THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

AUSTIN II.T~xax

January 

### 8, 1960

Hon. Jimmy Morris CountsAttornev NavarEo County" Corsicana,Texas

Dear Mr. Morris: OpinionNo. 

### W-775

Re: Whether or not the secretary of the Corsicana Independent SchoolDistrict must sign all noticesmailed to taxpayers notifying them of meetings of the district'sBoard of Equalization to consider increasingproperty valuation.

You have requested our opinion upon the necessity of having the secretaryof the Corsicana Independent School District signnotices to taxpayers of the district, informing them of meetings of the district'sBoard of Equalization to consider increasing their property valuation. You advise us that it has been the practice in past years to have the secretary sign all suchnotices.

It is 

### our opinion that the identity of the person executing these notices is immaterial, and that the Board of Trustees of the Districtmay designate the secretary,the district assessor-collector,or otherperson or persons to perform this function.

An independent schooldistrictmay proceed in either of two ways in having its taxes assessed and collected. Through its Board of Trustees it may (1) appoint its own assessor and collector (Art. 2791,V.C.S.) or (2) elect to have the county or city assessor and collector act for it (Art. '2792,

V.C.S.). In either case, a Board of Equalization must be provided to equalize the taxes it imposes (Arts. 

### 2791,2792,2792b,V.C.S.). Where the board elects to have the county officials act for it, the commissioners' court, sittingas a board of equalization,acts in that capacity for the district also. Miller v. Vance, 

### 107Tex. 485, 180 S.W. 739 (1913)

9 If a special assessor and collector is used, it becomes incumbentupon the board to provide a board of equalization before which a taxpayermay appear. St. Louis Southwestern R. Co. v. Naples Ind. Sch. Dlst., 30 S W.2d 

### 703 (Tex. 2iv.A~~. 

### 1930) The t f course,must-be notified in somemanner of-the tirnr%egiaze of the board'smeeting. Hoefling v. City of San Antonio, 

### 38 S.W. 1127 (Tex.Civ.App. loy'(,error ref.).Hon. Jimmy Morris, Page 2 (OpinionNo. WW-775)

Procedure for equalizing county taxes is set out in
some detail.

by Arts. 

### 718la et seq.,V.C.S. Art, 7206 directs that, whenever the county board of equalization finds it necessary to raise an assessment,it shall order the county clerk to give notice in writing to the person who rendered theproperty (Sec.5). But where a special assessor, collector, and equalizationboard are provided by the school district, there is no such specificdirection in the statutes as to what officer or agent shallgive suchnotice.

Independent schooldistrict trusteeshave thosepowers expresslygranted by,statute and, as a corollary, those necessarilv imolied in addition or incident to those nranted, and final15 those essential to the accomplishmentof the ob-v jects and purpose of the district. Thompson v. Elmo Independent School Dist., 269 S.W. 868 (Tex.Civ.App.1925). Since it is a mandatory duty of the trustees to provide a board of equalizationbefore which the taxpayermay-appear (Millerv. Vance, supra), the responsibilityof having notice given to maxpayer of the time andplace of suchmeetings rests upon them. This necessarily implies the power to designate the mechanics of how such notice should be given.

SUMMARY

It is not required that the Secretary of the Corsicana Independent School District sign notices to taxpayers of meetings of its Board of Equalization. The Board of Trusteesmay designate the person or persons to execute such notices.
Very truly yours,

WILL WILSON Attorney General

APPROVED:

OPINION COMMITTEE: W. V. Geppert Chairman

Tom McFarling Marvin R. Thomas, Jr. J: Arthur Sandlin Wallace P. Finfrock JRI: bet

REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL: By: Leonard Passmore