9‘aE ,qTI’ORNEY GENERAL 

OF TEXAS 

Honorable T. M. 

First Assistant 

Austin, Texas 

Dear Sir: 

Trimble 

State Superintendent 

Opinion No. O-1086 

Re: Can the Reagan County Independent School District Trustees, 

under the facts set forth, legally 

receive compensation for board 

meetings? 

This will acknowledge receipt of your letter with request for an opinion, which Is as follows: 

"The'Reagan County Independent School District 

is a district that comprises the entire county. 

The Board of Trustees of the district perform all 

of the functions of's County Board of Trustees for 

the schools In the county. There are a total of 

five schools in the county. 

"The members of the Reagan County Independent 

School District Board are forced to travel anywhere 

from twenty to seventy miles, round trip, for each 

meeting, and I should say the average meeting lasts 

six to eight hours, as they meet during the 'day 

time', wh!ch also takes them away from their regular 

work. I should surely appreciate an opinion on 

whether they can be legally compensated for board 

meetings under the existing laws, and If they cannot 

legally receive compensation, what steps would be 

necessary to legally establish compensation for at 

least the regular meetings? There is no school board 

In the county except the regular board described above." 

In a reply to the request made, we shall divide it into 

the two propositions as outlined in the second paragraph of your 

letter: 

1. Can the board of trustees of the Reagan County Independent School District be legally compensated for attendlng 

board meetings under the existing law? 

2. If the members of the board of trustees of the Reagan 
-. . 

Hon. T. M. Trlmble, Page 2 O-1086 

County Independent School District cannot legally receive compensation now, what steps will be necessary in order that they 

might be legally compensated? 

In the study of the questions propounded, we will first 

look to the act creating the Regan County Independent School 

District which 1s found at page 456 of the Special Laws of the 

39th Legislature, 'Regular Session, 1925, and was Rouse Bill 

No. 470, Chapter 155. The caption of the Act in question reads 

In part: 

"Providing for a board of trustees for said district 

to serve until the time for the next election of school 

trustees inindependent school districts as provided by 

general law; authorizing the said Reagan 'County Independent 

SchoolDistri.ct to hold an election to determine whether 

or not said district shall assume and make provision for 

the payment of outstanding indebtedness of the territory 

Incorporated herein; validating and continuing in force 

current contracts and tax levies of districts included in 

the Reagan County Independ~ent School DLstrict for the 

present scholastic year, etc." 

And SectLon 3 of the body of the Act provides: 

"The said Reagan County'~Independent School District, 

as created by this Act, shall have and exercise and is 

hereby vested with all the rights, powers, prlvlleges ati 

duties of a town incorporated under the Geheral laws off 

this State for free school purposes only, and the board 

of trustees of the said Reagan County Independent School 

District shall have and exercise all the rights, powers, 

privileges and duties conferred and imposed by the General 

Laws of Texas upon the trustees of Independent school 

districts incorporated under the General Laws of the State 

for free school purposes only." 

Thus it can be seen that the Board of Trustees of the 

Reagan County Independent School District was first given all 

of the powers, prlvlleges and duties of a town Incorporated 

under the General Laws of the State for free school purposes 

only. 

For the purpose of answering the questtons propounded, 

we must look to the authority and powers then given and are now 

given~to boards of school trustees of towns incorporated under 

General Laws of this State for free school purposes only for 

powers there granted and Fn addition to this we must look as 

well to the General Laws of Texas then in force or now in 

force in that regard for the reason that this clause of the 

authority given requires that this school district shall con- 
-- 

Hon. T. M. Trimble, page 3 O-1086 

form to the General Laws of the State in that respect. 

The General Law then in force with regard to the rights, 

powers, privileges and duties of school trustees of an incorporated town, Incorporated for free school purposes only, are 

covered by Article 2851 through article 2854 of the Revised 

Civil Statutes of 1911. At the same Session of the Leglslature that created the district, the laws were recodlfled, and 

we are thus brought to the General Law now covering districts 

of this kind, which is known as Article 2757 of the Revised 

Civil Statutes of 1925. 

This law grew out of and was a reenactment of the Acts 

of 1905, General Laws, at page 263, and makes no provision for 

the payment of compensation to school trustees of a town Lncorporated for free school purposes only. 

We now come to the next power given to the Board of 

Trustees of the Reagan County Independent School District as 

granted In the second part of Section 3 of the Enabling Act, 

which is as follows: 

"Said Reagan County Independent School Districts 

Trustees shall have and exercise all of the rights, powers, 

privileges and duties conferred and imposed by the General 

Laws of Texas upon the trustees of independent sohool 

districts' Incorporated under the General Laws of the State 

for free school purposes only." 

As to what compensation, If any, is allowed to trustees 

of Independent school~districts, created by the General Laws 

~of the State of Texas. Your attention is called to Article 2775 

of the Revised Civil Statutes of Texas as 

Article is as follows: 

now in force, which~ - 

"In each independent district that 

be organized, the county judge of the 

said Independent district is situated 

shall hereafter 

county in which 

shall order an 

election for seven trustees, nhb shall constitute the 

school board of such district, and all of whom shall 

serve~without compensation. All of the qualified voters 

of each such district shall be entltled to vote at an 

election for trustees hereunder." (Underscortng ours 

This law was enacted by the Legislature in 1905 and 

appears at page 263 of the General Laws. 

Chief Justlce Gaines of the Supreme Court of Texas in 

the case of Harkness v. Hutcherson, et al, 38 S.W. 1120, 1121, 

made the following observation: 
Hon. T. M. Trimble, page 4 O-1086 

"The trustees of school comnmnitl.es act under various 

restricted powers, and have control of the school funds 

which the law carefully fosters and zealously guards." 

We, therefore, can see that the board of school trustees 

of the district in question would not be permitted to issue a 

warrant against the funds of the district except in cases that 

are permltted and allowed speclflcally by law. 

In keeplng~with the statutes above-quoted and the holdr 

lng of the court as above stated, we must, as a matter of law, 

hold that there Is now no authorization by law for the trustees 

of the school district in question to be compensated for the 

duties performed by them. 

We come now to the answer of the last proposition propounded: 

"If the members of the board of trustees of the 

Reagan County Independent School District cannot legally 

receive compensation now, what steps will be necessary 

In order that they might be legally compensated?" 

'In reply thereto, we hold that this is a matter for the 

Legislature, and not for this Department to pass upon. 

Yours very truly 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

By s/Gee. 3. Berry 

Geo.~ 3.: Berry 

Assistant 

GSB:N:wc 

APPROVED AUG 7, 1939 

s/Gerald C. Mann 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

Approved Opinion Committee By s/RWF Chairman