. 

GERALD C. MANN 

&&&&--xXxX AUST!au 11. Tp-s 

Honorable J. C. Gowdy 

County Auditor 

Wichita County 

Wichita Falls, Texas 

Opinion No. O-3305 

Re: Changing boundary lines of 

school districts 

Dear Sir: 

We received your letter dated March 19. 1941, which reads ’ 

as follows: 

“The State of Texas having leased approximately 

twenty miles of the Wichita River Bed, your department 

has heretofore ruled that such oil and gas leases are taxable and the same have accordingly been duly assessed in 

this county. 

“Both banks of the Wichita River being respectively 

a boundary line of the several adjacent school districts, can 

such boundary lines be extended to the center of the river bed 

so that these oil and gas leases may be made assessable for 

school purposes and if so, what is the proper procedure?* 

From the correspondence we have. it appears that there 

are two adjacent school districts whose boundary line extends to the bank 

of one side of the river. On the other side of the river there are two other 

adjacent school districts whose boundary line extends to the bank of that 

side of the river. The river bed is not within the boundary line of any 

school district. 

Your question is: What is the procedure for extending the 

boundary lines of the four school districts so as to take in the river bed? 

We are informed that three of the school districts are common school districts and the other is an independent school district. We 

assume that the independent school district is incortiorated for free school 

purposes only, 

follows: 

Article 2766, Revised StatuteS, enacted in 1905. reads as 

“The commissioners court of any county shall have the 

authority to change the boundaries of any independent district 

incorporated for free school purposes only, situated in said county, 

when in the judgment of said court the public good demands such 
Honorable J. C. Gowdy. Page 2 (o-3305) 

change; provided, that the president of the board of trustees 

~of the independent district to be affected by the proposed 

change shall first be notified, and said board of trustees shall 

have the right to be heard in case there is opposition to the 

change. No such change shall be made that would reduce the 

total value of taxable property in any independent district 

against which there are outstanding bonds legally issued.” 

Article 2681. Revised Statutes, enacted in 1915, reads in 

part as follows: 

“The c,ounty school trustees are authorized to exercise the authority heretofore vested in the commissioners 

court with respect to subdividing the county into school districts, and making changes in school district lines. . . . The 

county superintendent, as secretary of the county school trustees, shall keep an accurate and complete record in a well 

bound book provided for that purpose, the field notes of all 

changes made in school district lines, and of all proceedings 

of the county school trustees. A certified copy of such change 

in a school district line shall be made and transmitted by the 

county superintendent to the county clerk, and the county clerk 

shall record the field notes and certified copy of such change 

in a well bound book to be designated as the’Record of School 

Districts.“’ 

The above quoted statutes permit the county board of school 

trustees to change the boundary lines of an independent school district, incorporated for free school purposes only, on its own initiative when it is 

for the public good. Hill County School Trustees v. Melton et al., 199 S. W. 

1142. 

Section 2 of Article 2742e. Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes. 

reads as follows: 

“That on and after the passage of this Act the County 

Board of School Trustees in any county in this State shall have 

authority and full power to create Common School Districts, to 

subdivide districts, and to change boundary lines of any or all 

Common School Districts legally coming under the jurisdiction 

of the County Board of School Trustees, subject to the supervlsion of the District Court having jurisdiction over the county 

where the County Board is appointed or elected; provided that 

before any changes may be made in boundary lines of school 

districts the trustees of the Common School Districts affected 

shall be notified to appear before the County Board for a hearing, and after said hearing or the date set for said hearing, the 

County Board of Trustees may pass such order or orders as 

will carry out the provisions of this Act; provided, further, that 

the trustees of the districts affected may appeal from the decision 

of the County Board to the District Court.” 
Honorable J. C. Gowdy, page 3 (o-3305) 

We are of the opinion that the statutes herein mentioned 

empower the county board of school trustees to change the boundary lines 

of the school districts involved and sets out the procedure to be followed. 

We do not determine whether any or all of the leasehold 

interests are subject to school taxes since we do not have any facts concerning this question. 

Yours very truly 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

/s/ Lee Shoptaw 

BY Lee Shoptaw 

Assistant 

LS:AMM/cm 

APPROVED JUN 6. 1941 

/s/ Grover Sellers 

FIRST ASSISTANT 

ATTORNEY GENERAL 

APPROVED 

Opinion Committee 

By /s/’ BWB 

Chalrman