ARTICLE VII.

EDUCATION-THE PUBLIC FREE SCHOOLS.

SEC. I. A general diffusion of knowledge being essential to the preservation of the liberties and rights of the people, it shall be the duty of the legislature of the state to establish and make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools.

Towns and cities have no power to levy taxes for school purposes other than those expressly authorized by this constitution, and this section does not give legislature power to direct levy of such taxes as may be necessary in each school district to support free schools. Ft. Worth v. Davis, 57 T., 231.

This section and section 3 of this article, authorized the passage of the act of 1893, giving school trustees power to buy school furniture. McGee v. Franklin Pub. Co., 39 S. W. R., 335.

Neither under this section or section 30 of article 16 can the legislature give a four years' term to the of fice of school trustee created by them. Kimbrough v. Barnett, 55 S. W. R., 120.

Sec. 2. All funds, lands and other property heretofore set apart and appropriated for the support of public schools; all the alternate sections of land reserved by the state out of grants heretofore made or that may

hereafter be made to railroads, or other corporations, of any nature whatsoever; one-half of the public domain. of the state; and all sums of money that may come to the state from the sale of any portion of the same, shall constitute a perpetual school fund.

The constitution did not set apart an undivided one-half of the entire public domain to the public school fund. G. H. & S. A. Ry. Co. v. St., 77 T., 367, 12 S. W. R., 988, 13 S. W. R., 619.

The clause "one-half of the public domain" means. that it holds beyond legislative control, whatever portion of the public domain remained after the execution of the enumerated purposes. Id.

The clause "set apart and appropriated for the support of public schools, and all alternate sections of land reserved by the state out of grants heretofore made or that may hereafter be made to railway companies,' means that the school fund is to receive one section and the corporations the others. Id.

This section, Sec. 15 of this article, and Sec. 57 of Art. 16, construed. Id.

This section does not constitute the relation of trustee on the part of the state. Smission v. St., 71 T., 222, 9 S. W. R., 112.

The lands belong to the state as fully as they did before they were appropriated to the public purpose by this section. Id.

This section does not prohibit the leasing of the school lands. The dedication simply withdraws from the legislature the power to appropriate the lands sold to any other purpose than the public schools. Id.

Act of 1883 and contracts under, if for the lease of public school lands, were valid. Arnold v. St., 71 T., 239, 9 S. W. R., 120.

This section left the mode of partition, except to alternate sections granted to corporations, wholly to

the legislative control and did not contemplate a division as a whole. Hogue v. Baker, 92 T., 58, 45 S. W. R., 1004.

Where the legislature had permitted the appropriation of one-half of the undivided public domain the remaining one-half belongs equitably to the public school fund, and is not subject to settlement under laws providing for homestead donations. Id.

Under this section public land remaining after appropriation or more than one-half of the public domain. existing at the time of the adoption of the constitution belongs to the public school fund and the same can be leased by the commissioner. Hall v. Rushing, 54 S. W. R., 31.

[Sec. 3, Art. 7, declared adopted September 25, 1883.]

SEC. 3. One-fourth of the revenue derived from the state occupation taxes, and a poll tax of one dollar on every male inhabitant of this state between the ages of twenty-one and sixty years, shall be set apart annually for the benefit of the public free schools, and, in addition thereto, there shall be levied and collected an annual ad valorem state tax of such an amount, not to exceed twenty cents on the one hundred dollar valuation, as, with the available school fund arising from all other sources, will be sufficient to maintain and support the public free schools of this state for a period of not less than six months in each year; and the legislature may also provide for the formation of school districts within all or any of the counties of this state, by general or special law, without the local notice required

in other cases of special legislation, and may authorize an additional annual ad valorem tax to be levied and collected within such school districts for the further maintenance of public free schools and the erection of school buildings therein; provided, that two thirds of the qualified property tax-paying voters of the district, voting at an election to be held for that purpose, shall vote such tax, not to exceed in any one year twenty cents on the one hundred dollars valuation of the property subject to taxation in such district, but the limitation upon the amount of district tax herein authorized shall not apply to incorporated cities or towns constituting seperate and independent school districts.

The act of 1881, providing that a tax shall be levied if two-thirds of the tax-payers voting shall vote therefor, is constitutional. Werner v. Galveston, 72 T., 22, 12 S. W. R., 159, 7 S. W. R., 726, affirmed; Ft. Worth v. Davis, 57 T., 225; Dwyer v. Hockworth, 57 T., 245.

In a petition of twenty property tax-paying voters residing in the district, asking for an election to determine whether a school tax shall be levied, it is not necessary that the names of the petitioners appear on the last assessment role of the county. Rhomberg v. McLaren, 21 S. W. R., 571, 2 C. A., 391.

This section does not prohibit the use of funds, raised one year, in the payment of liabilities created during a previous year. Culberson v. Bank, 50 S. W. R., 195.

This section allows election but for two purposes; to supplement the state school fund and for the erection of school buildings. Land and Cattle Co. v. McCabe, 72 T., 59, 12 S. W. R., 165.