Honorable Sidney A. Sparks CountyAuditor Jim Wells County Alice, Texas

Dear Sir: opinion Ho. o-3341 Re: Can postage,

stationery,

and supplies, telephone

end telegraph

expenses

of the county superintendent be legally paid out of the generalfund of the county?
This department

has considered

your request for an opinion under date of August 6, 1942,wherein you wish to be advised whether or not it is legal to pey the postage, stationery

and supplies,

telephone

and telegraph

and other office expenses of the county superintendent out of the generalfund of the county.

We encloseherewith a copy of our Opinion No. o-1781,

approved

February20, 1940,wherein this department held that the countyauditor is without authority

to approveend direct paymentof a bill for postage presented

by the county school superintendent and charge the amount of the bill to the generalor any other fund of the county.
Article 2700 of Vernon'sCivil Statutes as emended

by Eouse Bill364, Acts 1941, Forty-seventh Legislature,

provides

that in making~the

annual budget for CountyAdministration expenses

the county school trustees shall make allovance

out of the StateAvailable SchoolFund for salaryand expenses

of the office of the county school superintendent and the seme shall be determined by the resident

scholastic

population

of the county. This statutefurther provides, ".

. . and the County Board of Education may make further

provisions

as it deemsnecessary for office and traveling expenses

of the County Suprintendent;

. . ." Thus the County superintendent is given an expenseallowance to take care of office expenseand as pointed out in the opinionenclosed, the items you mentioned such as stationery, telephome

and telegraph,

likepcstage

are items of office expense.
Article 2362, R. C. S *, provides for end specifies

the four classes into which stationery

is classified,

and Article 3899t1,

Vernon's

Annotated Civil Statutes,in Section2 thereof, provides

that suitable

officesand stationery

and blanks necessaryin the performance of his dutiesmay in the discretion

of the commissioners' court be furnished

to the county superintendent

and may be paid for on order of the commissioners' court out of the county treasury. These authorities are set forth In theHonorable Sidney A. Sparks,Page #2 (O-3341)

opinion

herewith

atteched,

wherein it is further held that under the provisiona

of Articles2688 and 3899b (Section 2), Vernonus

Annotated Civil Statutes,

the county conrmissionersP courthas authority to purchase for the use end benefit of the office of county school superintendent furniture

and only such office supplies as would come within the classification

"stationery"

so classified

in Article2362, supra.

It is therefore

the opinionof this department that the county auditor is without authority to approveend directpaymentof e bill for postage,

telephone

end telegraph

expense incurred

end presented by the county superintendent and charge the eraount of the bill to the generalor any other fund of the county. Where the commissioners' court authorizes

the purchase

of such stationery

clacoaified

and within the provisions

of Article 2362, Vernon's Annotated

Civil Statutes,

the auditor

has authority

to approveend directpayment for such stationery and charge the awunt to the generalfund of the county.

Yours ve:ry

truly

ATl!OlUVEY

GEWEMLOFTEKAS
s/Wm. J. R. King

Wl4K:I.M

ENCUXURE

APPROVE3

AUG. 24, 1942 s/ GERALDc. MANN AlTOlUTEGENEFALOP TEXAS

APPROVEDOPmION COMMI'EEE BY B. W. B. CHAIRMAN 

### BY Wm. J. B. King Assistent