YXE .A-rro~m~ GENERAL 

OF TEXAS 

R-739 

PRICE DANIEL 

ATTORNEY GENERAL 

September 1.8, 1947 

Hon. C. D. Wright 

County Attorney 

Brlsooe County 

Silverton, Texas 

Opinion No. V-382 

Re: Appointment of an asslstant to an Ex-offlolo County Superlntendent under Articles 

2701 and 3888, V.C.S. 

a8 amended by S. B. 

252, 50th Legislature. 

Dear Sir: 

We refer to your letter of recent date wherein you request an opinion from this office on whether 

under 9. B. 252, Acts 1947, 50th Legislature, Regular 

Session, amending Articles 2701 and 3888, it Is mandatory or permissive for a County School Board to name or 

appoint an,asslstant to the County Judge - Ex-offlolo 

County Superintendent. 

Article 2701, as amended by s. B. 252, provides in part as follows: 

"In each county having no School Superintendent, the County Judge shall be Exofficio County Superintendent and shall 

perform all the duties required of the 

County Superintendent . . . The County 

Board shall name or appoint an assistant 

to the Ex-offlolo County Superintendent 

. 0 . the salary of the assistant Ex-offlolo Superintendent of Public Instruotlon . . . shall be from and after September 1, 1947, paid from the State and 

County Available School Fund." 

Article 3888, as amended by S. B. 252, provides in part as follows: 

!I 

. . . The Ex-offlolo Assistant Superintendent of Public Instruction shall receive for his services such salary not to 

exceed Fifteen Hundred ($1500) Dollars a 
Hon. C. D. Wright - Page 2 

, _- 

V-382 

year as the County Board of School Trustees 

of the respective County may provide,” 

Seotion 5, the emergency clause In S, B. 252 

provides in part: 

“The faot that there Is no definite 

ppovlslon at present for the appointment 

and PemunePatlon of an assistant to the Exofflclo County Superintendent e 0 9 creates 

an emergency e . o ” 

In the oonstructlon of statutes, the wopd 

“mapn may be used to mean “shall” or the word “shall” 

may be construed to mean ‘may” according to the lntentfon expressed fn the statute; they must be glven the 

meanihg which will b8st express leglsltitive Intent. 

National Sure&g Corporation vs. Ladd, 115 9. W. (26) 

600, 602; Schlemmer vs. Board of Trustees of Limestone 

County, 59 S. W. (26) 264; Hess & Skfnner Engineering 

Co. vao Turney, 203 9. W. 593, 595. 

Artiole 2701, as amended, provides that a 

County Judge - Ex-offiolo County Superintsndent shall 

perform s the duties required of a Oountg School Superlatedlent. 

There is no legislative intent evidenced in 

the statute amended to oreate the office of an Asslstant Ex-offloio County Superintendent of Public Instruotion, nor to vest such an assistant with an presoribed 

powera or dut 18s * Indeed, under,Artlole 38 fi 8, aa amended, the salary of suoh a named or appointed assl.stant 

may vary anywhere from one dollar or less up to fifteen 

hundred dollara a year, whatever tne county sohool board 

w provide, 

Said statutes aa amendad olrerly authorlee ?,kb 

County School BoarCl to came or appoint an aeslstant 

derlgnatbd th8r8ln aa “Ex-off1010 Assistant Superlntendent of Publia Instruction” and to provide for his servleer 8 salary not to 8xo88d Fifteen Hundred Dollars a 

year. 08rtainly, the Oountg Sohool Board in the exerair8 of Its dlrorstlonary authority In providing a salary for such an e8slatant oould 8ffeotlvdly thwart an 

attempt to force It to appoint such an assistant. In 

short, we do not find an lntsndmant wfthln Uald ststutee to Impose upon the oountiee thereby affected an 

assistant Ex-offloio Oounty Superintendent, if the County Sob001 Board acting In oooperstloa with the County 
Han, C. D. Wrfght - Page 3 v-382 

Judge shall determine that such an assistant Is not 

needed 0 

Furth8IQlOr8, this construction of the said 

amended statutes is consonant with the authorftg of 

the County Sohool Board to name or appofnt an aesfatant or assistants to all other elective or appointfve 

county superintendents In this State~~i Article flQ0 

a8 amended by Aots'1947, 50th Leglblature, R. S.,~R. B. 

375, and Alitlole 2688, V,C.S. It would seem ~%nreasonable to give a mandatory Interpretation to the statute 

authorlzfllg the naming of an assistant to aa ex-off lcfo county superintendent, absent of a clear intendment fn the statute to that effect, when the authority 

to name or appofnt an assistant to all other electfve 

OP appofntlve county 8Up8rintend8nta In this State Is 

p8I'%iS81V8. 

It Is our opinion, therefore, that under Articles 2702 and 3888,~V.c.Si as ambhded by S. B.'252, 

Aots 1947, 50th Legislature, Regular Session, Chapter 

305;lt 1s p8Flplsslve rather than mandatory ?or a County Sohool Board to name or appoint ad Assistant to the 

County Judge - Ex-oif’iolo County Superfntendent 0 

SUMMARY ‘~ 

-‘~ .’ -Under Artltiles 2702 and.3888, V.C.S., 

ae ameiidda by S.'B'.'252, Acts 1947, 50th 

Legislature, Regular Session, It Is perml~slve rather than mandatory for a County Sohool Board to name or appoint an Assistant to the County Judge - Ex-offloio 

County Superintendent 0 

very tray youm 

APPROVED : ‘ATTORREY QRNERAL OF TEMS 

A’LTORRRY GRRERAL Chester E. Ollleon 

Asalatant 

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