AUSTIN BP. TEXAS 

Bon. IA. A. Woods 

St&e Department of Public Instruction 

Department of Education 

Austin, Texas 

Attention: Hon. T. M. Trimble 

First Assistant Ogtnion'No. V-344 

Rs: poes'the extadsib3 of the bouhUaries of the City 

Of New Braunfels 

automatically extend the bounaarles of the Iiew 

Braunfels fndependent SOhoo2 

District, 

We refer to gour letter of recent date BChwle, ed by the Attorney General on July 17, 1947, 

,,,,e~y an opinion from this office concerlzl vh8th8r t&e err ension af the city linlta of New Brewi T 8l.b 

autogs)tiCalLlg operates to extend the boundaries of the 

New l&yaUpfels Independent School District, and t\eleted 

questio'tia. Your? attached letter slgtned by Mr. Xi. A. 

S&II, Superintendent of the New Braunfels Indepetident 

School Dintpict, pr8sents, in substance, the following 

questions and faatual information: 

The New Bpaunfels Independent School 

Dlstrlct vaa created by Acts 1913, 33rd Legislature, R. S., Sp8oial Laws, S. B. 294, 

Ch. 43 p&a;6 140. 

p* 1401 

(Gammel's Laws, Vol.' 16, 

Question 1: Will an extension of the 

city limits of the City of New Braunfels b 

an election oalled by the- city automatical 9 y 

extend the limits of the, New Braunfels Indbpendent Sohool District so as to again make 

the two oorperrtlons identioal. Ln territory? 
_ . . 

Hon. L. A. Woods - Page 2 v-344 

The City of New Braunfels has extended 

its city limits four times slnoe 1913 when 

the Independent School District was created 

by said law, and each time the territory annexed by the city was automatically taken 

into the New Braunfels Independent School 

District, and treated for all school purposes as part of the clistr1ct. 

Question 2 : Are the simultaneous ex-’ 

tensions of the limits of the City of New 

Braunfels and the New Braunfels Independent 

School Dlstrlct legal and compatible with 

the special act creating the independent 

school district? 

Question 3 : May the New Braunfels Independent School District now operating 

under the provisions of the speoial act 

creating It, consolidate with other adjacent common school districts as other tndependent school aiatrlcts may under and in 

accordance with the general laws governing 

independent school distriots In the changing or extending of their boundaries? 

The records of the Department of Education reveal that the City of New Braunfels assumed control of 

the schools within the city on April 3, 1579, but that 

such municipal control of the city sahool diatrlat was 

divoroed from the city by the 1913 special law above 

noted creating the New Braunfels Independent School District. The records of the Secretary of State reveal 

further that under the home-rule charter adopted by the 

Cit 

194 t 

of New Braunfels by electi.on held on January 18, 

the city did not assume control of the New Braunfels’lndependent School District, and that there has 

been no amendment to the 1913 special act creating the 

said independent school alstrlct. 

We quote for purposes of this opinion only 

those parts and seotions of 9, B. 294, Acts 1913, which 

are pertinent to the proper dlspositlon of the questions 

submitted : 

“Section 1. That there Is hereby 

created and established tn Coma1 County, 

Texas, an incorporation for free school 

purposes only, under the name of, and to 
Hon. L. A. Woods - Page 3 v-3!4 

be known as, the New Braunfels Independent School District, which shall include 

within its limits all ,lands and territory 

Included within the corporate limits of 

the city of New Braunfela, the~boundarles’ “, 

of said Independent school district to be 

identical with the limits and boundaries 

of sald cltg, and sal.d Independent school 

district is hereby Incorporated and made 

a body corporate in law for free school 

purposes only. 

“Qec,. 2. That the said city of New 

Braunfels ‘is hereby divested of the &ntrol of the public free schools within~ its 

limits and said New Braunfels Independent 

School District la hereby Invested with 

the exclusive control of the public free 

schools within the limits of said district; 

and the title and rights of all property 

owned, held, set apart or In any way dedicated to the use of the public free schools, 

of the city of New Brauhfels heretofore 

vested in the mayor, city council, or trustees of said city, shall be, and is hereby, 

vested in the board of trustees, of said New 

Braunfels Independent School District and 

their successors In office. 

“Sec. 5. . . . ; and, the board of trus - 

tees of the said New Braunfels Independent 

School District shall have and e,xerclse, and 

Is hereby vested,and charged with, all the 

rights, powers, privileges. and duties conferred and ,tipoaed by the General Laws of 

this State upontrustees of Independent 

sohool districts created and ‘organieed under 

the General Laws of thls.3tato, inoluding 

the right to levy and collect taxes for the 

Issuance of bonds and for the maintenance of 

the schools, and to Issue bonds of said dls: 

trlct to the extent and for the purposes ad 

subject to the provisions, limitations and 

conditions that ~s,aid powers may now be exbrclsed under the,General Laws of this State, 

by the trustees of independent school districts incorporated for free school purposes 

only, . . .‘I 
Hon. L. A. Woods - Page 4 v-344 

Your identical question submitted as Question 

No. 1 herein has been previously submitted for the consideration of this Department concerning the Texarkana 

Independent School District which was created also by 

special law, Acts 1920, 36th,Legislature, 3rd Called 

Session, S. B. No, 9, Ch. 31, and Section 1 of said Act 

reads almost identical with Section 1 of S. B. No. 294 

creating, the New Braunfels Independent School District. 

This Department advised in its Opinion No. O-3823, a 

copy of which Is attached and Incorporated as a part 

hereof, that the extension of the municipal boundaries 

of the City of Texarkana did not automatically extend 

the boundaries of the Texarkana Independent School District and that the boundaries of such school district 

are subject to the applicable laws relating to bodies 

corporate for school purposes only. 

We think the ruling given in Opinion O-3823, 

for the reasons therein stated, are equally a,ppllcable 

and constitute sufficient and proper answer to your 

first and third submitted questions as stated herein; 

that the proper answer to your first question should be 

In the negative, and to your third question in the aff irmative. 

Your second submitted question relating to a 

specific fact situation depends upon the proper answer 

to your first question. It necessarily follows that 

Question No. 1 having been determined In the negative 

that the answer to your second question Is in the negative, unless there has been curative or validating legislation which would validate the stated actions of the 

City of New Braunfels in simultaneously extending the 

1tmlt.s of the city and the New Braunfels Independent 

School District. We have found no such validation leg1slatlon, nor have we been apprised thereof. 

SDMMARY 

The extension of the city limits of 

the City of New Braunfels will not operate 

automatically to extend the school district 

limits or boundaries of the New Braunfels 

Independent School District, sa1.d school 

district boundaries being fixed by Acts 

1913, 33rd Leg., R. S., Special Laws, S. B. 

294, Ch. 43, p. 140, and the district not 

being municipally controlled. A. G. Optnion Ro. O-3823. 
Hon. L. A. Woods - Page 5 v-344 

The boundaries of the New Braunfels 

Independent. School District are subject to 

the applicable general laws governing independent school districts, not municipally 

controlled, and may be changed and extended 

in acoordance therewith. 

Very truly yours 

ATTORNEY GENERALOFTEXAS 

,,-rChester E. Ollison 

Assistant 

CEO :djm: jt 

Enclosure APPROVED: