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 applidationof 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; ~lnpart, 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 determinedby 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 maintaininga fouryearaccredited high school, may be allotted by the State Commlsslonerof Education as many professionalunits as,were provided during the school year 1948-1949;provideId that the State Commlsslonerof Education shallHon. J. W. Edgar; pc)ge 2 (V-1551)

take Into consideration the density and distribution

of.populationin,

the district, road cond,itloq,

and the proximityof the : school to another fou+year.accredltedhigh 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, containingthen more than 100 square miles of area, operated and maintained a four-year accreditedhigh school. During the 1948-1949 school year this districtyas provided 18 white and 6 colored profeslonal units under the 'general

ellglbilltyprovisionsof 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 IndependentSohQol Districts comprised of

. . .:(100) square mll&s or more, and that are no.n

accreditedand equipped to maintain
a twelve.,(12)

grade school with sixteen (16) br moye.affllUted high school units, and havlng,a scholasticpopulationof .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 1948-1944year the atiolastlcpopulation 6i?

Bracket& independentdistrict averaged more than one pupil per square mile.

In May 1951,~thei

Spofford Common School District was arinexed ,tothe .Brackett

district. During the 1948-1949year, the~spofforddistrict was provlded~3'white professional

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

Brackett districtwas .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 districtwill be'~entitled~to

15 whiee and:

4 colored profes- .slonalunits '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

48-1949, 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.sparsedistrict wz~thin'

the meaning'

bf'thatstatute.

As originallysub.mitted in the Legislature, Senate Blll'llg, supra,;'eontafned no-sparse-district exceptionprovision.:S.:J. 5lst Leg;, B.S. 1949 p. 81: S.J. Supp. Jan. :25;::1949i .Sudha.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>

,.,." "Providedthat every.publlcschool 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

SZIotmentsfor 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,; eventuallywent 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 demonstratesthat as originallyfrziinad

then gene+1 ~~~ovlslons of Article III of Senate.Bill116;,appert$fnii& to district 'ellgiblllty for professIona iuiSta,'we~& td"applygenerally to 'all school dl$tridtawlttiotit, &X+&ion. The cited rejected amendmetit~~Pcjfledt"th~'effoPt'&de to preserve for school districtsat least tH0nini@M:naimber of tbachers allowed th&ln.'the',

1$k8-194g‘$fdti,'under House Bill 295, supra. "llie

cite& adop%ed amendmentwas more limited in Its scope, and~as it 'em&rg&d'.&t'~of confezence.bommlttee, the dlsoretldnof the allotment.a$ency waa further 1lmLted to~all+Monly ,inits' 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 the apparentpurpose' of paragraph 4 .I 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 provisionsof the Act. It was to prcvldethose' districts then existing
as sparse .dlstricts'whlch'metthe'sparse requirementsof the Act, and whlc'h then had facilities for and were then operatlngand mafnta'lnlng a four-yearaccreditedhigh school,with a teaching 'or professionalstaff a,t least comparable~ln'numbers;,, at the discretionof 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 "ofArtlole 2922-1.3, ,shouId have applloatlon'

to. districtswh$ch subsequentto: the"schoo1 yearIg48-49 metthe sparse'reqiilrements.of that provlslon, lt‘cbuld and~wouldhavedeleted 'the' word ~"now!

,from Its Immediatelyfollowlngrequiziements, orprepared~the phrase'toread "nor or-hereafter"equippedwlth school facilities to maU&s; and :J&?iow or hereafter operatlng and maintalnlng'afou+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 EducationAgency 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.sparsddistrict clause could have appllcat'lon~~thereto'.

The leglslativehistory 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 submittedfacts, the Brackett Independent S&ho01 Districtwas not a sparse dlstrict in 1948-1949 year, thereforeparagraph 4 of Artlcle'292243, V.C;S..,:wculd have ~no application in the deterinlnatlon of Its professionalunit allcwabUs. '

APPRMED:

J. C. Dgvls. Jr. Yours v:~y truly,

PRICE DANIEL AttdrneyGeneral
County .~ffalrs

Division

E. Jacobson Rev%wXng .&sir&ant

.,. ,- ._ i .,

. ,. * ,,. Charles D. Mathews First~Asslstant '

BW:am