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Hon. 0. CaMorris, Chairman Opinion No. Q-437 Joint Legislative Committtt Austin, Texas Ae: Balances rcqui red to be shownin application for State aid under House Bill No. 295, Acts 1947, 50th Leglslature,
Dear Senator Morris:

Werefer to your letter of recent Bate from which wt quote in part as follows:

“The Joint Legislative Committee, created by A. B. 295, 50th Ltge, R. S,) Acts 1947, is charged with the responsibility of seeing that no deficit is crt;;t;i;; the expenditures of this fund. with this) wt art submitting to your Department the following questions:

“10 Should a school district which has heretofore not applied for aid under
the terms of the EquaLization Lawbe re-’ quirtd to showin its applioation all balances in the local maintenance, andState and county Available Funds?

“2, Should a school distriot whir& has heretofore not applied far aid under tht terms of the EqualizatPan Lawbe required to showin its applicatitn all monies which said district has received in the form of per capita supplements?

“In connection with this first question, it is our uadtratandfng that your Department has in the past rtndtrtd opinions holding that school districts which have been qualifying under the Equalizatian Law hart to showsuch revtnut as a balance in the various fund&”. ’

Hon. D. CoMorris, Page 2, Q-437

Aschool district to be entitled to State aid under the provisions of H.B. 295, 50th Legi., R,S. ,Acts 1947, must, amongother conditions OSthe Act, meet the

.’ eligibility requirements of Artlola I, Section 1thereof, the maintenanoe tax latf, requirements of Article I, Section Ze andmust showbudgetary need therefor on a proper. andtiaelg application for, aid madein accordance wit,h the provisions of Article I, Section 5, andArticle III, Sections 1 and2 of thr Act.

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*Budgetary need* is defined in the Act as the differsnct between the total of all rtvenuts of the District endthe total of all operating expenses if such txptnsts art greater than the revenues. Section 5, Article I, H.Bs 295,

Section 1 of Article II rtquirts that any authorized school district making applioation for State aid under the Act shall on proper provided forms include a budget by which the amountof salary aid to which a school will be eligible shall be determined, Under Section 5oft’ Article I andSection 1 of Article II, it ~1sprovided that the revenues or receipts as shown in a district’s Rural’ Aid Budget shall include: (1) Watt and CountyArailablt balances brought forward rrom the preceding year, (2) Local Bainttnance balanota brought ~foFwardfrom the prtceding year, (3) Statealancts brought forward from the preceding year, (4:) State and county Available Receipt.8
ror the current year, (5) Loon1 Maintenance Recti ts rived from a Looal Maintenanct Tax of 5Ot on the B dt100val-
~’ uation for the current year, (6) Tuition to be collected locally sand (7) Misctllentous rt&tfpts e Certain gortrnment bondssdescribed in the Act, purohasad and owned by the district prior to August 31, 1945, shall not be rtported as receipts or balance in the Rural Aid Budget,

Said provisions deolarlng whatmoneyor funds shall be reported as receipts s revenues or balances in’s Rural Aid Budget are clear and unambiguous andapply with equal force to so-called State aid districts (districts which applied for and received aid under S. Bo167, 49th Legislatures Acts 1945)sas well as to districts nowsttking aid under H,B. 295whohave heretofore not applied for State aid, The latter type of district seaking aid under H.B. 295, as distinguishtd from a so-called Stats aid district, could not, of course, report State aid balances described in (,3) above, but it can andmust rtport the other balances prtsaribed in (1) and (2) sif anythere be,- .
Hon. D. C. Morris, Page 3,,V-437

In accordance with the provislans of Article Section 5, andArtiole II, Scotion 1 of H. B. 295,’ our answer to your first question is in the affirmative. I*

Wehave advf8ed herein tha’t a school district makingapplication for State aid under H. B. 205, 50th Lee4qandwhich did not receive State aid under the provisions of S:B. 167, 49th Leg., shall report in the requfred State ‘aid budget, in like maaaer ae the so-oalled State aid. district, Its-State and oounty antes brought forward from the preoe&ing its local maintenance balanoe 80brought there be. evrilable balyear andaleo forward, 

### itany

This Department has preolously advised in its

_ _ opinions NosPO-6265 andO-6699, napectlvelg, that State a&ddfstticts receiviq? the supplemental per cspita epportionmeat madein theyeara lQ43-44 and 1944-1945, should brfng forward andx!eFort in full in their State afd budget PO, the years 1944-1945 and 1945-1940, respeotively, the entire suppleMenta amOuntreoeived by the Distriot for those years even though the districts hadspent the moneyentirely e It was olearly pointed out in those opOnions that the State aid districts reoeivfng aid under the provisions of H. B. 176, 48th Leg,, andS. B. 167, 49th Leg.ehadnot been authorized to spend more than the mexfmomamountfor salaries andoperating expenses set out’ in the Equalization Laws, and for .that reason State aid dfst?fctr must report in full the per oapftr supplemental apportionment received in their next sumeadfug year*s State aid budC)et, Tb mlinge in theso opinions are equally appl&oableo we believe, to State aid Mstrfots nowseekfng aid under R. B. 295andwhahave rsoeired their per capita supplemental ap~portfonment of (6,OO in andfor the year 1946,

It is our opinion, howovers that this Nifng advanced in said former opinion ,with respect to State aid distriats fs not applioable to those school distrfots now seeking aid’ under H. B. 295whoheve not heretofore received State aid under 9, B. 167, 49th Le&, for the fisc.al year 1946-1947) andthat suoh distriots donot have to report anypart of the 1946 aupplementel per eapfta apportionment except to the extent that all or any portion thereof still remains unexpended anda balanoe in the distrfctqs State and County Available Fund. If all

or any portion, thereof remains unexpended, the amountor balance must’be reported by such adfstrfot in its State aid budget as fts State and oounty balance which, under Section 5of Article I andSeotion 1 of Artlole 11 of H.B. 295, is required to be brought forward from the preceding year and reported in the budget.

.Hon. D. C. Morris, Page 4, V-437

Aschool district which is not a State aid district say expend its State and County Available per capita apportionments be it supplemental or otherwise, in aocordante with the!provisions of Article 2827, V,C.S., and for the purposes therein set out, Wherethe State and County Available Fundis sufficient to maintain the .sohool for at least eight nenths and leave a surplus, suoh surplus may he expended by the sohool board in the samemanneras looal funds0 Subdivision 2, Article 2527, V.C.S.; Darlingen 13.D. v* C, II, Page &Rrotxa, 48 S.W. (21) 983.

Onthe other hand, the maximumamountawhich a State aid district nay expend for its ealaries and current eparational purposes are limited by the provisions of the State Aid Lawas a oondition to its reooiving State aid thereunder. Sections 1af Article II, H. B. 295, 50th Lw8; S. B. 167, 49th ~Lsa; H. B. 176, 4DthLeg., respeotits1p * A. GI.Opinions, f-6205 and0-6609. In short, a soheel district which elects to become a State aid district sacrifioes to a liinfted extent its freedom to detarnine hownZuchof State and oountg available funds it mayuse for salaries and current operating expenses,

Aoaordingly, our answer to yaur second question is that a school district whfoh has heretofore not received State aid fn the fiaoal year 1946-1947 under S. 5. 167, 49th Legap,is not required to showin its State aid budget submitted in its applioatien for State aid under the provisiens of H0B, 295, 50th Leg.) all monies which said district has received in the form of a supplemental per capita apportionment in 1948, but shall report only suoh per espita monies that remained unexpended by the Bistriot which oonatftute a part of the State and,couhty available balances which balance is required to be reported under Seatlon 5of Article I andSeotion 1 of Article II of H,B. 295,

Sohool districts applying for State aid under Rouse Bill Flo. 285, 50th Legfslature, which have not received aid under Senate Bill No. 167, 4QthLegislature,
are required under Section 5 ofArticle I.andSection 1 of Artiole II of House Bill No, 295 to showfn their application for aid all balances in their locsl mafntcnance andState and county available fundsrHon. D. C. Morris, Page 5, V-437

Such a district must report in its application for aid only that part of its 1946 supplemental per capfta apportionment which remains unexpended and which constitutes a part or all of its balance in its State available fund,

Yours very truly

ATTORNEY

GENERAL

OFTEXAS

Bruce ?f. Bryantv , Assistant

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ATTOFU'JEY

GENERAL