OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

GROVER SELLERS 

ATIORNLY G~NSRAL 

Honorable Robert 

county i4ttomty 

Etrldlmn, Totar 

Dear Slrr 

1. Cherry 

a by reaolutioa 

48 rtoovsrtd rraa 

relly arrived at 

4 given gaer of 

a, is a resolution pansad by 

8 and R statement or fecta, 

udftors has audited the books of a 

your oounty sad as a rtoult 0r safd audit, 

that ml& tax aollsator fniled to account 

ry for ell or tho school tares colltottd by 

al alnount 0r taxta oollsatetd and not account5 

1935, 18 ln the ag&-rtgntt rum of ~e,839.16 or 

has been datmnlatd to be dus th arorgan 

strict and :Z 738.16 is due to the eomon 

school dlstrlot8 0r the county colitctlvsl,. Since the dtllnc,uant 

tax roll8 drs ia bad shape, end it 18 found thst it ~111 br 

dirricuit 6nd ~X~~I~VIB to dboorer acourottiy the amount Out dr 

the tote1 mua rsoovarsd rt,lch lrhould be ored ted to eaah lndlvldual 

comaon school district In tP.:s oouaty, ths aounty board of school 

truotces hsa psstd a resolution whsrtby ths, county vuprintandent 
Bon. Robert F. Cherry, April 8, 1959, Aga E 

la authorlrrd and lastruatod to dlatrlbuta $100 of the mcney reoovrrod to the Korgan Indapradent School Dlatrlot and the balance 

to tha oomon l e?ool dlatrlot aocordln~ to their l eaoead rsluatlona ror the yaar 1938 to be orsdlttd to thtlr local aalnttntnar 

aad.riaklng fund Lnrtaad ot making so audit to datermlnt the rust 

l mount:dut eeoh dlatrlot and lnr!ruotlng the oountr dapoaltory to 

oredlt eaoh oonnon l ohool dlatrltt rlth the amount of tame collrctad rrim l uoh school dietriot. 

Artlole L7Ws Rarirrd Civil Statutra, lVe5, prorldtr 

that the oommls8lonora~ oourt~ahall lrry thr oomnon aohool dlatrlot 

taxes at the aerme tlru or lawlag tarts ror oountp purpoata, an4 

it 18 rurther ~rovld56 SD roil-3 

“. . . The tax aaaoaaor shall aam8ae said trx as 

other taxes nrt aaeaaeed and make an l batraot showing 

the a mo uor nt l poolal ~XSS 666e660d l galnat oath rohool 

dlatrlot in his oouetp and furnish the aema to the oountr 

l uytrlnttdmt on or bsrorr the first day of se;)twaber 

of the year rot wtloh aald taxes era arsearrd . . . The 

teat collaotor aball collrot aald taxes es other taxoa are 

0011ected. The tax l 66ISIDC shall reoelvt 6 OOm6iSSion 

0r OnI-b&if 0r 0110 ptroent ror aas6aain~ 6Uoh tax, and 

the tas oolleotor a c~mlerlon or one-halt of one per’rant 

ror oollaotlag the l emo. The tax oollootor shall paf all 

said taxes to the oounty trtnauror, a nd l ald tre8aurer 

abell Oredlt aaob l ohool diatrlct dth the mouat b6longing to it, and pay out tho aemo ln aocordanco ulth l~.~ 

Arti e888, ROYid ciTi1 SthitOS, lwio deriW8 the 

tern *county treasurer* as roilom 

“The tan8 ‘county treasurer* sod *county treasury', 

as ured In all prorlalona of ler relating to l ohool funds, 

shall be construed to atan the Oounty drFOSit0~. Thr 

com~laalonera oourt ahall file rlth the Steto Department 

or :dua~tlon a OO~J or the bond of said dopoaltoq to 

cover 8CbODl anda. Ho com!nlaalon shall be ,mld for recalving sod dlsburelne school fuada.a 

The r0reg0ing artlalsa clearly damon6trr?to that It wae not 

rltilln tho oontemmplatlon or the LeglslatUro that the county aohool 

board or any other OfflCtr6 rhould X&S sny SllOC2tiOn or tr266ier 

Of the local tame oollsoted In the COpI-ZDll school diatrlata ot tho 

county. Timee taxes when ODl~aCted tom a prticular l ohool dlatrlot 

are to be :laced to ths credit of such l ohool QlatrlCt to be ured 
HoR. Robert F. Cherry, A,ril 8, 1~39, Page b 

for SOhO purpoara in that dlatrlot. Tho mora tact that ths 

taxoa larlod in the va r io uoommon s l ohool dlatrlcta may bo colloctwl by the ode prroa or Oirlosr does not thangt thr chnraotar 

Or three Honda nor would they loo66 thrlr ldimtltr. 

In Uataon t. IS1 ~660 County, (T.C.A. lOId), PO2 8. 8. 

Ub, It was hold that tho oounty was not ruthorlrrd to bring l ult 

l galnat a county tax oollaotor to r to o vel r chDol funds ooIlooto6 

for oomaon school diatricta undefaata r l lml&r to thoao proamtod 

here, but that tho trusttar of the vr.rloua comon school dlatrlota 

wore the proper psrtlaa plelntlff to reoovtr suah runda. 

Our school fare contain varlo88 provialona authorizing 

tho county board of trustroe and the oounty ruprrlntandrnt to 

l ppor t&ateta o n and county avallabld l ohDol funds 6mohg the 

various dlstrlota but ln raoh lmtsnoa thr funds whloh arn apportioned 

to the dlatrlota by therm offlOor h%vs barn 6:portlonod to or 

collected by the oounty rra a unit and thon dlrldod anont tho dlatriota la tho CDUntJ. In each lnstence, tho rprolflo method and 

baala ror asklry such apportlqment la prorldad lo tho l tatutoa, 

and Artlclo 9699 oontalns the further provlalon thnt *no part of 

the school fundr l pportlonrd to any dlstrlot or county shall be 

trsnafarrrd to any other dlatrlot or countyIm except aa provldod 

by the tranrfrr statutaa. 

It ‘18 aanlfost that an crrbitrary distribution of looal 

aobool taxoa, oollooted by the oomnon school dlatrlota over a.parlod 

_. or yaars, Baaod on17 upon the aaaosatd valuation for,ono glraa foar 

would l froct a trunsfer of a ,;ortlon or auoh run.36 frog ow :I: i 3.’ ~ 

dlatrlot to the Barnsilt Of another, and wa hare bean unoblo to fled 

any statutory PUthDri66tlOn for auoh actloo on the part of the 

county board or l ohool trusteaar 

~!s are of the o~lnlon that your qurstlon should ba alllrrrer4 in tho negatlvr. 

Yours very truly 

CCC:E: lw 

m 

A?iwV ED 

(3) GWA.LD c. XhNN 

ATTCiiliZY OT.NIik.L CF TiXhS