**OFFICE OF**  **THE ATTORNEY**  **GENERAL OF**  **TEXAS**
**AUSTIN**

**Kay** 2, 1939

m -‘mate

ustin, iexas i

ear sir:

se are in receipt of hioh 16 60 follow:

to rural high sob

~'l6gu.y eonst

ry and high sohooi OS rur81 sqrwre miles or more, that it sahools, entitled to

that your ttird questiOn‘'*cents the altixtate that the l!freb

twa ? quest on8 are auggssted~

Seation 11, kcts 1950, Oh. 404, p. lE59, known ~a thi fiural Aid Len providesas~follows:

Vet. il. Transportetion **Aid. The**  Coun **~Zhaperin**

z%ie tendentsan6 County LahoolBoard are hereby a:. rized to set up a system **0r** tramtportatlon for the purposeof30x1.

A. L. Aikin, jr., Lay 2, 1939, ?e;;e2

**trtifX3IjOrtigg** Lir:hschocl pupils fro% their di>:i.ricts, to the nearest convenient accredited high school. 'r'he xpense of SUCL trans>ortatiou s:;aLiiie gaid out of Lbe funds hereby provided, not **to** exceed 'i'wo ($2.00) Doliers per pupil aer a.0ot.h. Provided, further, that iu districts COD;- posing au enzire comity, high school transportation aid as authorlzeU ixi

this iection my be granted for the pumose of transportiug high school pupils within such districts to the most convenient accredited high sohool.
*It is further provided that the districts through whiah theee buses travel away maks pro~Ie1ons with the County Superintendent anti the County Sahool Board to hare any other ahildrennot provided tar herein, tramported within and between their respective distriota, and said dlstriotamy make applicationfor State aid thereon to an amount not to exaeed One (#LOO) Dollar per month per pupil. Provided,that where regularbneee **do** not **run in**  sparsely settled sectionsof eountleawhich era operating under a aow+y unit ayatsa, the CountyMhoolBoard and, County Superintendent are authorizedto.make prorlalona for the transportation of puplla within raid dlstrlqJia, an&may make applicationfor State aid thereon to en' amount not to exceed One ($1.001 Dollar wr month Der

reap;otmtkvtranepo&ation aahool-dint-riot in wbieh there exiata two sahool planta, one or whioh ir a first **class** four (4) year high aobool and whidh aaid plants are separatedby a distanoe of not less than two **and** one-half (2 l/2) xJ1.s." Article 2922a, Chapter 196, Revised Civil 8tatutea.1926, B amendedprovidea for the formationor organizationof rural igh school districtaby groupingaontigaousdistrits or annexing &lying distriatsto a aantral conmmx or independentsahool dlstriat 3r purposes of maintaininga high sohool. Such dlstriatsmay be armed so as to aontain more than 100 aquare miles (Art. 29220).

In Chastain v. Mauldin, (T.C.S. 1930) 52 6. W. (2d) 295, he aoart used the following eignifiaant language:"In the L~c?ha:i Caseabove, Judge iooney ix hoMinE constitutional the provisions of Chapter 19a, 'itlo 49, sets **forth** very clearly the purposes and effect cf that legislation. as there pointed out, the gr uping provided for does nrt have .theeffect of abolishing tbe several districts in the group. ke also Limestone hoard v. V~ilson('ier.Civ.Ap;).) 5 S. Z. (26) 605. It merely groups thee:Sor hl~h school purposes and places the Crouped board in charge of'all OS the schools in the district, thus abolishing the several district boards. 30 a&ion of any obaraoterwas taken which either attemptedor had the eifeot oi abolishingthe tither Creek dlstrlot,and under the faots as found by the oourt (thatthe **average** dally attendance

was 20 or more) the dlstrlot oould not have beon abolishedor oonsolldated with~any other d%etrlatwithout a rote OS the texpayercr, which was not bad. B. 83. art. Z98SI. Th6 trusteesof the groupeddiatrletwere lnve8teb with the power **and** ohargedwith the duty of oonduatingsohools and of ahinlsterlng all sohoolproperty and fund& oi all the'distrfats

within the boundariesof the oosmolldateddistaut% But they did not have the right to divert pkoperty **or** funds of one dlstriotto &other, or to the grouped xW3trict.

. .I IwCounty Board of 6obool Trustees of Limesto& County v. Ullaon, (T.C.A. 192S) 5 6. P. (Zd) 805, it was stated:

(I Such authority,however, Is merely to group suoh &riots for the purposeof roraing a'rvlrsl high sohool dlstriot

. . . Said artioles also provide for the oonttil and managementor the aohoola in suah dlstilots end **define** the relatiotis between the high sohool anq::the elementaryschools to be maJntainedtherein

. . . vii two or more distrlots,are consolidated**under** the artlo~&3 above re$errqd to, (arts. ZSO!?to 2815) eaohdlstrfot lose&i its separateldentitg, unletis It be fpr oertaiti~Slmited purposes in connection with taxation,and they Fðer thereaftereonstltutea single district as though they had never had separate existenae. In saoh oases elementary eohoolsmay be located by the board or trusteesof the consolidated district as **need** thereformay appear. h. S. art. 2811. On the oontrary,when two or more oommon sohool districts are grouped to form a high sshool~district, aa above shown, each of such dlstriate retains its identity, and separateelementarysohoolsmust be Mint&tied therein. R. 5. art. 2922r.

. .*Hon. A. Ii. Aikin, l:,ay

2, 1939, ?are 4

As vielntarpret Ciia;dter 19-A sni tt:f.

Scrc~cinF case*, a' rural Ii!

[:hr;CLOOi

dir-trict

is essentially a zwtzol SizLrict super- *pored u?on sovercl col;tIcuou? districts for t!;e:xrpose cf xa:ntainlng a iJ!;-h

school for their coxr~on benefit. The underlying districts xaintaln tt:ir separate iiientitics and separate elezectary schools zust be maintaIned therejn. 'ihehigh school dirtrlct doea not accurately include the several elercentary districts as such but there is a horizontei severance c?f the upper grades Prorc the original distriCtS, so to speak, **to** fom the rurel hfeh school dictrfct.

'6eare of the opinion that elementarypupils. oi underlying elerentalyschool distriotoare not entitled to.@Z.OOper month .per pupil for transportation aid as pupils of a rural high sohool dlstriotfor traneportatlon to or between their respeotiveelementary districtsbut would be entitled to $1.00 per pupil per month under the first sentenoeor the secondparagraphof Seotion ll, **b&6** 1957, Chapter 474, page 1259. High eohool pupils of the rural **~.s~hool** dlstrlot **having** 100 bquare lriles or more would be entitledto.#2.00per pupil per month as transportation al&. The above oonoluslono

are aubjeotot oourse to the oondition.that the dlmtrlateam otherwireoomplylngwith the provisionsof the fiural Ai law. Your8 very truly ATTOFU4ZYGENI1JERALOFTEXAS 

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**APPROVED**