Hon. Edgar Maddox OpinionNo.~O-3&5, county Attorney Be:' Transferericeof propertyfrom the Santo Palo Pinto,County IndependentSchool Districtto the Big Sunday Palo Pinto, Texas Common School Mstrict Number 11 of Erath .county. Dear Sir: +fehave your letter requestingour opinionon the following state of facts: ~@n September11;1935, the County Board of Trusteesof Erath County was requestedby~Hr.H. H. Allen, the owner of a 251-acretract of land, to transfersuch land from the Big Sunday Cmmnon School Dis- trict No. ll~of Erath C~ounty to the Santo IndependentSchool District of Erath and Palo Pinto Counties. On September17, 1935, the trustees of the Big SundayDistrict directeda letter to the County Board of Trusteesadvlsingthe1r.a.greement to the transferof the H. H. Allen 251-acretract to the Santo IndependentSchoolMstrict. The record also~indicatesthat the trusteesof the Santo IndependentSchool.Dis- trict were agreeableto the acceptanceof such land as,a .partof their district. Subsequently,that is, on July 29, 1936,'the~~+unty Board of Trusteesof Erath County officiallytransferredthis propertyto the Santo IndependentSchool District. In the year 1938the Santo Independ- ent School Districtand the Buck Creek Ccmmon School DistrictNo; &l of Palo Pinto Countywere consolidatedand subsequentlyan assumptionelec- tion was held spreadingthe outstandingbonded indebtednessover the newly consolidateddistrict,and on August l3, 1938, an electionwas held wherein the qualifiedpropertytaxpayingvoters of the Santa Inde- pendentSchool Districtauthorizedthe issuanceof $lO,OOO in bonds. The transcriptof the proceedingshad in connectionwith the consolida-~ tion election,the assumptionelectionand the bond election,was sub- mitted to the AttorneyGeneral'sofficefor approval,and it appears from such~proceedingsthat at all times the H. H. Allen 251~acretract of land was a part of the Santa IndependentSchool District. Subsequentto the action taken by the CountyBoard of Trustees relativeto the transferenceof the H. H. Allen tract, there was a Veli- datingAct adoptedby the Forty-fourthLegislature,Third Called Session, carriedforward in the Vernon'sAnnotatedCivil Statutesas Article 2742n. This Act rati5.ed,confirmedand validatedall acts of County Boards of School Trusteesin any county irrthisState in laying out and attempting to establish,combine,abolish or change any independentor common school districtin the county, over which such County Board of Trusteeshad juris- dictionunder and by virtue of Chapter339, Acts of the RegularSession of the Forty-fourthLegislature,1935. In view of this Act and the certified proceedingssubmittedto the AttorneyGeneral in connectionwith the appro- val and issuanceof the bonds of 1938,,we think the conclusionwas properly Hon. Edgar Maddox,page 2 (O-3&d
reachedthat the actiontheretoforetaken by the County Board of School Trusteesin Erath County had-effectively transferredthe tract of land in questfon.
We have carefullystudiedall actionsofthe CountyZoard of Trusteesof Erath County relativeto the H. H. Al1e.n251-acretract of land, and have reachedthe conclugfonthat such tract is legallya part of the Santa IndependentSchool.Bistrict; that the order of October2h, 1939, adoptedby the present County Board of School Trusteesis ineffec- tive. In this order the Cmnty~Board concludedthat the action of the CountyBoard in 1935, with referenceto the ~transference of this land, was illegaland thereuponendeavoredto rescindsuch transfer.
We.thinkthe conclusionof the,Board as to the illegalityof the transferincorreot,and that the H. H. Allen tractmust remain a part of the Santa IndependentSchool'Districtuntil such time as proper legal steps arstaken to excludeit therefrom.
Pours very truly
ATTORNEY GENEBALOF TEXAS
By /s/ ClarenceE. Crowe ClarenceE. Crowe, Assistant
APPNOVEWXU 16, 19Ll ./s/GroverSellers.