The San Francisco call., 1898-01-19
Warrants in Favor of the Teachers Annuity Fund
 Refused.
The Auditor Claims They Were Issued Under an Uncon-
 stitutional Act.
The Law Providing for the Fund In- terpreted as Being Special
 Legislation.

Auditor Frederick has refused to sign the demands made against the school fund in favor of A. c. Widber, the treasurer of the teachers annuity fund, and designated as being one half money deducted from the teach CTS salaries. The warrants amounted to s9O3 96. and were for the months of August, September and October of last year They were allowed by the School Board. The Auditor in returning the demands to the Board of Education unsigned, says:
 These demands reached this office some time in December l have been in formed that others are in reserve and have not been allowed by the Board of Education-presumably for April, May, June, July and November.
 The reasons for returning the above will apply to the others and I desire that my refusal to draw warrants upon the school fund in satisfaction of the above may be considered as applying also to those not yet presented.
 These demands are presented to me for audit. and my warrant upon the treasury for their payment, demanded under the provisions of section 10. subdivision 3. of An act to amend an act approved March 26. 1895, entitled An act to create and ad- minister public school teachers annuity and retirement fund in the several coun- ties and cities and counties in the State"
 Section 10 of said act provides for the creation of the annuity fund as follows: "O Twelve dollars per year from day school teachers. to be deducted from their salaries by the Treasurer; @ all moneys received by gifts, bequests and devises; (3) all money, pay, compensation of salary forfeited, deducted or withheld from the warrant or demand for salary of any teacher or teachers for or on ac- count of absence from duty from any cause, which the Board of Education of every incorporated city or town, or the Board of Trustees of every school district outside of such city or town. may appro- priate and set apart for the aforesaid fund; and said Board of Education or Boards of Trustees are hereby empow- cred to appropriate such moneys, or any part thereof for such fund; provided that in consolidated cities and counties after the establishment of an annuity fund therein, it Is hereby made the duty of Boards of Education to appropriate monthly at least one-half of such moneys for such fund.-
 This section is in my judgment discrim- mating and altogether open. to the charge of not being uniform in its application to counties, cities or town or school dis tricts of the State, and therefore subject to being considered special legislation. The act Is in many other particulars spe- cial; notably in section 12, wherein it is provided that all present teachers may of their own volition or option assume the burden of the act or avoid the same but in subdivision of section F it provides as follows: Tn consolidated cities and counties it shall be binding upon all teachers elected or appointed to teach in the public schools of such consolidated cities and counties after the passage of this act"
 The act Is not one that applies to all teachers. but only to those who desire to provide for an annuity on retirement from school teaching. 1t is In no way connect- ed in governmental sense with the school department of San Francisco The Board of Education has no voice in its affairs. The Supervisors or the Auditor have no authority over its funds, as was the case under the act of 1895, and I can lind no reason why the government of san Francisco should tax its people to build this exclusively private fund by ap- propriating from the school fund for that purpose. On the contrary, I find some reason for not doing so in language con- tained fin section b of An act for the government and support of the school de- pertinent and to establish the powers of the Board of Education, approved April fund, to wit: Which fund shall be kept separate and distinct from all other moneys and shall only be used for school purposes" I am obliged to look upon the terms of section 10 of the act of 1897. un- der which I was asked to draw warrants upon the school fund of San Francisco, as special legislation, the effect of which would be the appropriation of public funds to private uses. and in direct con- tempt of Supreme Court decisions on the subject.
 Boards of Education of counties or of cities, or Boards of Trustees of school districts, are permitted in their own dis erection as to the appropriation of, or any part of deducted school teachers salaries to a private fund. and that the Board of Education of San Francisco. the only consolidated city and county, are directed to appropriate monthly at least one-half of such deductions, ''is wide open to the challenge of being special legislation, and I therefore return the demands and will keen the 'sold consolidation act" cOmbina- tion on the lock of the treasury contain ing the school fund until better advised as to the power of the Board of Educa- ton to so appropriate the school moneys.