Naruna Common School Dist. No. 8 v. Steele

229 S.W.2d 107, 1950 Tex. App. LEXIS 2024
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 5, 1950
DocketNo. 9845
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 229 S.W.2d 107 (Naruna Common School Dist. No. 8 v. Steele) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Naruna Common School Dist. No. 8 v. Steele, 229 S.W.2d 107, 1950 Tex. App. LEXIS 2024 (Tex. Ct. App. 1950).

Opinion

GRAY, Justice.

This is an appeal by appellants (Naruna Common School District No. 8 of Burnet County, Texas, acting by and through its trustees, joined by other parties at interest) from a judgment denying .their petition praying that the County Judge of Burnet County be required to call an election to determine whether or not Naruna Common School District No. 8 should be consolidated with the Lampasas Independent School District, and praying for temporary in-junctive relief.

Naruna Common School District No. 8 will be hereafter referred to as Naruna and the County Board of School Trustees of Burnet County as the Board.

Naruna was a county line district composed of lands in Burnet County and in Lampasas County. It had some thirty scholastics but no school had been held in the district for the past six years, during which time these scholastics have attended the Lampasas Independent School. The administrative control of Naruna was vested in the Board.

Naruna adjoined the Burnet Independent School District and the Lampasas Independent School District.

On June 28, 1949, the Board passed its order consolidating Naruna with the Bur-net Independent School District. This order was passed without Lampasas County being consulted. One of the trustees of Naruna was notified of this meeting and he notified another trustee and they attended the meeting, but, further than this, the wishes of the Naruna trustees or the residents of the district were not inquired into by the Board. On the same day, but after the order of consolidation was passed, appellants presented a petition to the County Judge of Burnet County praying that an election be called to determine whether or not Naruna should be consolidated with the Lampasas Independent School District. The County Judge refused this petition for the reason that the Board had already passed the order consolidating Naruna with the Burnet Independent School District.

It is admitted that Naruna was a dormant district as that term is defined in Section 8 of S.B. 116, Acts of the Regular Session of the 51st Legislature, 1949, Vernon’s Ann. Civ.St. art. 2922 — 18. It is also conceded by all parties that the action taken by the Board was pursuant to Section 8 of S.B. 116, which provides:

“Within thirty (30) days from the effective date of this Act, the County Board of [109]*109Trustees of the several counties of the State .are hereby authorized and required to consolidate by order of said Board each dormant school district within the county (as herein defined) with an adjoining district or districts. The term ‘dormant’ as used herein shall mean any school district that fails, for any two (2) successive years subsequent to 1946-1947 school year, to operate a school in the district for the race having the greater number of enumerated scholas-tics in the district. The Board of Trustees for the district with which such dormant school district is consolidated shall continue to serv,e, and be, the Board of Trustees for the new district. In each such case, the consolidation order of the County Board of Trustees shall define by legal boundary description the territory of the new district as so enlarged and extended, and said order, including the description of the district, shall be recorded in the minutes ■of the County Board of Trustees and otherwise as provided by law. Elections shall he held in such consolidated districts for the assumption of outstanding bonds, if any, for the levying of taxes therefor, and for the levying of a local máintenance tax; said elections to be ordered and held as -now provided by law.

“If a countyline district is or becomes ■dormant, as herein defined, the provisions ■of this Act shall apply and be followed by the several counties affected to the extent ■of the territory ip each respective county.

“It is hereby declared to be the intention •of the Legislature that all property subject to school district taxation within the State of Texas be included within the limits of a school district and that a proper and proportionate tax be paid thereon for .school purposes. Within thirty (30) days from the effective date of this Act, and at any time that it may be determined there is territory located in a county and not ■within the described limits of a school district, the County Board of Trustees of such ■county are hereby authorized and required to add such territory to an adjoining district or districts and the provisions herein made with reference to recording and defining the area of the new district thus ■enlarged, with reference to assumption of bonds, authorization of a tax therefor, and for a local maintenance tax, shall be followed in all such cases.

“The provisions herein for the consolidation of school districts by order of the County Board of Trustees shall be applicable only in the instances and circumstances herein enumerated, and shall not be construed to repeal, supersede or limit any existing statute providing other methods for school district consolidation and annexation.”

The order of consolidation as entered in the minutes of the Board described the area so consolidated as the Naruna Common School District, and provided that the boundaries of the consolidated district created by the order “are established and defined” by therein making reference to the minutes of the Board. It is shown such area includes territory in both Burnet and Lampasas counties.

On July 30, 1949, appellants presented their petition to the district judge praying for injunctive relief, a restraining order was issued and the cause set down for hearing on August 10, 1949. On a day subsequent to July 30th but prior to August 10th, the Board met and considered the order of June 28th, recognized such order included lands in Lampasas County but, because of the restraining order then in force, took no action.

For a reversal of the trial court’s judgment denying them relief,. appellants here present four points.

By points one, two and three they say the order of consolidation is void because: (1) consent of Lampasas County, the other county affected, was not obtained; (2) the whole of the county line district including the Lampasas County lands-,was consolidated; and (3) the same is arbitrary and unreasonable and, under the circumstances, constitutes an abuse of discretion. And, by point 4 they say the order is void because S.B. 116, Vernon’s Ann.St. art. 2922 — 11 et seq., is unconstitutional for ■the reason it contains more than one subject.

By the terms of Section 8, supra, the county boards are “authorized and re[110]*110quired” to consolidate, by order of said board, each dormant school district within the county with an adjoining- district or districts. It makes this provision apply to any county line district that “is or becomes dormant,” and provides that the provisions- of the act shall apply' and be followed by the several counties affected “to the extent of the territory in each respective county.”

We think that by the provisions of Section 8, supra, the Legislature plainly and directly commanded the county school trustees of the several .counties to consolidate dormant school districts with an adjoining district or districts, and that, as applicable to dormant county line districts, the provisions clearly limit the authority of the county boards to the lands lying in their respective counties. There is nothing in the section to suggest that the Legislature intended that the authority of any one board to act is dependent on the consent of other affected counties.

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229 S.W.2d 107, 1950 Tex. App. LEXIS 2024, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/naruna-common-school-dist-no-8-v-steele-texapp-1950.