R-700

September 3, 1947

Hon. L. A. Woods State Superintendent of Public,Instruction Department of Education Austin, Texas

Attn: Hon. T. M. Trlmble OpinionNo. V-363

First Assistant Re: Application of Sec. 2 of Art. III, of 5. B. 167, 49th Leg., as amended bg Acts 1947,

Dear Sir: 50th Leg., R.S., S. B. 21, where teachers
were willing to teach eight months but were allowed to teach but
seven.

We refer to your letter of recent date wherein you request to be advised conclernlng the proper application of th,e

Equalization Law, Section 2, of Article III, S. B. 167, Acts 1945, 49th Legislature, as amended by Acts 1947, 50th Legislature,R. S., 5. B. 21, to a'situation submitted in said letter, in substance,as follows:

Eleven negro teachers in Falls County have qualifiedunder the provisions of the Rural Aid OP Equalization Law, S. B. 167, 49th Legislature, for salary aid for a period of eightmonths. The applications for State aid under this bill submittedby the school districts involvedwere approved by the Director of .Equalizationand also by the Joint LegislativeAccountant to cover a period of eightmonths. It has come to
our attention that the teacherswere allowed to teach only sevenmonths; they would have taught the full eightmonths, if they bad been requested to do so.Hon. L. A. Woods - Page 2 b-363)

By Acts 1947, 50th Legislature,R. S., S. B. 21, 'thesalaries of teachers in State aid schoolswere raised $75.00 per month for the last four schoolmonths of the school year 1946-1947. The elevennegro teachers, teachers in unaccredited schools,received
no part of the $300.00 additional salary allowancewhich was approved and granted them by this Department,and saidmoney Is
now on deposit in the county depository.
Question: Are the eleven teachers entitled to any of the $300.00 additional salarywhich was granted for the last four months of the school term to teachers in EqualizationAid schools, or should the entire amount of $300.00 per teacherbe refunded, along with the salaries for the eighth month which has been sent to the county?

flee for of Falls

1.8, In response to the written request of this ofadditional Information, the County Superintendent County wrote as follows:

"In answer to your letter of August concerning the eleven negro teachers did not teach for months during schoolyear of I submit the wno the following: Some of these teachersbrought their term reports in at the end of the seventhmonth without asking anything about the length of term. I then checked the files left in this officeby the preceding administrationand found that of these eleven teachers, onehad a contract for six months; four for sevenmonths; three with no specifiedlength of term on the contract;and for three, no contract for theyear.l946-47 is on file. All the teacherswho held an eightmonth contract taught the full length term. So far as I know, none of the above teachers.weredismissed from teaching the last month of the term; and as to an appeal from any possible dismissal that I know nothing about, there has been none made to this office.Hon. L. A. Woods - Page 3 (V-363)

Section 2 of Article III, of S. B. 167, supra, as amended, in so far as the same is pertinent to the question submittedherein, provides:

"Thebase pay for classroom teachers in unaccredited schools shallbe One Hundred Thirty-five ($135)Dollars per month for eight (8)months.
rt

. . . I,

. . . The annual salary of teachers in unaccredited schools shallbe the monthly salarymultipliedby eight (8).
11

. . . It is further provided as a temporary method to more adequately compensate teachers

. . . in State aid schools for the school year 1946-47, that in addition to the base salary, increment,and allowances authorized in this Section, there shallbe paid to teachers teaching in State aid schools,
an amount'not'to exceed Seventy-five ($75) Dollars at the end of each of the last.four (4) schoolmonths of the schoolyear 1946- 

## i947:”

Article 2900, V.C.S., lows: provides in part

"Allavailablepublic school funds of this State shallbe appropriated in each county for the education alike of white and colored children,and impartialprovisions shall be made for both races.

. ." as folArticle 2906, V.C.S., provides in part: 9,

. . .A schoolmonth shall consist of not less than twenty school days Inclusive of holidays, and shallbe taught for not less than sevenhours each Gay, including intermissions and recesses.
Article 2750,V.C.S., provides that school trustees of a district shallmake contractswith teachers to teach the public schools of their district, but the cornpensatlon to a teacher, under a written contract so made, shallbe approved by the county superintendentbefore theHon. L. A. Woods - Page 4 (V-363)

school Is taught, stating that the teacherwill teach such school 

### for the time and money specified in the contract. See also Articles 2693, 2781, V.C.S. Said school trustees,under Article 2749,have the power to employ and dismiss teachers,but in case of dismissal, teachers shallhave the right of appeal to the county and state superintendent. Moore C.S.D.No. 2 v. Frio County Board, 90 S.W. (2d) 288.

The facts submittedadvise that the eleven teachers in questionwere employed by the proper school authorities, that they did teach for a period of seven schoolmonths in the schoolyear 1946-1947,and that they would have taught the eighth or last schoolmonth in the school tear if they had been requested to do so. None of the said teachers employedwere under a written contract for a period of eightmonths. The facts submitted further show that one teacherhad a contract for six months, four for sevenmonths, threehad a contract providing no specific length of term, and as to the remaining three teachers no contract for the schoolyear 1946-1947 can be found. We are informed also that the schools taught by these teachers are unaccredited schools and that the school districts involvedmade application and qualified for State salary aid under S. B. 167 

### for a period of eightmonths in the schoolyear 1946-1947.

It is clear that the unaccredited schooldlstricts in question have made applicationand received State aid under the provisions of S. B. 167 as amended for a period of eight schoolmonths, and that the schools in questionwere operated only for a period of seven months. It Is clear also from the facts that the school districts Involvedhave not conformed to the statutesabove quoted governing teacher contractsand the employment of teachersby schooldistricts.

Section 2 of Article III, 5. B. 167, as amended, fixes the length of term during which an unaccredited school qualifying for State aid shall operate its schools at eightmonths, provides that the base pay for teachers in unaccredited schools shallbe $135.00 per month for eightmonths, and provides further that the annual salary of teachers in unaccredited schools shallbe themonthly salarymultiplied by eight.

Article VII of 9. B. 167 provides in part:

"EachDeputy State Superintendent shall advisewith school officials concerningproperHon. L. 

### A. Woods - Page 

### 5 (v-363)

budgeting of their school fund and assist the district in making their application for aid, and each Deputy State Su erintendent shall spend not less than two P2) days in the County Superintendent’soffice of each county ofhis supervisorydistricts. During the second semester of the year the Deputy State Superintendent shall check to ascertainwhether the standardsare being maintained and th used as approve&.

. .I’ (Elnphasis our:) funds

Article VI of S. B. 

### 167provides:’

It shallbe the duty of the State Super&&dent of Public Instruction to appoint the number of Deputy State Superintendentshereinafter authorized to make a thorough investigation, in person, of the teaching staff and financial condition of each school applying for aid through the Superintendent’soffice and the depositorybank; and no aid shallbe given unless It can be shown that all provisions of this Act have been compliedwith, and that such amounts of aid actually needed as shown by the approved budget and actual expenditures,and that the funds are being used as approved: .” (Emphasisours.)

Article XIV of S. B. 

### 167provides further:

‘Anydistrict violating any of the provlsions of this Act shall forfeit all rights to such al& and shallbe disqualified to receive any aid of any nature under any Article of this Act for the currentyear. Should any school districtwhich would otherwisebe eligible tb receive aid fall to use the funds for the exact purpose for which they were allocated in the approved budget such school district becomes Ineligible for further aid until such offense is corrected. The amount of money granted for each type of aid except tuition shallbe set up as a separateaccount and shallbe made only for the specifiedpurposes for which suchmoney was granted.

. .”
Thus, under ArtlclgsVI, VII, and XIV of the State Aid Law, it is the duty of the 

### StateSuperintendent of Public Instructionacting throughhis Deputy State Superlntendents to see that all provisions of the Act were being com-Hon. L. A. Woods - Page 6 (V-363)

plied with, to ascertain that the districts In question which qualified for State salaryaid were maintaining the standards, salary and term schedule set out in the Act, and to determine whether the State aid funds were being used as approved by the Department of Education and the LegislativeAccountant. Any districtswhich may have been reported as violating the provisions of the Act would have become subject to the penalties set out in Artiole XIV unless and until it had corrected its offense.

By virtue of the provisions of S. B. 167 above quoted,we are of the opinion that the unaccredited schools in question,not having been continue&

### or operated during the last or eighth schoolmonth of the school year 1946-1947,were~entitled to no State salaryaid for the last schoolmonth of the said schoolyear. Further, that the State aid funds approved and forwardedby the Department of Education to theproper school authorities in Falls Count to cover the eighth schoolmonth of the schoolyear 1916-1947 in the unaccredited schools in question, and to 

### coverthe additional salariesauthorized said eleven teachers under S. B. 21 for the last or eighth schoolmonth of said schoolyear shouldbe refunded. Further, that the eleven teachers in question having servedduring three of the last schoolmonths when the schooldistrictswere entitled to the additlonal State salary aid authorized, are each entitled to a payment of $225.00 out of State aid funds forwarded to the county in accordancewith the provisions of S. B. 21, 50th Legislature.

SUMMARY

Where certain schooldistricts in Falls Count 167, t qualified for schoolaid under S. B. 9th Leg., and S. B. 21, 50th Leg., for
a period of eight schoolmonths In the school year 1946-1947,and operated only seven school months of saidyear, the eleven school teach

### ers in question not having contracts for an eighthmonth term are entitled to State aid salarypayments authorized and approvedunder 5. B. 21 for three of the last four school months of the said schoolyear, but State aidHon. L. A. Woods - Page 

### 7 (W-363)

funds for the last or eighth schoolmonth of said schoolyear shouldbe refunded.

Very truly yours

ATTORNEYGENERAL OF TEXAS

CEO:djm Chester E. Ollison Assistant

APPROVED:

ATTORNEY GEl'iERAL