? 

Honorable R. V. Rayford 

County Auditor 

Rusk County 

Henderson, Texas 

Dear Sir: 

Opinion MO. O-7537 

Re: 

Xe quote from your recent letter 

Proper fund to be credited 

when ex-County Superintendent 

repays amounts overdrawn 

on salary; and whether 

annual allowance for office 

and travel expense is 

apportlonable by the month. 

to this department: 

"Tne State Department of Education approved 

budget appropriations of ,$3,300.00 salary for County 

Superintendent for the year September 1, 1945 to 

August 31, 1946 and a budy;et appropriation of $300.00 

for office ? travel expense for the County Superintendent 

for the same period. 

"The County Superintendent drew and received the 

following sums from September 1, 1945 to and including 

December 21, 1945 the date his resignation was accepted 

by the Commissioners I Court and a successor appointed: 

"Net Salary Checks 

Withholding Tax on Salary 

wg:g 

Teaciiers Hetirement on Salary 63.46 

Total on Salary , b. 

Salary figures 112/Y% of 

$3,~00.00 (g-1-45 to 12-21-45) l,lG.O3 

Salary overdrawn for above period $L,S70.2'( 

let Checks on tiffice k Travel as 

drawn by County Superintendent 8 533.36 

Office ?.; Travel fi ures for above 

period 112/365 of &300.00 245.42 

tiffice E: Travel Expense ovendrawn 2Ii7.33 

Total Amount Due County A&inistration $1,95~.15 

Fund 
Ron. R. V. Rayford - Page 2, (O-7537) 

“The Ex-County Superintendent haa stated that he is 

willing to repay thiB sum a8 overdrawn but wants to be sure 

that it is paid over to the right fund or department. He 

also questions the method of arriving at the amount credited 

him for Office & Travel Expenses. Stating that the $800.00 

approved for Office & Travel could all be used up in a few 

months and then after the $800.00 approved for this purpose 

is gone, within one month or within any period during the 

school year, that he Is entitled to this expense regardless of 

the time it was consumed, just so long a6 it waB used within 

the school year approved. 

“We rely on the fact that the then Superintendent 

figured his Office and Travel Expenses at the rate of $66.67 

per month and was dl’awing that sum to start with and continued this sum of $66.67 on separate vouchers but drew 8 such 

vouchers,at $6667 lnatead of 3 and a fraction of this sum for 

September, October, November and part of December of 1945 

and also because the Office and Travel Expense occurs each 

month and not all within one month or within a certain limited 

time. It would also work out as in this case If the entire 

$800.00 was used up in 4 months , no funds would be available 

for such operations by the Buccessor of a resigned County 

Superintendent. 

“Our question is have &figured thle in the correct 

manner by using the number of ,dayBhe actually served for both 

salary and the office and travel expense? 

“Second question, Is the refund of the amounts overdrawn to be returned to the County Administration Fund and to 

be used to reduce the assessments against the school district6 

in preparing the next budget, for this office or does it go to 

some other fund or State Department of Education?” 

We submit that the proper way to compute the amount of 

salary overdrawn is aB followa: 

Amount drawn on salary $2,616.10 

Amount earned during period 

Sept. 1, 1945, to Dec. 21, 1945 

($3800 per annum less withholding 

tax and teacher’s retIreme&) 962.07 

Amount overdrawn on salary 

’ 

b54 m 

Plus unearned po&tion;of withholding ’ 

tax paid for December 12.65 

Plus unearned portion of TeacherCB 

Retirement fund payment for December 5.11 

Total amount to be repaid lab 1. 

county 
Hon. E. V. Rayford - Page 3, 10-7537) 

The unearned portion of the payments made in December on 

withholding tax and teacher's retirement should be refunded 

to the county. For the period September 1, 1945, to December 

21, 1945, the withholding tax and teacher's retirement fund payments were actually yearned, and should not be calculated. All 

salary checks drawn by the ex-county superintendent had these 

two payments deducted therefrom, as reflected by your exhibit 

"A" . 

Thus, the amount6 actually drawn less the salary actually 

earned during the period plus the unearned portions of the withholding tax and teacher’s retirement fund payments for December, 

gives the amount which should be repaid to the county. 

In regard to office and travel expense, Article 2700, 

V.A.C.S., provides: 

I, the County Board of Education may make 

f;rih& provisions as it deems necessary for office 

and traveling expenses of the County Superintendent; 

provided that expenditures of the County Superintendent shall not be more than Eight Hundred Dollars 

($800) per annum.). . .I’ 

It is, in our opinion, not mandatory upon the County 

Board of Education to provide for the expenditure of the 

entire sum of $800.00 for office and traveling expenses. It 

is merely incumbent upon said Board to make such provisions 

as they may deem necessary 

purposes shall not exceed G 

provided the sum expended for such 

800.00. 

The statute does not purport to make an annual award in 

the flat sum of $800.00 per annum for said purposes, but places 

a ceiling on such expenditures. It does not follow that the 

intention of the statute is to pay out the entire sum of 

$800.00 in twelve equal installments. The law intends that the 

county superintendent should be reimbursed for office and trave 

expenses actually and necessarily incurred, and the expenses 

for one month may be greater than for other months. 

In other words, the county superintendent Is entitled 

to be reimbursed for all authorized expenses incurred provided 

said expenses do not exceed the statutory ceiling of $800.00. 

In view of Articles 2700; 2700d-1, Section 1; and 2827a, 

Section 1, V.A.C.S., you have correctly concluded that the 

County Administration Expense Fund Is the.proper fund to which 

the amounts overdrawn are to be repaid. 

Considering the provisions of these statutes, we are at 

a loss to understand how the County Superintendent Was able to 
Hon. R. V. Rayford - Page 4, (O-7537) 

dra.u ten separate monthly salary checks in less than four 

months. 

Very truly yours 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

/s/ William B. Henley, Jr. 

BY 

William B. Henley, Jr. 

Assistant 

APPROVED DEC. 21, 1948 

/s/ Harris Toler 

FIRST ASSISTANT 

ATTORNEY GENERAL 

WBH:djm:elb 

APPROVED 

OPINION 

COMMITTEE 

BY B.W.B. 

Chairman