Honorable B. V. Rayford Co-ntyAuditor Rusk CourQ Senderson,

Texas

Dear Sir: opinion x&Y. e=mx Be: (1) Whether schooldistrict may issuewarraats payableover a term of several

years. (2) Vihether

taxes for fiscalyear leginning

Septembsr1,194l,but collected

in August, 194l, are for scholastic

year 1940-1941.

Ws have received

your letter of recentdate which we ~quote ia _oart as follows:

"I desire an opirion from you as to imo queations pertaining

to the public schools, with chic! we are confronted

in t'~iS county. A large percehtage of the scholastics of Rusk Countyars transy::- ed to schoolsby buses which are owed & the so! ools. Several of the schooldfstriots, lackingthe funi3 to pay for buses in cash, have boughtthem on credit, payingpart of the ~chase price in cash and executing warrants of the schooldistrict, payable over a tens of severalyears, for the balance. The first questionto rbich I desire an answeris this; Do such notes or contracts for schoolbuses cons%tute .valid obligations,

enforceable

against

the school districts

inourringsubh obligations?"Honorable R. V. Ileyford,

Rage 2 (O-4001)

I

. . . Thin limitation upon the power of the trustseain Wing the ccntmct ndth teachen netsr~arily1bit.a the payment of tha debts that might ' be contracted

to the amount of the hurd nhich belonged to the diatrJ.ct for that year, and rrsg debt aoatractedgreaterthan that wculdb a Violation of the lar, md constitute ac 018&e againat

the diatrict.e
The twae principle haa been extended

md applied

not cnly to tee&em1 contracta but alaa to other obligrticna, such asthe puraluas of equipnent,

and penaanentimprocments to the sohcclprcperty.

Ycu oited in ycur letter the case of Tsmplauwi Ccrnncn Sohcol District

v. Bcyd B. Read Canparry, 101 S.H. (2d) 352. In this care two rarrentr

were issued in payment of septic toilets. Thesewem renewal nfMts, and were dated February 22, 1933,due February22, 19'54, and April 1, 1934. Them was no showingthat the district had any available funds on hand for the year for nhioh the purahaae was made, and the court in holdingthat reccreryoculd not be bd CQ raid warrantshad the folloring

tc anyc
.%d.le the languageused 5x1 said statute

refera apcifically b a deficiencycreatedinthe employment of teachers,it hea been held th8t it applis~ with equal foros tc debts ircurredin the purchase of equipment. Inthi8 oonwotion, the Wu-t of Civil Appeals in Stephenson

V. l&&on SeatingCo., 26 Tex. Cit. App. 16, 62 S.H. 128, 129, in referring to the holdingof the Supreme Court in %rlier V. Peacock,supre, said:
"1 It ir held that a~warrant for a teaoher'r

salary in.exoesr

of the sun apportioned to the dirtrict for the yeer'camot be made a charge upon the fund of 4 mbaequeiit psar. Article 3959 (newArticle 2749)was ocnatrued

as @ limitation

upon the power of the trustees to contract ap debt which would causea deficiency in the ~ohocl fund of the dirtPi&. Uhile the artiole qplies alcne to oontracts for teachers'

klaries, w think the construction plaoedupon it~by the supreme court applies

with equal force 5, the artioleaoontmlling the purchse of sohocl.furriture.l

-',

. 3 "The Supreme Court refuseda writ of error in that case. This seems to be the logical sonstrudion to be placedon the statute; for its purpose, at least in part, is to avoid a dissipation in advanceofthe funds to be appropriated

for the suppo&-t

of t:-.e sc?~olduring subsequentyears ezd thus render more cerzain the maintenance of a pxzblic

free sc:lool

in each ,+strictfor at leastHon. R. V. Reyford,Page 3 (O-4001)

six months in each year, es called for is article 7, 3 3, of the Constitution; and, if in keeping with that purpose6 defioienay debt oannot be creeted in the employment

of e teacher,the one ixIispenaab.le essential of a school,it reasonebly follows

thet such e deficiency

cannot lawfullybe created in the puroheao of equipsent. See in this oonnedion 37 Tax. Jur. 972; ??ermn V. Sager Independent School Dirt., 116 Tex. 163, 266 S.W. 159.'
The s-e doctrine

has been applied to independent Echo01distriutr. First Bet. Bank of Athena V. Murchison Independent SchoolDist., 114 S.W. (2d) 382; 'Bustees of Crosby Independent School Dist.V. Uest Disinfecting

Co., 121 S.iV.

(2d) 661. In the l4urchison cese, the suit ma* upon warrants

maturingone, tm and three -years after date, bearing six per cent interest, payableout of the localmairrtenance fund for furnitureor noney advanced to purchasefuraitum. The following as statedbythe court:

sEor ware there, for partiaular years over and above the msounta necessary to conduct the school

any available

finds out of which these debts couldbs paid."

'Ws quota from the opinion of the hunission of Appealsin the case of HarlingenIndependent School Dist.V. C. R. Page de Bra., 48 S.U. (2d) 983:

Vrcm the ebow it is evidentthat the powers of

the school board to *spend the funds of ths district ere et all times li,itedto en available Pond,and to ;,he particular

thing prescribed

by the statute. The board never has any authorityto expend funds that ere not 

### l oaileble.'

Rs see no reasonto differentiate the announced

doctrinees to the Durchaseof school buses,end m, think that the language employedin the oited cases is amply broad to co'rer such purcheses. It follma, therefore,that the larrantagiven in payment of the busesare invalid.

We quote hrther from your letter:
"The fiscalyear for. schools r-8 from the first of September

of me year to the first of the same month of the next"y6s.r. Several cf the largerschool districts

in Rusk County are in ths oil field. In order to get the tm~ ?er cent. discous: cffexd by the taxing authorities for payment:of

advalor taxss for the year 1941,many taxlxysrshave paii +eir taxes in full in &+tlst,

my infomstLon being i?.st approdimately_,- .

.

Hon. B.V. Rayford,Page 4 (o-4001)

ninety perxmt, of the 1941 taxesware psid in that month. The second question I suhuit to you is this: Ib such taxeswhich are oolleated in August, 1941, becme a part of the sohool funds for the scholastio year 1940-1941,

making the same available for the payment of school obligations incurredduring that year, or do such taxes constitute

a fund forthe operatim of the schoola for the scholastio year 1941-19421

'If your ansnerto the last questionis&at auohtaxes xay be applied to paymentof obligations

- inaurredfor the year 1940-1941, then please answer this further question: Could such taxes so oollrcted in August, 1941, be lawfully appliedto the peyment of a warrant issued during 1940 for part of the purchase

price of a.

hts purchased

at the tjme which suchwarrant uas issued?"

He assume that the allow&se of a discount nas made under the pr&isioa of Wicle 7255b, Verncsa's

Auaotated

Civil Statutes, rhi& authorizes a discounton ad valoremtaxss under the terms sst out in the statilte.

Regardless

of the fad that the taxes nere collected before kpmaber 1, 1941, which marked the ~beginirg of the aer fiscalyear .X341-1942,

they mere assessedfor that fiscalyear, and, therefore, Lwastitute

a fmd for the operation of the schools

duriag that year, It follons,in vie* af our sasmr to your first questior?, that such ;u moneys zay not js used for the paymentof obligations incurred during the fiscal gear 1940-1941.

Cur answer to your secondquestion rendersunnecessary sn anmer to your third question. Verptrulyyours

ATTOEEY GEERR OP lZX4.3

APPRO7EDOCT 2, 1941
s/ Gromr Sellers FIRST ASSISTANi” ATTORSY GE:XXL. W” -. s/ Glenn R. Lewis Glenn R. bris Assietmt BY s/George l?. Sparks GeorgsK. Sparks