-. 

NET GENE 

EXAS 

Han, R, A, Taylor, Jr0 

County Attorney 

Zavala County 

Crystal city, Texas 

Dear Sir: 

OpinXon No, V-559 

fle: CaPllng of rural high 

school elections by 

courky school board 

:n-&e:r~Article ’ 2922c, 

v 3 C, S,& as amended, 

We Pefera to your Wttex of recent. date from 

which we quote, in part,, as follows: 

“If the County Board of T~wtees ordews the election z?equ,ix-ed by Arlt, 2922~ 

on its own motfon, sreeh ackLon \WOUPd pxesumablg be based upon the reqwstjj oral 

or written, 0~ petition of pe~yons k&xested in th.e cxeatlon of the 3xxaP high 

school diatvict F 

“If sxh a reqms% 02 pet,Lci.on, i:s 

presented to t,he Cailnt,y Ao~~KI 0% Tru,-- 

tees, is it mandatory that, .%he> electicn 

be called by the Board, rJ;p qs s&at &I>- 

cpetionaky ,with the Board?‘” 

“In each crganf.zed 0wonky in +,hfs 

state, and Iln any county ?&aP-,fch ,&all 

her-eaftea be or~ganfzed, :he ~%xnty school 

trustees shall have the alrt,ho:rify to form 

one ok mope rural high school dist.ric?.sl 

by grouping contiguo3.s common e:hool distnicts having less than, fo::.r hnrdred ~.kYlO] 

scholastic populati.on and tndap?ndent 

school d9striats hav:.ng less than two hw= 

tied fift.y (250) scholastic popul.atson, ITOP 

the pwpose of establishing and operating 

rural high schools; pscwPda-3, also, thatthe county school truasse:j may arnxx one 

OP moxe common, s,chool d%str~~icty or one OP 

more independent school dist~rfcts hexing 
Hon., R. A. TayloP, Jr., page 2 (v-559) 

leas than two hundred fifty (250) scholastic population to a common chool district having four hundPed (400 7 OP more 

scholastic population, or to an independent 

district having two hundred.,Plfty (250) OP 

more scholastic population.” 

Article 2922-z, 

viaeel: 

as amended by 9. 

“NO rural high school diatrlct, 

provided fop nereln, snail contain a 

greater area than one hundrad squaPe 

B, 341, PPOas 

miles, 

OP more than ten elementary school districts, except that the county school 

board of school trustees w form rural 

high school districts, as provided in Article 2922a,, containing mope than one hundred square miles, upon a vote of a majority of the qualified electors in the 

said proposed rural high school district 

voting at an election called for such 

purpose; and profldad further, that the 

said board of county school trustees H 

form a Pural hLgh school district containing more than ten elementary distrfcts upon a vote of a majority of the qualified 

voters In each of the elementary dlstz81cts 

within such,propoaed rural high school district.” (Emphasis ouPsl 

In certain in&awes the county tPustees’aPe 

authcrized to fo~n PuPal highschool distpicts without 

the necessity of submlttihg the question to a detePmlnatlon of thd electorate of the districts involved. 

Article 2922a, aa amended. They are also authopized to ” 

form rural hi school districts under the conditions 

specified in fi title 29220, as amended. But theiP aathoritg In this respect Is lidted to there first being 

an approval by the majority of the qualified voters of 

the proposed district, whsrs the dlstpict proposed contains an area greater than 100 square miles and CoispPfsed of not’ more than ten elementary dfstricts, or the approval,by the majority of the qualified voters in each 

of the elementary districts where the proposed rural 

high school distPict shall contain more than ten elementary distPicts* Article ,2922c, as amended; County Board 

of School Trustees v. Mayfiald C,S.D, No, 22, 140 S.W, 
t2dg 956. 

It harr been held that the ruthozdty to c&E 

an eleotfon on pn4atlons of o~gaalefay: a PUPOP high 

school &f&pi& fs sleeted %A the oouxdy bom.pd of tm~uatees. Countz v. MftchdU, 38 S.wm(24) 770. Thexe fe 

no 

$I” 

ovfsioa in A~tfoles 29220, 29226p OF cbth4P PwPaP 

h school dfetPfct lawa, ,~eq~lfPing %o pP,roeentatioa 

of a petition to said board bef'o~4 uprid bow& my 4x4~ 

else the aPrthoPity gPrated it in eofd &at&es %o OP4ate 

~$~;160h~h mhool d%atHct, Canon PO Rasbwy, 21 S.W, 

FuPthePmPe, it has been heId fn @ox go Beard, 

87 S.V.(24 883# that the app~ovaI. of tmateeta of dfstrlata effe@ted in the foaaatfon of a PUPPLP high sahool 

distpist is not neoesesslaPg whwe em ePes;tion Ya regufa4d end held under the pacviaiona of kt;ioEe 2922e, A%- 

topary Qenepalns Opf.nfcms Has, &268 ana &600~, 

Under Ad%cls 29220, boweve~, the a’utha~%ty 

th4r4fn gPomted to the sounty bam~d to &olieah an establlehed xwal high B&BOP .dfiatz?oiet. fs prcedfmtea upon the ppesentnent of a pstitfcn sfgnd by Y la~jaaftg 

of the votePa of eaob al@rw%ary cU&~Let mmprfskg 

th4 rwal hi& aahool dist~iat, Bi triet %'?mtrepr PB, 

County Sohoof Tmxstees, 203 SOMOQ2d 7 $60, at p4ge 86%. 

Thus, the county bow& c?$ trusteseu has @anary 

paver in the creation of ~uml hIgh school &Llatkictao 

County OehobP Tm.wteee v, Dfst~%et mugtees, 1% S,W,[2d) 

891.~ Xt has been un8famly h&l that the Leyis$srtx~e 

Uay l414gs;te its arPthorPftg to such a emSas. 

8 

W%se CornIIOA Sehocl.Dist~ict No. ~2 vo CO&PC ounty School To, 

141 S.W.f2a) 1028, .Fwther, it was held fn Bojrk9 of 

School Ilpupstees'v. Wooil~ooT 1,S,P,,9~~90 S.W,(Zd) 333, tkmt 

the oopmtj board bai exolusfve, Qw$ad$~tSae, subject to 

statut4r-y limitations, of" gwoeeed%rg to axeate 0, mraP 

high school district fmm date af pre-sle@tion o~d4~ to 

entry of formal order creating dfstP%e~t, especf4lBy ixk 

th4 abs4nce of aM.egatfon that the pubIfs was injmea 

by the boaxdDs octioti WMng such txm~ we quote from 

said cash, rt page 337" 

n By statute ft QGowit~ School 

Boo~d)~l~ iiven unbx%bPed power over the 

$omatfon of ~awsl hfgh school distdct. 

0 AZ%" 

in 
IIOn., R, A, Taylor, Jr,, page 4 (v-559) 

part: gin establishing high schools9 said 

trustees shall give due regard to schools 

already looated, to the distribution of 

population, and to advancement of the students In their studies.8n (Emphasis ours) 

In Gibson v. Couch, 153 S0w.(2d) 288, the 

county board ordered an election under Article B922c 

(the area in the proposed district being greater than 

100 square miles) to determine whether a majority,of 

legally qualified voters of each of six dietr$t;ae+ 

sired to form a rural high school district, 

held that the county boar8 could not be compelled to 

entar an order recognizing the proposed district as 

legally established even though the returns showed a 

majority of the voters of the proposed dlatriot for 

gr0llpillg * 

290: 

We quote from the Clbson-Couch case at page 

“The Board was under no legal duty 

to group the districts and owed to Relators no such legal duty enforcible by 

mandamus c The law (Art> 2922c) says the 

Board m group on a majority vote of a 

proposed district, but nowhere does It 

attempt to take away the dleorotion orlginally lodged in the Board in matte:rs 

of forming rural high schools, Since 

the Raskell County Board in harmony ‘with 

its pre-election order, and in the exercise of its undoubted discretion refused 

to group the six dlstrlots, it follows 

that the relators are not entitltd to 

the writ of mandamus prayed for. 

In the light of the provisions of Article 2922c, 

as construed by the courts In the above cited oases, it 

is our opinion that the matter of calling an election ae ’ 

provided under Article 2922c, es amended, is discretion& 

arg with the County Board of School Trustees, 

SUMMARY 

The matter of calling an election 

authorized and as provided under Article 2922c, VernonDs Civil ‘Statutes, as 

amended by 9, B. 341, Acts 1947, 50th 
Hone 2. A, Taylor, JP,, page 5 (v-559) 

Leg., Rosa.” Ghapter 298, is dismetionarg with the County Board of School 

lkustees, Gibson v. Cosaoh, 153 S,76.(26) 

288; Board of School Trustees v. ~oodzow 

I. School Dist,, 90 S,W,f2d) 3330 

YQUPS very tmlg, 

ATTORNEY OENERAL OF TEXAS 

CEOsmw 

ATTORNEY GENERAL