Hon. Odls Tomachefsky         Oplnlon No. V-663
County Attorney
Washington County             Re: Legallty,of member of
Brenham, Texas                    County School Board
                                  contracting with a
                                  local school district
                                  for the s,aleof gaso-
                                  line for repairs for
                                  Its school busses.
Dear Sir:
          We refer to your letter request on the follow-
ing question:
          "Can a member of the Board of County
     School Trustees sell gasoline 'toa school
     district, and can such Board member do re-
     pair work on school busses belonging to
     local school districts located In the.coun-
     ty where such member,,lsa member of the
     County School Board.
          Article 2687a, Vernon's Civil Statutes, re-
lates to lntradistrlctitransportation of pupils. It p?o-
vldes for the making of a contract by the trustees of an
Independent or common school district for such transpor-
tation and contains other provisions not necessary here
to state. Roblson v. Draper, ly3 Tex. 280, 127 S.W.(2d)
181.
          Article V, Ii.B. 295, of Acts of 1947, 50th
Legislature, relates to Interdistrict as well as the
lntradlstrlct transportation of pupils. It provides
that the County School Board and County Superintendent,
subject to the approval of the State Superintendent of
Public Instruction, may set up the most efficient sys-
tem of transportation possible for the purpose of trans-
porting pupils from their district:;and within their dis-
tricts. It further provides for the making of R contract
by the County Board of Trustees for bus drivers for such
transportation; and the payment of snlarles of same out
of the County Board.Transportatlon Fund when said drlv-
Hon. Odls Tomachefsky, page 2   (V-663)


em are employed by the County Board, and that the Coun-
ty Board of Education shall distribute funds In the
County Board Transportation Fund equitably to the eligl-
ble districts who have properly shown budgetary need for
State aid In accordance wlth provisions of the Act.
(Opinion No. V-139).
          Article XIV of Ii.,B.295 provides that "All
motor vehicles Including busses and bus bodies, tires
and tubes, purchased for or by any school district re-
ceiving aid under the terms of any equalization act. . .
shall be purchased by and through the Board of Control.
And no such school district or its officers or employees
shall have the power to purchase for such school dis-
trlct any of such Items except in those instances where-
in an emergency requires an immediate purchase thereof,
to be reported to and approved by the Board of Control."
          The Immediate control and management of the
various school districts of Texas Is in their respective
local boards of trustees and the school laws vest In
them the power to contract for their needs. Articles
2749, 2780, 2827 and 2774a, Section 4, V. C. S. having
authority to operate a transportation system for their
scholastics, district boards of trustees have the power
and do contract for gasoline and repairs for their busses
necessary in the operation of that system. This the lo-
cal board may do without the approval of the County School
Board or the State Board of Control. In cases of emergen-
cy they may contract or purchase,without approval from
the Board of Control, those Item8 ordinarily requiring
approval of the State Board as set out In Article XIV,
H. B. 295.
          Clearly, therefore, the business of purch,as-
ing or contracting for gasoline or repairs on school
busses owned by local-school districts is the business
of the local school district boards and constitutes no
part of the functions of the county board of school trus-
tees.
          This office has heretofore held that the sale
of gasoline or other supplies by a person to a school
district, such person being a trustee of the school d!.s-.
trlct to which the supplies are sold 1s void as against
public policy. Opinions Nos;.o-1583, O-1014, O-2755,
O-878, O-2306. It is well established In Texas that
contracts entered Into by a public officer in his offl-
clal capacity are illegal and void l.fsuch officer eith-
 Hon. Odls'Tomachefsky, page 3    (v-6U3)                  :rri;



 er directly or lndiroctly tin::a pec\lnln
                                         ry lnl:.c:f*<?::t
                                                      ln
 such contract.  Moyortr v. Walker, :"(!;
                                        :;.W..3ir's,
                                                  and  .qutll-
 oritles therein ci.ted;A. G, 0p1111011W1'~!~0.
           In the situation under consideration herein,
 it Is our understanding that the sale of gasoline and
 repairs for school busses belonging to the local school
 districts for the transportation of its scholastics are
 consummated between the local school board and a person
 who Is a member of the County School Board. Further,
 that the contracts for gasoline or repairs are entered
 Into by the County Board member as an individual pri-
 vately engaged in such business enterprise, and not in
 his official capacity as a County Board member.
           In Opinion No. o-1589 this office held that
 although Article 373, Penal Code, makes it unlawful for
 an officer of a county, city or town to sell gasoline
 to said county, city or town, It does not make it un-
 lawful for said officer to sell gasoline to an lndepen-
 dent school dlstrlct.
            It Is, therefore, our opinion that the sale of
  gasoline or repairs to a local school district to be
 used In the operation of its locally owned school busses
 by a person who Is a member of the County Board of School
  Trustees Is permissible and Is not per se void as against
 public policy. The relationship alone of the County Board
  member to the County School Board is not sufffclent, we
 'believe, to invalidate the contract. We assume in con-
 nection with your question that the County Board member
 exerts no overt pressure stemming from his official posi-
  tion as a member of the County Board in his contracts
 with the local school boards of his county.


           The sale of gasoline or repairs to a
      local school district to be used in the
      operation of its locally o.wnodschool busses
      by a person who Is a member of the Coanty
      Board of School Tru::teesis permissible and
      is not void per se as against public policy.
                                     Your:-.
                                           very truly,
 AP ROVED:     ,                 ATTORIJEYGENERAL OF TEXAS

3'      'ASSISTANT               By&z-e-
 A1rA RNEY GENERAL                  Chester E. Ollison
  CEO:mw                            Assistant
