**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 OfNewBraunfels automatically ex

## tend the bounaarles of the Iiew Braunfels fndependent SOhoo2 District,

Werefer to gour letter of recent 

## dateBChwle, edby the Attorney General onJuly 17, 1947, ,,,,e~y an opinion from this office concerlzl vh8th8r t&eerrension T af the city linlta of NewBrewi 8l.b autogs)tiCalLlg operates to extend the boundaries of the Newl&yaUpfels Independent School District, andt\eleted questio'tia. Your?attached letter slgtned byMr. Xi.A. S&II, Superintendent of the NewBraunfels Indepetident School Dintpict, pr8sents, in substance, the following questions and faatual information:

TheNewBpaunfels Independent School Dlstrlct vaa created byActs 1913, 33rd Legislature, R. S., Sp8oial Laws, S. B. 294, Ch. 43 p&a;6140. p* 1401 (Gammel's Laws, Vol.' 16,

Question 1: Will anextension of the city limits of the City of NewBraunfels b

an election oalled by the-city automatical 9y extend the limits of the,New Braunfels Indbpendent Sohool District so as to again make the twooorperrtlons identioal. Lnterritory?_ ..

Hon. L. A. Woods - Page 2 

### v-344

The City of NewBraunfels has extended its city limits four times slnoe 1913when the Independent School District was created by said law, and each time the territory annexed by the city was automatically taken into the NewBraunfels 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 NewBraunfels Independent School Dlstrlct legal and compatible with the special act creating the independent school district?

Question 

### 3: Maythe NewBraunfels Independent School District nowoperating under the provisions of the speoial act creating It, consolidate with other adjacent commonschool districts as other tndependent school aiatrlcts mayunder 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 NewBraunfels assumed control of the schools within the city onApril 

### 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 NewBraunfels Independent School District. The records of the Secretary of State reveal further that under the home-rule charter adopted by the Cit 

### 194t of NewBraunfels byelecti.on held onJanuary 

### 18, the city did not assume control of the NewBraunfels’lndependent School District, and that there has been noamendment to the 1913 special act creating the said independent school alstrlct.

Wequote 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 Coma1County, Texas, an incorporation for free school purposes only, under the nameof, and toHon. L. A. Woods - Page 

### 3 v-3!4

be knownas, the NewBraunfels Independent School District, which shall include within its limits all ,lands and territory Included within the corporate limits of the city of NewBraunfela, the~boundarles’ “

, of said Independent school district to be identical with the limits andboundaries of sald cltg, and sal.d Independent school district is hereby Incorporated andmade

abody 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 NewBraunfels Independent School District la hereby Invested with the exclusive control of the public free schools within the limits of said district; and the title andrights of all property owned, held, set apart or In anywaydedicated to the use of the public free schools, of the city of NewBrauhfels 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 NewBraunfels 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 Lawsof 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,aidpowers maynow be exbrclsed under the,General Laws of this State, by the trustees of independent school districts incorporated for free school purposes only,

. . .‘IHon. L. A. Woods - Page 4 

### v-344

Your identical question submitted as Question No. 1herein 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 1of said Act reads almost identical with Section 1of S. B. No. 294 creating, the NewBraunfels Independent School District. This Department advised in its Opinion No. 

### O-3823, a

copy of which Is attached and Incorporated as apart 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.

Wethink 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 affirmative.

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. 1having 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 NewBraunfels in simultaneously extending the 1tmlt.s of the city and the NewBraunfels Independent School District. Wehave found nosuch validation leg1slatlon, nor have webeen apprised thereof.

SDMMARY

The extension of the city limits of the City of NewBraunfels will not operate automatically to extend the school district limits or boundaries of the NewBraunfels Independent School District, sa1.dschool district boundaries being fixed byActs 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

Theboundaries of the NewBraunfels Independent. School District are subject to the applicable general laws governing independent school districts, not municipally controlled, andmaybe changed andextended in acoordance therewith.

Very truly yours

ATTORNEYGENERALOFTEXAS

# ,,-rChester E. Ollison

Assistant

CEO :djm:jt

Enclosure APPROVED: