Hon. F. E. Mitchell Opinion No. O-4845 

County Attorney Re: Liability of district for salary 

Callahan County of school superintendent 

Baird, Texas 

Dear Sir: 

We have received your letter of recent date which we 

quote in part as follows: 

“The trustees of Putnam Independent School District in Callahan County employed a superintendent 

in the summer of 1941, on a yearly basis, the salary 

to be paid in monthly installments. The term of such 

employment was from July 1, 1941 to July 1, 1942. 

“Said superintendent closed the school term about 

May 20, 1942, and was paid the monthly installment for 

the month May, 1942. The superintendent then left 

before June 1, 1942, and secured employment elsewhere, 

moving away from the school district and having no 

further contact with the school. He is now demanding 

the last monthly installment for the month of June, 

1942. His theory is that under his employment he was 

not required to do more than finish the school for 

the year 1941-42, while the trustees think it was his 

duty to remain for the full year, in order to see after the interest of the school and the students, in 

such matters as making transcripts of credits, etc., 

and I have given them my opinion to the effect that 

they are correct in this matter, his employment being 

for the year, though paid in monthly installments. 

May I have your opinion as to whether or not the said 

superintendent is entitled to said last month’s installment under the facts stated above.” 

Article 2781, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes, provides as follows: 

“The Board of Trustees of any city or town or any 

independent school district may employ a superintendent, 

principal, teacher, or other executive officers in the 

schools therein for a term not to exceed three years, 

provided that the Board of Trustees of an independent 

school district which had a scholastic population of 

5,000 or more in the last preceding scholastic year may 
Hon. F. E. Mitchell, page 2 (O-4845) 

employ a superintendent, principal, teacher, or 

other executive officers in the schools therein 

for a term not to exceed five years. All twelvQadded) 

This opinion necessarily will be general in nature. 

In the first place, this department is not authorized to pass 

on questions of fact. In the second place, we do not have the 

contract of employment before us for examination. We assume 

that such contract was legally entered into, that it calls for 

services’over a period ‘of 12 months, and that, the board of trustees has done nothing in the nature of breaching th%e contract. 

You will notice that Article ,,2781 provides that 12 

monthcontracts shall begin on July 1st and end on June 30th. 

Evidently; the board of ‘trustees had this provision In mind when 

the contract was entered into. If the contract called for the 

services of ,the superintendent fo.r a ,period of 12 months and the 

superintendent left at the end of 11 months and did not perform 

~services during the 12th.month, such action ,being in no way 

.caused by the~‘board of trustees, then it is our opinion that the 

school district is not liable for his salary for the 12th month. 

We quote-, the following from Corpus Juri s, Volume 56, 

page 396: ” 

?The rules of law relating to the ,performance 

,and, breach of contracts generally, apply to, contracts 

between teachers and the school authorities. ,Both 

parties must perform the. contract according t.o its 

terms.ll, 

The following appears on page 411 of the same volume: 

“Failure ~of: the teacher to perfarm.his part of the 

contract is a defense to an action by him to recover 

damages for its ,breach,by the school.board, as where 

he failed-to secure a certificate, or voluntarily abandoned his employment before the end of his term.” 

In view of the foregoing you are respectfully ,aavi.sed 

that where a superintendent is employed under Article 2781, supra, 

by the board of trustees of an independent Scholl district under 

a’ contract for al p’eriod of 12 months’and such superintendent, 

through-,no fault or action on the part of the board.of trustees, 

leaves, at the, end, ‘of ,the .llth month anddoes not pe~rform any 
. I 

Hon. F. E. Mitchell, page 3 (O-4845) 

services during the 12th month of the contract, the school 

district is not liable to the superintendent for his salary 

for the 12th month. This opinion is expressly limited to 

the fact situation presented and the assumptions made. 

Very truly yours 

ATTORNEY GENERAI, OF TEXAS 

By /s/ George W. Sparks 

George W. Sparks, Assistant 

APPROVED OCT 9, 1942 

/s/ Grover Sellers 

FIRST ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL! 

APPROVED: OPINIOti COMMITTEE 

BY: BWB, CHAIRMAN 

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