December' 10, 1952 

Hon. J. W. Edgar Opinion No. V-1551 

Commissioner of Education 

Texas Education Agency Re: 

Austin, Texas ~- 

Dear Sir: 

Authority of State Commissioner of Education to 

allot Bracket& independent 

School District profess,ional 

unitS: under the sparse 

district clause, Par. 4. of 

Article2922-lj, V.C.S. 

We refer to your request for'an oplnlon of this 

office concerning t)Le applidation of the sparse district 

clause (,Par. 4 of Sec. 1, Art:2922-'i3, V.C.S.) to 'a 

submitted fact situation. This clause appears in the 

Cilmer-Aik$n law, effective.Jirne 8; 1949. S.B., H-6, 

Acts 5ist L+gr, R.S. 1949, ch. 334, p. 625, Art. III, 

Sec. 1. Your Lnqulryreads In substance as follows: 

The firstand fourthparagraphs of Artlcle 2922-u, V.C.S., read; ~ln part, as 

followst 

"Section 1. The number of, professional 

units allotted for the purposes of this Act 

to each achooldistrlct, except as othernise 

provided herein,.shall be baaed upon and 

determined by the average dally attendance 

for the district for the next preceding 

school year, separate for whites and separate 

for negroes. ~. . . ., 

"Provided further, that any school dlstrictcontalnlng one hundred (100) square' 

miles or more and having fewer than one (1) 

pupil per square ,mlle, andwhich is now 

equipped with school fac1llitles to maintain, 

and is now operating and maintaining a fouryearaccredited high school, may be allotted 

by the State Commlssloner of Education as 

many professional units as,were provided 

during the school year 1948-1949; provideId 

that the State Commlssloner of Education shall 
Hon. J. W. Edgar; pc)ge 2 (V-1551) 

take Into consideration the density and 

distribution of.population in, the district, 

road cond,itloq, and the proximity of the : 

school to another fou+year.accredlted high 

school in maklngsuch al3otments." 

In 1949 (,durl 

2 

the X948-49 school year 

when Senate E.i$l 11 supra, became effective) 

the Braokett Indepeh$entYSchool District, 

containing then more than 100 square miles of 

area, operated and maintained a four-year 

accredited high school. During the 1948-1949 

school year this district yas provided 18 

white and 6 colored profeslonal units under 

the 'general ellglbillty provisions of the 

thenStat& Ald'Law ,(Pari'l,.Sec. 1 of Art. I 

Acts 50th,Leg., R.S.,,1947, ch. 228, 

not by.vlrtue.of'the sparse distriot ~exemptlonolause (Par..3, Sec. 1 of Art. 

I,R.B.295, supra). 

.Tj-~e sps?cie c~@use ~in&~uee Bill 295 

read In m asp fo@e~:~, _ 

. .,.-An&be it further provided that 

Independent SohQol Districts comprised of 

. . .: (100) square mll&s or more, and that 

are no.n accredited and equipped to maintain 

a twelve.,(12) grade school with sixteen 

(16) br moye.affllUted high school units, 

and havlng,a scholastic population of .less 

thhn . ; . (1) per square mile In the mrict 

may be exempt from the'avwage dally attendance and teacher-pupil quota requirements 

of this Act. . .- 

For the 1948-1944 year the atiolastlc population 6i? Bracket& independent district averaged 

more than one pupil per square mile. 

In May 1951,~thei Spofford Common School 

District was arinexed ,to the .Brackett district. 

During the 1948-1949 year, the~spofford district was provlded~3'white professional units 

under House Bill 295;supra. Thus the territory now constituting the area of the enlarged 
Hon. J. W. Edgar, page 3 (V-1551) 

Brackett district was .provided 21 white and 

6 c~olor'ed,professional:un~t$ In ~the 1948-1949 

school year. 

The 1952 schol~a&c'oensus disoloses 

that tlie Brackett distrl&t; with an area of 

more W&n lOO,.square miles, now,has fewer than 

(l)pupSl.per square mlle~;::The district is 

eqiilpped with school 'fabilltles to maintain 

and-is' now maintainlng'a~iid:operatlng a fouryear'accredited high school. On the basis of 

its~a.tirage dally attendanbe ~the district will 

be'~entitled~to 15 whiee and: 4 colored profes- 

.slonal units 'forthe, school year'l952-1953, 

unWr 'the general pr~ovlsions of Par. 1 of 

Art,+p+ '2922-l.; 

'The Texas Central Education &ency oontends that the sparse: di'strlct olause,~ (Par. 

4‘of"‘ATt'. 2922-13)~applle's :onl to those distrlcts',whibh were.sparseXn 19 4 8-1949, and 

whlhh,me.t the others sp:ec&fi,catlons of the 

Act; The Braokett district contends that it 

aBplles to their ,~d1strSc't,.which~~ though not ~, 

sparse.in 1$@-1949,.'iEj: now~a.sparse district 

wz~thin' the meaning' bf'thatstatute. 

As originally sub.mitted in the Legislature, 

Senate Blll'llg, supra,;'eontafned no-sparse-district 

exception provision.: S.:J. 5lst Leg;, B.S. 1949 p. 81: 

S.J. Supp. Jan. :25;::1949i .Sudh a.provislon was adopted 

in the Senates as~anamendmerit to Section 1 of Article 

III of that bill, adding thereto the following: . '- 

11 

. . . 

"p&i'&d 'ipu&& c&&t' iln '&j school 

dls~rl~t ,oontainingone:hundred (100) square 

m.tIes ~'oraore andhav%g'fewer than one (1) 

pupil'per 'sq~are.,mile,~ :and 'which 3s now 

erjutppea with’ school.:fatin;itses to.malntain 

and‘is nowoperatlng~ Lana :InBintaining a .four 

(4) year'accredited.hlgh school, additional 

classroom4eaoher unitaoverand above those 

listed below may beg allowed,by.the Central 

Educatlon~ Agency.", (,%I., supra, p. 231). 
. . 

Hon. J. W. Edgar, page,4 (!;+5.51) 

Later amendments were offered in, but tabled by, 

both the Senate aiid House'khiXti--read> ,.,." 

"Provided that every.publlc school in 

Texas.shall 'be, gUaran%&3'as a minimum, at 

least the 'same~nkmbeli'~f'teaohers to which 

they nepe entitled for'the 1948-49 school 

y&u- uflder the'provislotiti'of S.B.'167 'enacted by the' 50th L+gislatFe"',(S.J. supra, 

p. 252;cHope 'Journal;' STis't.Le'g., RS.' 1949, 

p. 1807). ,., ,____ 

The reference therein to "S-B. 167" was erroneous; it was 

House Bill' 295 +5f the 50th IKiXature which provided for 

tea~cher SZIotments for th&Yi~: & I??:49 &ho,o,l 'year. . 

Another amendment offered In, but tabled by, 

the Semte~ &aa:' (,I,,~ ; .'',' Y<.“'-~' '~,ii 

'&y county-wide~shh~ol district having 

fewer.thtiti~'& 'pupfl~:~per~~uare'ldil'and ,whioh 

1s .” fioy. ope~~~ingrana,~,~~~‘d~~-~e;d’ four-year ;hiBh; * 

s&&l"&&11 TBe' pefi~~Y&&:tb: emplojr Ias my 

teachers -88' were"&iplog&d'by '&aid district 

dU+lxig'the stihool' y+‘:~+8+ (S:.J.,~ p. 254) ; ;, .: ,~ .: 

Senate Bill 116, as amended,; eventually went to a Confetienoe~Cihimltt&e of ~the,U~g141Xture,. The c~odference' 

report "ado'ted by the SenatF&id 'the House, (S. J. pp. 

1290;,1302p oontalne'd'the~Bp,a&s'e district clause quoted 

herein as p&graph 4'oi Ar't$'&l&i 2922-13. ., ~., .: ,.. 

This legislative &story demonstrates that as 

originally frziinad then gene+1 ~~~ovlslons of Article III 

of Senate.Bill 116;,appert$fnii& to district 'ellgiblllty 

for professIona iuiSta,'we~& td"apply generally to 'all 

school dl$tridta wlttiotit, &X+&ion. The cited rejected 

amendmetit~~Pcjfledt"th~'effoPt'&de to preserve for school 

districts at least tH0nini@M:naimber of tbachers allowed th&ln.'the', 1$k8-194g‘$fdti,'under House Bill 295, 

supra. "llie cite& adop%ed amendment was more limited in 

Its scope, and~as it 'em&rg&d'.&t'~of confezence.bommlttee, 

the dlsoretldn of the allotment.a$ency waa further 1lmLted 

to~all+Monly ,in its' dlsoFetS:bn, as many professional 

units as were provided ~~lrig'the.school year 1948-1949." 
. , 

Hon. J. W. Edgar, page 5 (V-1551) 

In shorty .I the apparentpurpose' of paragraph 4 

of Article 2922-13; was to%lIow thcis.e school districts 

coming within its. exceptlon~niore'.IjrQfessidnal.oYlits. than 

they might be entltled.under',tkie'~'gerieral provisions of 

the Act. It was to prcvldethose' districts then existing 

as sparse .dlstricts'whlch'metthe'sparse requirements of 

the Act, and whlc'h then had facilities for and were then 

operatlng and mafnta'lnlng a four-year accredited high 

school, with a teaching 'or professional staff a,t least 

comparable ~ln'numbers;,, at the discretion of the Commlssloner, to that enjoyed by the district In the 19484949 

year under House Bill 295, supra. 

Had the, Legislature 1ntended:~that the exception 

provided .q-~.paragi+i:=4 "of Artlole 2922-1.3, ,shouId have 

applloatlon' to. districts wh$ch subsequentto: the"schoo1 

yearIg48-49 metthe sparse'reqiilrements.of that provlslon, lt‘cbuld and~would havedeleted 'the' word ~"now! ,from 

Its Immediately followlng requiziements, orprepared~ the 

phrase'to read "nor or-hereafter" equipped wlth school 

facilities to maU&s; and :J&?iow or hereafter operatlng 

and maintalnlng'a fou+ye& ‘accredl~d~hfgli 'school." To 

give effect to' the 'words~'how" appearing In that excep-- 

tlon clause,: In the manner contended by'the Brackett 

district, would 'b,e to construe such words as surplusage 

and without meaning, and to'attrlbute~to them a meaning 

at variance with the Intended purpose for which they 

were Inserted In the Act. '. 

Therefore, we agree,with the Texas Central 

Education Agency that the sparse district clause (Par. 4 

of Article 2922-13~‘applles'only to those school distrl&ts 

which metthe sparse requirements In the school year 19&a1949, and which met also theother specifications of the 

Act. The~Bra~okett district; under the facts submitted 

not having met the sparse requirements In the 1948-1949 

school year, such.sparsd district clause could have 

appllcat'lon~~thereto'. 

The leglslative history concerning then 

enactmentof paragraph 4 of Article 2922-13, 

V.C.S., reveals that same should have appllcatlon only to such districts as were sparse 

districts in the schcol'year 1948G949: under 
. . . 

. . . 

Hon. J. W. Edgar, Page 6 (V-1551) 

the submitted facts, the Brackett Independent S&ho01 District was not a sparse dlstrict in 1948-1949 year, therefore paragraph 

4 of Artlcle'292243, V.C;S..,:wculd have ~no 

application in the deterinlnatlon of Its professional unit allcwabUs. ' 

APPRMED: 

J. C. Dgvls. Jr. 

Yours v:~y truly, 

PRICE DANIEL 

Attdrney General 

County .~ffalrs Division 

E. Jacobson 

Rev%wXng .&sir&ant 

.,. ,- ._ i .,. ,. * ,,. 

Charles D. Mathews 

First~Asslstant ' 

BW:am