OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

%;a reoeived your 

lw aett-lng out oerti8crin ia 

k cpation based upoa said 

Tour Letter dated reads. la pert, 88 

cborne was re- 

, 1840, the County aoard of School 

Cotzty, .Texas, being und~or the imthere ~38 a vramoy in said offioe, 

ollowln~:. in the ?-iinutes of s@,lC board, 

at tl co,~ll zeetj.rg thereof 1 
"On or about the 8th day of April, 1940., 3. 3. 

Earrla took the oath of offloo, but thereaftsr, on 

or shout the 20th day of April, 1940, be resi@ned~ 

as trustee for the r @ason. that he has oot resi,ded 

in the district for six months prior ttiersto and 

ma dfagualifi3A. On the aam. date that Rarrfs 

rsslgned, Osborne took the oath oi office end filed 

the aarm wfth the Couuty 3uperintendent. Curing 

this ar$lrr period ol! tine, Osborne has oontinued 

to act as trustee+ 

WDurin& the y&r. 1922; Oljbome was comioted 

ei Felony theft In the Fedaral Court. ne lo not 

8’ qualified voter and hsa not been durtng,t&ia 

eatfre period of timhw~ 

Your letter bated fune 21, 1940 mbmitting additional 

faots reads,. In prt, 4s tollowst 

*After the a9~o~lntmont of Earrts 68 truatae, ,. 

Osborne .eontinued to aat as trustee and his’ sots 

in signing vouoher8, eto, were aoooptad by the 

County Superintendent. 

,?Wnxis never at any time parrormsd any’ aat ’ 

es trustee and his resignation w&s accepted by the 

County Sohool Board, and on the County Bard entered an order aocepting the maienatloo ot mrria, iC 

entered en order stating that oald aonkxon aohool 

dletriot would have only two trustees Xor ths year ., 

1940-41. 

*On the 6th day of, rune,, 1840, u,pon the repueat oi Bubort Osborne, the County Board entemd 

the rtdbfirg ordert~ 

. **It apparlng tom the Roarti of Oou3t.y ’ 

School Trustees of Rusk County, Thrxae, 

that hewetotors there have been .%ade 

various orders in r~t$sd to the posltioa 

0r on4 of t&4 trustees of the Tine Hill Comnon sahool District No. 4d, of Euek Comty, 

TCXde, in that the se14 couoty isonrd WRIB under Me tipression that a vacmoy erlstod 

In the plme l-da by nubart Osborrm RS ona 

of the trustess of oatd distriatl 

*tXndt Mi?d board having found that the 

said Hubert Osborne hsa at al.1 tines alno 

hia eleotlon ooted as trutitee of aaid die- 
! : qps 

triot, and that he hae fakan the oath of 

offics required by 1%~ end ft fnrthor appearing to thIa board that the Xstr!at 

. . ..~ Attorney of fiusk County, Taxeg, h??s oertliied a question to that Attorney Caneral of 

~the state of ‘i%xas, In regard to the at&us 

of the aald Subert Osborne 88 trustee of 

eaid dls trlat ; 

**Xi Is thersfofe ordared by the County 

B08rU of Sohool Trustees that a~11 orders 

herntofors entered by the board and which 

now agp%ar bn the minntss 02 this boerd be 

set aside bemuse of the taat that this 

board did now knog ~the true status or” Hubert 

Osborne as trustee of said d1striat, and be+ 

owsa of auoh orders a8 now appeer on recordt 

there rrould bs only two trustees for said 

dtstyilrt; and it is the further order of thi% 

board that the said Rubsrt Osborne shall continue to sca.v% as t,rustss of tha mid Pine 

Eill co&ion Bab001 pietriat Ko. 46, unti3. 

furth%r crders of tNe bosrd in the:eoent 

said opinion of the Attarnay G:anarel ehouLd 

be adverse to the olalm! of the said Bubert 

Q6bwns to said office.’ ~, .,: 

“So a,ppeal wim lasde to the County Boarb other 

than tha or&e mid% by Oabornet as refleotod by the 

above order. vi% night also note thtlt Ocborm haa 

had hia cltlzensfiip restored to hln ainca t.he 13th 

day of ?:a~, &an we submitted OUT orl~innl~requestb* 

Based upon tho above faafs you ask the follbwlng 

qaestioar 

Doee the County Board ot Wuml Trustees of Rusk 

County, Texas, herve tka power at this ti~xe to X4nofe Cnborne 

aa truatea of said dintriot, or deolnre a -?hoenoy 15 auoh 

Oftics and c;tpoint enot;her to taka his i&m%? 

‘“Al%* 2746. 

“r . + . No person shall be trustea wha 

csxnet read and w1t.a the I:sqlish Lan;,uage fnteiigibly, rtind v&o he5 not been a reaidmt.of allah 

district for &Lx mmths px1or to hia elaot~on. 

Providing no person shall be qualifhed as trustee 

unless ha is a gmpsrtp taxpayer in the distrfot 

r, 

i 
. 

to which he is elsoted ejnd otherwise a puallslt 

(qualified) voter ih said distriot . . . ., 

seiS1 trusteas ahall first take Zhb) offielel oath 

an4 shall, es aooa as prnotioable, file s&me with 

,the County SuperintkIdent~or County Sddgr. All 

raosnciee shall b8 filled by the County 2oard of 

Trustees for the reLmainder of the tom in xhioh 

the vaoanoy o~oura~ . . em 

"Ia% 9747. 

‘fr a truatea so cleated or 6,npolatad es herein groylded, who in the opinion of the oounty superintendanti does not possess the puallffcations pmsaribed by law the county auperintendant shall orefaae to reooe, 13 ze plush person who has been 80 eleoted 

and make writ&an request within twenty days after 

.suoh eleotion, Of ths oounty attorney, or airrtriot 

attorney if there be no county attorney, to instltute end prosecute with dtaaatoh suit in the name of 

the Sate for the removal of such trllstee, in the dlstiiot court of the county where such trustee resides, 

at the ‘optIon of said attorney. Upon good oause shown 

~~it?An the dieoretlon of the aourt where such suit 

la pendin,%, .lt ehsll be lawful to enjoin and restrain 

such person from eating as suoh trustee dcrinE the 

pendecoy of suoh ouit. It shall ,be lawful to summon 

suoh truetee before thou court in the Srial of ouch 

oetxie, and there mke sxminatibn OP him ENI t0 hi8 

guslifiostions to serve se auoh, If s.fter being 80 

sumaneil, ouoh trustee rails, negleots or refuses 

to obey said su~~~one and Pa3J.s to ap;:ear for the 

purpose of examination, an4 folls~ or refuses-to’arubmft 

to such sXcamination, such failure, ne&iot or refumal 

shall. be prima faaie evlrlenoe of his dia$uolifioatlou, end beoeuse thereof the court trying oaoh cause 

shall be authorized to ran&m th8r0llpOZl judgn@nt by 

default against euoh trustee so defaultin?, rWAoolng 

him from his aeid ‘off’ica and c?ac!larins, the same 

vaoant . The cminty boa?d of cEuct&fon of the county 

where suoh truate% has been eleatcd shall ap::olnt some 

suitable person, viho ia c;uallflod by law to agt ne 

such trustee, tf during the pendeooy af ziaoh suit reid 

trustee shall be enjoined from so rratinn. If ,auoh 

trustee so elooted shall be 80 rrmaved than such 

trustee so a??ointed shall oontinue’to se:*96 until 
.~,. 

. 

mmr&ie Joe C. Gledneg, Page 6 

the next reqlsr eleotion of.school trustees 

sor such .dlatrict. The aountg bomd of eduoetion shall 1111. a vacancy in said offioe by 

ap>ointin~: a suitabla ?erson qgallf’iad by lsw 

to cot as trustees untfl~ tht next re:qular eleotion of eohaol truetees for such diatrlot.” 

:Te heve be& unable to find sny authority for the 

p~posltion that the County, Eozrd of 2ohool Trustees hae the 

,p~er to rmove an unr,uel.ified soho trustee tmn office. 

To the cOt!trQQ', the natbod for euch reinoval ap?eers to be 

met out in i.rtlcle 2747, eup3-a.’ See StQtc cm rel Eevll.le 0. 

ganderson l38 r,.:.;‘. (2) 1058. 

The faots show that ~stOlTie i!ns duly eleotsd~ to the 

olflae or trllntett. 

diltles of trustao. 

Eo has been and i,a now perfomln~ the 

Eo has nm taken the oath of. offioe. Ve 

f!nd no facts which vrould jusltifp a determimtion by the County 

&?ard ol Sahcol. Trustwa that Osborne has abandoned- or Veeated 

thq office of trustee, 

Pe cocolude that the County Board of School Trusteea 

has no authority to rmove Osborne from office. Me aso of 

the opinion, further, that the Dow.% ‘oannot at this time deolrre mob office vaoant. 

Lee Shoptaa 

727