Mr. David G. Hunt

Assistant Commissioner CoordinatingBoard Texas College andUniversity System Sam Houston State Office Bldg. Austin, Texas Dear Mr. Hunt: OpinionNo. C-721
Re: Whether the Galveston Junior College District that was created In November of 1935 Is still in legal existence and related questions.

By recent letteryou have requested an opinion concerning the above statedmatter. Your letterraises, In essence, the following four questions:

(1) Is the GalvestonJunior College created in 1935 still in existence? (2) Did boundary lines of the Galveston Junior College expand to remain coterminous with the Galveston IndependentSchool District which expanded in 1960 to IncludeDistricts No. 707 and No. 9 of Galveston County, Texas? (3) Can the Union Junior College District disannex territorywhich overlapps the Galveston Junior College Districtby authority of Article 281513-1,

Vernon's Civil Statutes, or some other applicable statute,and certify such fact to the Galveston County CommissionersCourt for further action? (4) Assuming an affirmativeanswer to the above, what legal stepswill be required In order to reactivate the GalvestonJunior College Dlstrict?
In 1958 this office held in an opinion (WW-395)that the GalvestonJunior College District, although inactivebecause a maintenance tax was never approvedby the voters,was still in existence.

It Is our present opinion that the Galveston Junior College District Is still In legal existence. This opinion Is

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Mr. David 0. Hunt, page 2 (C-721)

based upon a review of all applicable legislation,and the establishedrule that Inactivity or nonuae in Itselfwill not abolish such a legally created entity. Harbin Independent' School District v. Denman, 200 S.W. l@(Tex.Civ.App. 1918, reversed on other grounds 222 S.W. 538).

QuestionNo. 2 requires an analysis of Article 2815s, Vernon's Civil Statutes,which is quoted In part as follows:

"Section 1. This Act shall apply to any junior college district createdwith the sameboundary lines as an independent schooldistrict, the board of trustees of the independent schooldistrictbeing governing board of the junior collegedistrict. Whenever the boundaries of any such Independent school district are extendedby consolidation, attachment of territory thereto, or otherwise, the boundaries of the junior college district shall be automatically likewise extended so that theboundary lines of the two (2) districts shall remain identical." This Act covers all junior collegedlstrlcts created prior to its enactmentwhere the governingboard and boundaries are the same as an independent school district at time of creation of the junior college. Furthermore, the enlargement of the school district automaticallyenlarges the junior collegedistrict.

It is our opinion that when the Galveston Independent School Districtwas enlarged in 1960 by consolidationwith the two other districts, the junior collegedistrict was automatically enlarged to Include these districts. A brief discussion of the original attempt to organize the junior collegedistrict in Galveston can be found In AttorneyGeneral's OpinionNo. O-3352 (19411, a copy of same is enclosedherewith.

QuestionNo. 3 is answeredby the plain language of Article 2815~4, Vernon's Civil Statutes, quoted as follows:

'Section 1. All junior college districtswhose boundaries have or may hereafterbecome established so that they Include territorywhich prior to such establishment lay, and shall continue to lie,within the boundaries of another junior collegedistrict shall have the power to disannex such overlapped territory. "Upon certificationby the governingboard of such a junior college district to the countyboard of school trustees of the county in which its college
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is located that such an overlapping condition exists, the countyboard may by resolution dlsannex the overlapped territory from the dlstrigt, describing such territoryby metes and bounds. It is our opinion that the above quoted article gives' the County Board of School Trustees, In this case the Commissioners Court, the power to disannex the overlapped territory of the Galveston Junior College Districtupon proper certificationfrom the Union Junior College District.

Since the Galveston Junior College is already an established entity, it Is our opinion that following the requirements of Sections 4, 5, 6 and 7 of Article 281fjh~ will reactivate the school. SUMMARY

The Galveston Junior College established in 1935 is still In legal existence. By virtue of the provisions of Article 28158, V.C.S., when the boundaries of the Galveston Independent School District were extended to include additional territory, the boundaries of the Galveston Junior Collegewere likewise extended. Upon proper certificationby theUnion Junior College District of Galveston County, the County Board of Trustees (CommissionersCourt)may disannex the overlapped territory of the Galveston Junior Collegeunder authority of Article 281513-1, Vernon's Civil Statutes. Compliancewith Sections 4, 5, 6 and i'of Article 281511,

Vernon's Civil Statutes,will reactivate the Galveston Junior College,which has been dormant since 1935. Yours very truly, WAGGONER CARR AttEney General of Texas
By: sistantAttorney General

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JMc:sck:ra APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE W. V. Geppert, Chairman John Reeves Phillip Crawford Marvin Sentell Pat Bailey APPROVED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: T. B. Wright

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