lawa are mot I.8 oon?lIot 

herewith; the 8cme 8hall be eoqatrued and oonaldored ma a 

part hereo?. 

Two rtatatea In -x-s8 provide for the Bale of 

**ho01 property. 

1925. 

They l re Artlolea Z75S and W75, 8. C. 8.. 

The latter 8tatate roads es ?ollwar 

*Art1010 tWS. Aar hotiea or.landr held 

ti trust br any city or town? or pub110 tree 

8ohool purposes may be mold for the purpose o? 

insresting la more ooBrenIeBt cad deaIrablo l ohool 

property, with the oonaent o? the State Board, by 

the .bo.rd o? trust..8 o? 8aoh olty or. torn; Old, 

in aaoh oaae, the prealdeat OS the rohool board 

shall exeoate his deed to the &amha8ar for tho 

came, reeltin& the resolution o? the State board 

giving aonaent thereto and the naolutIon or the 

board o? trust+%8 l athorlxlng the aale.o 

As ointrd out in 8. 6. bpeaoer and Oarpony XI. 

Brown, at al s Clr. 4p. 1917) 198 6. W- llT9, and as 

pointed oat In ho prerloa8 opInIo~8 rendered by thI# Aepartrent, Article 2!?5S l pplIe8 only to 8ele8 o? land br 

o o wmol ~ohool 4IatrIot8, rhllo Artiole ZT7S applies to 

8elea o? lend b7 Inbepe86ent 8ohool lIatrIota~ 

The two opInIona relax-red to above arm: (1) 

An oplnlon b7 Clark C. Wren, A88lahnt Attorney Gexmral, to 

~onoreble Eogene J. UIlao~ Gout7 Attorney, Bay Cltr‘, Texa8, 

deted September 10, 1936; 18) en oplnlon by Ceoll C. Cewaok, 

Aaaiatant Attorney General, to m. ]c. Ti. &rtarliag. County 

County, fet?eraon Oounty, Beaumont, Texas, dated April 25, 

1939, and numbered 04l5. 

tiUa8 

,Aa foa will uote, the l bwe quoted 8tAato prothat houses or lcnda a? a Qlatriot ma7 be sold ?or 

the purpose or Imreatln& I8 more convenient and 8eslrable 

l chool property. That la the oal7 purpose provided ?cr b 

the statute, aad the question l rlrea whether or rot school 
Ifonorablo 8. A. Hodges, Page 4 

hoaaer or laBdO aa k Cold for 887 other purpose bf 

Independent aehool 6latrIota. 

Mameroaa deolalona both in Texas and In other 

jurIsdlatloaa point out that 8chool 4IatfIata are oorporatlona with vex-7 1Mted powara. 

%ohool di8triCt8’Cm public qU88i maiolpal corporatIoaa, l omatfrea termed *inroluntar7 oorporatIona* . . . .The7 ma7 make *ontraota, ler7 tour and )Oaaeaa property. The7 

are OrgSBixOd not for the parpoai 0s profit or 

geln, but mole17 for the pablla benaflt, end 

hare onl7. much lImIted,porera 08 ma7 be ~eoeaaarf 

for that purpose. The7 hare therefore been Bald 

to be aorporatlonm of the moat lImIted powers 

known to the world. Pasadena Bahool Dlatrlot 

TS. Pasadena, 166 C.1. 7 IS6 P.O. 985, AUII. 0.8. 

1915b 1059, 4T L. R. A. IRS) BQS. The7 are bat 

the 8gentr 0s th8 state for the sole purpose 

of edmI.aIaterIng the state 87atem of pub110 ad8oation, and hate only ouch pwerr 88 are conferrea express17 or by neoesae~ ~llcatIon.a 

24 R. 0. L. 564, 2eo. 1. 

The oaae 0s Earl en dependent School DIatrIot 

vs. Page Brothers, 49 5. 2d) 985, b7 the %X88 Ooax't Of 

Civil Appeela, maem langua@ very almllar to that q-ted 

*bore from RalIng #ame Lw. lfe q8ote: 

wm boerd OS trustees posaea8e8 power8 

express17 conferred upon It b7 law or aeoeaaarll7 

Impllcd from the pewar8 00 l o nfer r ed.~ 

~The Court In ie7.e bdOpOBdOBt Sahool Dlatrlct 

to. ReInhardt, 159 8. W. 1010, b7 the Oourt of Girl1 ARP..h, U.08 this taE6.a~: 

l SImoe a board of l daoatlo. la the oreaton 

0s l retate, it her only maoh pwen as are OOBi 

rermd upon it 8ud mch Implied powers 08 era 

aeoesaaq to l xeoate sa o h l r p ~08i p W*f*.* 
Honorable 8. A. Eod&~m, Pago S 

Oorpaa furls pOiBt8 out that propert devoted 

to l public USC Oan Only be diapoeed of by l Xpr~a8 l 8- 

thority, and a general power 0s dl8poaft~on has been 

held to be reatrloted to propert not needed for the nae 

of pobllo l ohool8. 56 Corpus Jnrla 439, Sec. UI. Thla 

aathorIt7 l ta tea that tb0 SslO mmt be redo in oo~plle~ee 

with the terma Of the atetats l UthOrltlBg it, bat tbrt 

l ubatentlal proocdarcl l ompllanee Is l arrloIent. 

Ee rfah to l treaa the fast that Cl1 of there 

l uthorItIea hold that l ohool boards have onl7 the l s~naa 

CathorIt7 glten them in the SktUtOS and odlf moeh lmplled 

~~~aI~a~~aet~;a~~~ to l x y a moh te express powers. 

e rods reaaonabl7 l eaeaaa~ for 

the osrx7in6 oat o? l xpreaa ponrV OS la ~aa611~ the earn0 

with regard to pwara of other eorporatlonr. 

The geimral r&lo in tb l aao of ordinary private 

oorpcretIona Is that the oorporatlon has l uoh l8plled powers as are reaaoCabl7 aeeesaar7 to ~arx-7 oat lta Orproms 

powers - aot~eoe~aarll~ ir~lled kt~aaoaablt lmslled. 

Under tlm wel&t of there l uthorItIea, we arc 

impelled to hold that lBdepaCdent 8ohool dIatriet8 ma7 

dlapoae Of propert a0 1-r needed for School ptirpoaea 

0x07 I? it la neoaasarfto 40 80 to aaqulre other propert 

whloh la more l ultablo. You atat* 18 7orv lotter that 

Thrall Independent School Dlatrlot has no such objeotlre 

%n derirlng to make this aalo. It la our opinion that 

it eannot 0011 thla propert for the porpoae 0s pCtMCg 

the prOMOd la the loaal uiatemsoe ?uad 0s cold Aimtrlot. 

Xe bellore that the quoted Artlile 2WS amwer8 

tour qaeatIona BwbOmd 8, 4 mnd 6. lJB4U this l rtiOlO~ 

and murder the provisions of the Cot areatlq the UIatrIot 

l bove quoted It 18 not 8eaeaaary for the Conanlasloner8~ 

Conrt 0s YIlil~~8o~ Oonnt7 to l BtU CC o r & l or nthorICIC8 

the proposed aalo, nor $8 lt Beeeaaa~ for the Coantf 

B00ti Or iidUC8tiOn, ~088 it %C ?SOt 18 thC E~C8rd Of 

~ruateea of the Thrall Independent School DICtrIot, t0 pa88 

an7 kind or rosolotlorr l athorlt~ It bat it la aeoeaaar7 

for the 6tat.e Board 0s JMaaatfon to l Jo*t 8 reeolatfon 

aathcrltlng ouch 0810. IO bellow that this utiale 8100 
7 

Honorable H. A. Bod6e8, Pace 6 

prorlder~ the snarer to 7~ qneatlon lo. 6. 

I? the prorIalona of Art1010 9993 me rollwed, 

l aaumI~~, of eoaraa, t&t fee simple title Is la the 

Board, auoh title me7 be oonre784 to a person who ia not, 

a mmber,,o? the aohool board. Thla answera Tour question 

Roe 2. Ahe Otif remainfng qaeatfon to ba l na wemd thereran Is roar question lie, 1. 

It la poIntoh oat In T~O~PSOB vs. Xlmo Indepcrndent Sohool DlatrIct (CIT. App. 1925) 859 s. k. 868, 

And in Royme Independent Bahool Dlatrlot vs. Relmhardt, 

supra, that Independent sohool dlatrIota are loos1 public 

corporationa of the 8010 general oharacter 88 rcnIolpal 

corporatlona but for school p)upoaea 0x&7. 

In Woods ‘IO. Potter, 6 0.1. 41, 95 P8o. ll25, 

it la held thct members of oltr oounaIlr oooapy a pocltlon 

o? trust and .?e bound to the came maaare ot @od felth toyartthe 

hl 

r oooatItaent8 that a trustee 18 to hi8 oeatoi quo 

. Is o o a r t l tetesl1 

*The rere Toot th a t l mmbar 0s 8aOh 

body sots es such In oonaeotlon with a4 utter in whlah he ti Intereatcd rltlatea the 

tr.B..otlon . . . It will be presumed that 

ander aaoh CirC\mstCnOCS #Cl? interest pnvents the aember ?rm proteotlq the riC;htr 

o? the pub110 l ~a Inahis t OWD.~ lfooda t. 

Potter, aupra. 

To the acme l rfect, 2ee Moplllcn on l&mIolpcl Corporationa, 

Sea. 1242. 

IOU are, therefore, l d+Iaed thet a member of the 

Boerd mey not bay the land end that the proper prceedame to 

be followed b7 the Boerd o? Truateea of the Threll Independent 

Sohool Diatrlot In 8011~ proport 00 lonqer needed for 

Aohool purposes Is thet met cut in Art1810 2975 (R. C. S., 

1925). whloh ln effect prcyldeat 

The Board of Traateea must wet and n&opt a 

raSOlUtiOB, evldenolng thelr daoIalon to cell the land8 

then the oonaaot of the State BoarA nut be l eonre6 md 
thir evldcnocd 6160 w l nrolotlong mad rlnelu the 

PreslbiM of tha board 0r Trurtaer 0r the Thrall taa0- 

pondwit Sohool DLtriat muat oxeaute the dood to the 

prospsotlre pnroheser, 6nd the 4004 must rralte thr 

rmolutlons Of both ths Threll fabependent Sohool Dlrtriot Board and th6 ststo Board. Tta6 rosolutloa br the 

10661 8a6 StBt6 Bo a r 68 lhould r*olt* tb plupo66 ror 

rakia(r the rals riaa6 8uah male woulQ be ralld only if 

the laad ~66 ‘oh xith the objeat or buring oth6r l ohool 

land. 

Your8 r6ry truly 

ATTORlEYCE!iDkLOFTXXAS 

APPROVEDOCT 23, 1939 

~.-a44J 

ATTOFINEY 0EIUBA.L OF m