THEATTORNEYGENERAL 

OPTEXAS' 

151 

&wrlN. -rExAe 

PIUCE DANIEL FAOAN DICXSON 

A.n.n-o- o-mtmAl. NIT-- 

July 10; 1948 

Hon. L. A. Woods 

State Superintendent 

Opinion No. V-631 

Department of Education 

Austin; Texas 

Re: The statutory ssZary 

. . of an~elementary 

Attn.: Ron. T. M. Tdnble, 

school prlnolpal 

whose school Is in 

First Assistant a building separate 

from the .high soheol 

buildlngandhas 

less than nine teaohera. 

ie'.refer to your letter of recent date wherein you request ouropinion on,the above aaptloned matter& We quote from yourletter as follows: 

"Article III, Section 2, Aragraph 

6 of II. ~B., 295; an;Aot of the 50th Leg- 

~4slature, reads ari follows: 

"tlZlementary kijunlor high sahobi 

principals In a' school district having a 

four-year high school may receive an additlonall'aliowance of Two Dollars and Fifty 

Cents ($2.50)'per month for eaoh elementary teacher under hia ~supervlslon, If the 

school in which he ls'teaohlng 1s located 

is a.bullding apart from th6 high sohool 

s building or lf he devdtes fifty per cent 

(50$) or more of his tlnie to' stipervlsion 

and the school empldys nine (9) or more 

teachers, but in no event shall he receive 

more than twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) per 

month addltlonal.t 

"Following the llneaof thought in the 

first part of the sentence quoted above, 

.&2.50 can b e allowed .for each teacher under 

the supervision of the principal of an elementary school which is located in a bullding apart from the high school even though 
Hon. L. A. Woods, page 2 (V-631) 

the school does not have nine teachers, as 

is required In the second part of the sentence, and the principal Is not requlrp to 

devote 50% of his time to supervision. 

QUESTIOB: "Is the Equalization Dlvislon of the State Department of Education 

allowed to grant an increment in salary for 

a prlncl 

r 

1 of, an elementary school at the 

rate of 2.50 per teacher under his supervision, If his school Is located In a bulldlng separate and apart from the high schooli 

and the school has less than nine 'teachers. 

We are Informed further that the district In 

question has a four-year high school, that the elementary school Is accredited and that the dlstrlat has a 

stiperintendent. Therefore, paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article III, Section 2, H. B. 295 have no application. 

We think that paragraph 6, above quoted, is 

clear and unambiguous. It provides that an elementary 

,school principal, as well as a junior high school prlnolpal; in ~lstrlcts having a four-year high sohool may 

receive an increment of $2.5O.per month for each elementary teacher under his supervision under either one 

of the following conditions: (1) "if the school In which 

he 1s teaching Is looated in a building apart from the 

high school building: 93: (2) "Ii: he devotes 50$ or more 

of his time tonsupervisIon gnd the school employs nine or 

more.teachersb The maximum Increment such a principal 

may receive thereunder is fixed at $25.00 per month. 

The word ‘orn as uaed in said paragraph and 

emphasized her819bove Is used In the disjunctive sense. 

When the term or Is used, It Is presumed to be used In 

the disjunctive sense unless the le lslatlve Intent Is 

clearly contrary., Sutherland Stat. er onst.,3d Ed. Vol. 2, 

Sec. 4923.. We find no provision in this law which requires or~compels the construction that norn should be 

used in the aonjunctlve sense. Therefore, the olause 

'and the school employs 9 or more teachers" may not be 

and was-not Intended to be considered as an addliilonal 

condition to be read In conjunotion with "If the school 

In which he Is teaching Is loc%ted In a building apart 

from the high school building. 

,The Legklature, we believe, clearly expressed 

in sald,pafagraph 6 an intent that an elementary school 
Hon. L. A. Woods, page 3 (V-631) 

153 

principal In such a dlstriot teaching in a school located apart from the high school building (thus removed from 

the immediate assistance and advice of the superior school 

authority, the school superintendent and left to administer his school In a large capacltyj should be paid the 

Increment as provided, even though the school employs less 

than nine teachers. 

SUMMARY 

The Equalization Division of the Department of Education Is allowed to want 

an Increment In salary for a principal of 

kn elementary school at the rate of $2.50 

per teacher under his supervleion If his 

sohool Is located in a building separate 

and apart from the high school even though 

said school empldys less than nine teachers. 

Aots 50th Leg., 1947, H.B. 295, Art. III, 

Sec. 2, paragraph 6. 

cEo:mw 

Yours very truly, 

ATTORRES! GENERAL OFTEXAS 

BY -rw 

Cheste;E. Olllson 

Assistant 

APPROVED: