OFFICE OF THE A-i7’ORN”Y GHNEML OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

al school board ntxbcro. 2?i6 QU6Slocal school board 1owf~Uy 

use FJC&OO~ fnndc to ?ny t%6 manb6rshi:, 

~~6s 0: the ;lGnbGrs of the local board 

in the Bin?,6 Ol'@XiiZ6tiOl.I? 

"c~fa the local so.h.001 board lcv:iully 

~$6 school -funds to py tha cxpcnsos of 

t!;e 10c:;l board zG?ib?baYs incident to 8l;d 

j.ncuryed by tha in t&&i ottondanoo UpOn 
~OnOrabl6 Gerald Stookard, pa?,6 2 

Th6 JNl~OsES for Which th6 public fr66 school 

I’untis my be expended 826 S6t out in &tic16 2627 of 

Vcr&Gn'ti Amoteted Civil Statutes, 03 follows: 

"'2h6 pl;blic free zchool functs shal.1 

hot be oXCcnd6d 6XO6pt f0r th6 folkowing 

purposes: 

"1. 'ihe State and cwhty ovnil6bl6 

funds iksll be used 6Xclusiv6ly for the 

.~.6:Jc--sr?t of tiscixr3' snd scnerintcndsnts~ 

9 3ularis3, fh-23 Ccr takiq tie scho:cst:o 

cc29u3, and iaterznt cr. ::coney borrow6 

on short ti:ae to psy aakrias of tenchers 

nnd aupcrintcSdcntS, v:hen theue sal,erias 

becOn due before .tiis school funds for 

the current year becLx6 availabla; providcd that no loam for the g,ur?o~s of 

p3p-znt 0:’ tcachre Sfdi be paid out 

Of fund9 Ots6r than tkOSG fO2 the then 

cwrcnt yew. 

“2. Local school L^und3 from district 

to+es, tuititrtl f6e3 of pupils not entitled 

to free tuition and other local sources may 

56 used fcr t&o puri;ones enuuer~tod for 

Etuta end county funds c&d for purcha3izg 

appliances and supplies, for the paymnt 

of iscuranoe prmiu.m, Jc-aitors end other 

wployes, for buying school sites, buying, 

building cd rcpairin6 end renting school 

houseS, und for other pur~oses~nocassory 

ir. the ccnduct of the public schools to 

be datzmined by the Eoard.of Trustacs, 

the cocoum3 arid muchars for county districts 

to b6 epprcved by the county superlntcndeut; 

provided, that --hen II the !;tnte svailnbla school 

fund in any city OT district is SUffiCieht t0 

mintsin the schools thereof in any year for 

UC least 6ight z!onths, end 1aaVG s SUlplUS, 

such suq~lus ,my b6 fxpended f-Or th6 >lWpoS63 

mentiOh6d her6iiL1* 
Eonoroble C6rald Stockard, >op.!e 3 

&?OtiOlI 1 Of Chapter 5 Ol' t&G t.CtE Of the 

Fourth Csllad Faszion of the Torty-third Legislcture 

(1931,) aC26d tha ~ollo~~i~~~ section to said Article 

2827: 

. “3. X11 !.r.dcw,ndant school districts 

hVi2,s t’i thix t&i= llr,its ZI city *:.eith a 

popu1n tion Of 160,000 Or aore accorC’lry, to 

the lnet preceding Padeyal c6nsus &ail, 

in addition to tin6 pov:ero nox possamad by 

thez for the use a.xl exyerxiiture of 10~~21 

scho-01 3s.~~ srid Tcr the issuance of school 

bonds, be cxpr~.sr.ly authorized and eqowred, 

.at the optios of the ~overnl~g body of ozy 

such school distrlc t, in the bugin:: of school 

sitss ar,d/or nddit:ons to school sites o,?d 

in the buildir.: of Schcol hxses, to iSSU6 

aad delivar notes of the school district, 

neSotiablc or non-necotiabl6 in Torz, xpreSenti% all pr a part of the purchase price 

or cozt to the scXoo1 district of tka lend 

er,d/or build:>3 so purchased 02 built, sad 

to~3ecuro such notao by a vendor's lien 

i;zd/or deed of trust lien sp.aizst ouch lsnd 

and/or SuilEing, and, by resolution or order 

of tno g;overninc body of the school district 

mde at or before the delivery of such notes, 

to set csidc OI;~ c?,?propricte as a t,mst fund, 

agd the sole Xld O.Tiy fiil'ld, iOr t&6 ?ZyEIelit. 

of the prioci?al of and iotsreat on such 

-.notes such ;nrt 2nd portion of th6 local 

sc:;ool fur:As, levied 2nd collected by the 

school district 1~ that yasr k&/or subsecl,u:nt yc3r6, m We governi% body of the 

school district any detar.nlne, provided 

t23t in no event s;1011 the zg::(rejiete amunt 

of 10~~1 fjchool funcis z&t as1136 ir. or for any 

subseqient yecr, ten (10%) ner cent of tha 

locel sahool f\;nds collect& duriw mch 

year. H 

.QI sxaaination of Artiale 2627 discloses that 

the::a is ;1o crpreso authority t0 US6 the ~?ubl.ic fr66 

school funds fo; the purnoses covered by Your quastlons. 

?t is well settled that ihe powers of a schFo1 board to 

expend public free 3chOO1 fUldS~ Or6 limited to the Pur- 
EonoroblG Gcrold Stockorcl, pags 1* 

~o.si;s prGGcr:bed by tDa statutes, !i3rlioCer. IxldegGnaont School Distriot v. C. H. Pace and Erothcr, 48 

C. 5 C. (2d) 913 (Coz111is6ion of A>peeln.) 

it is true that Article 2227 przsoribGs tnat 

local school funds zxy be u se6 "for other purposes nocessnry in the CO3duct of the public schools to bc dGtarnined by the Doord af TrustGG3.f* Under this provision 

of the lm::, it has been held th3t tha board of t$ustecs 

my, v:ithix certci. rl limits, exarcise a discretion as to 

thy purT0sG.s for 

bG expanded. 

kiich the pub110 froc.sohool tinds my 

36 

Yo%eley v. City of Dallp:s, 17 S., 7:. (26) 

(Conmission of E.:Qeals.) 

Xc believe, hoxevm, thet the school bocrd 

is 113ited in the excrche of its discration to "rurpoaas ncccssery in the conduct Of the public sohools**, 

and that tlce purposes ' hich are cet out ir. your questions do 3ot qsna within the statutory provasions. 

ThGrG is fiOthiIl& t0 ir,diCFitG *diet thG G%iGtGIKzG Of tha 

stotc-wide or~sniz3tion of school trustGe3 or their 

3oiti:qs in kztate-v&de conventions is 3ecGs1'azy in tho 

coniluct of thu public schools. As you stat& in your 

IcttGr, thG?G is no stotutory authority ?or the crestioa of 5 state org3fiiz3tion of local sohool board ~GLubars, and there is 20 statutory require.aent th3t thGy 

bclonr? to oilch an orCynizetioo. Xiiatever benefit night 

accrue to the sohools through the zeabsr&ip of the 

school trustees ir. the stunts-wide orp2cizotion or their 

att,.Xl&lZCG upon StGtG-Wi6G 5GGtiAF.5, IVOUli! be r&illOtG 

an6 indirect. :'ie are threforo of tha opinion that 

t&o 10~31 schoo: board CZ..O~ i3vZull:; USE SC:?OO~ fuads 

to pay tlie :,enbe.shi:, dues of ‘the ambers Of ~the lOC3l 

board in tlzo state orpnization, nor can ths local 

Gchool boerd 1wPilly u%G School pnd3 to pGy thG EXyensas of t,ho local board mmbers imidont to and incurred by thG3 in their attend&Doe upon iaeetings Of 

the state org3nizat~on. 

Yours very truly