AUlwrIN 11. -rExas
PRICE DANIEL
ATTORNEYGENERAL
Octobar 29, 3.951
Hon. Claude Isbell Oplnlon No. v-1333
Executive Secretary
Board of Regents Rta: Legality of using
State Teachers Colleges certain appropriat-
Austin, Texas ed funds of South-
west Texas State
Teachers College to
fbance teacher train-
Wg in conjunction
with San Marcoa Inde-
Dear Sir: pendent School District.
you have requested an oplnion concerning
the authority of Southueet Texas State Teachers Col-
lege to expend funds for teacher training purposes,
in the supervision of student practice teaching,
from the item in its biennial. appropriation for
“Resident Instruction, $alarles Only” or from the
items approprLated for ffeneral Operating Expenses”
under either of the Poll@uXng arrangementa:
3.. For ,direct salaries to teachers em-
ployed by the San Marcos Independent School District
for a portton of the year, the salaries for the re-
mainder of the year to be paid by the San Marcos
Public Schools, or
2. Under a cOntract with the San Marcos
Independent School District for teacher training
privileges, the amount to be paSd In a lump sum
direct to the s&o41 dietr%ct.
The approprdetbon Ste,m for ‘Resident In-
struction, Solar&es On&y appears in the current
biennial appropriation F4r Southwest Texas State
Teachers College (Art. V, E.8. 426, Acte 58na Leg.,
R.S. 1951, ch. 499 p. lL&, at p. 1455) under the
heading of %ened. AdmknSstratLon, Salaries Only.”
Under a second heading, “ffeneral Operating Expenses”,
the following items are listed?
“General Revenue Appropriation for general
operating expenses................ . . .
Hon. Clause Isbell, page 2 (V-13J3)
“PlUS estimated other Latxaw for geneml
operating expenses............... , . .*
We shell consider ftrrt the question of
payment of a sum tb the San Mareoa Independent
School District under a contract vith the diat@lct.
Article 2547c, V.C.S., pfovfeorr
n
. the Board OS Regents of the
State Tdaiher Collegea of Texa6, or the
governing Body of any other State eupport-
ed teacher tralnlng institution, and the
trustees of’ any independent school dls-
trict shall be empcweree to enter into
contracts whereby the eaid teacher colleges
may use the public school8 of said lnde-
pendent school aistrictfi 68 leb&atory
8chOolB for trainlag 0r toae&srr; provieoe
further that the availrble local Sundo of
such colleges or the local fwadr of ruch
school diatrlcts may be wed in the pur-
awace and porfomnneo of au& contractr.@
This stetuts vee originally enacted in
1945 (Acts 49th bg. 1945, oh. 1?7, p. 234) and
vao amendee in 1950 [Acts 51st Isg., lrt C.S. 1950,
ch. 49, p. 120). These acts recited a8 the neces-
;;F[ f’$t$eir paasage RB rmermmcp mearuwsnthe
there i8 at pmront no authority for
the making of the cimtractr therein~authorizee.
The governing board6 OS the State-I!Upportetl insti-
tutions of higher learning have only such euthopity
as has been granted to them by the Legisl.ature+
Since theee acts rtated that no euthorlty existed
for the making of such contracts, ve should eecept
this rtateannt as a legialatlve expesalon that
authority haa not been granted to the governing
boarea by any other statute, It is our opinion
that the authority granted la Article 2647~ is
exclusive and that contracts for this purpose be-
tween teacher training institutions and independent
school districta aunt be made in accordance with
Article 2647~.
Article 2547~ authoricee thr eXpmdltUPe
of the local funds of the col.tcge in the perfom-
ence 0fsuFh ZiGacts. The local funds of the
Southvert Terrr State Teachers College are the
Hon. Claudr Iaboll, pa&a 3 (V-1333)
funds colle.cted at the institution “in camring
out the functions of tm educational lnstitutfan”.
Article 2,554d, V.C.S. llxamples of incow com-
prising local fund6 are listed In Article 2554d.
Section 31. of Article V, House Bill 426, su pa
at page 1472, requires that, certain of these -P&al
receipts be deposited in the State Treasury, to
be credited to a separate fund aclcount for the
institution depositInS the Punda. Sections 2 and ~
31 of Article V appropriate these local funds to
the respective Institutions. The item listed in
the a,pproprietion for the Southvest Texas State
Teachers College a8 “Plus estfmatod other income
for general operating expenses” under the heading
of “General Operating Pxpenaes” is an approprfa-
tlon of the amounts deposited in the State Trras-
ury under Section 31. That thir ir an appropria-
tlon of local funds and not of funds from the Oen-
era1 Revenue is clearly demonatratrd by the fact
that the amount of estimated incom La not included
in the General Revenue appropriation total at the
foot of’ the various amounts appropriated for the
Southwest Texas State Teachers College.
Section 30 of Article V, House Bill 426
at page 1472, defines ‘General Operating ExpensesA
aa meaning “necessary operating expenses for Gtn-
era1 Administration; necessary operating expenses
and lalariss for instructional. departments othtr
than rerident instructional salaries; salaries and
nectsserg operating expensee for extension and cor-
respondence teaching, libraries, and organized ac-
tivities related to instruction: . . .‘I We think
this definition Is sufficiently broad to permit
the expenditure of these appropriated local funds
for teacher training purposes authorized by Artl-
cle 2647~.
In visv of thtat various statutory provl-
rions, it is our opinion that the Southwest Texas
State Teachers College may enter into a contract
with the San Marco8 Independent School District for
teacher training purposes and may pay for the str-
vices rendered under the contract direct to the
%he proviolons of Section 31 art the
same as those contained in Section 3 of Senate Bill
435, Act4 52nd beg., R.S. 1951, ch. 474, p. 841, a
general. .Ptatute reguZat’%ng the handling of lnstltu-
tlonal receiptr. r&Wbte iaatitutionn of higher
wauo4tton.
* Hon. Claudo LabeS1, pa&l 4 (V-1333)
of tb4 apphxpr&atlon item “Plus
estimted othtr tncow Pm general operet8,qgl eq2tmj-
es. Hovevtrk t&h anwit map net b6 paid out or
tht Stem rot‘ RreiEent fastruetSon, SBlarLe(s Only"
or out of the item “@moral Rsvmue Appropriation
Par general operatfng expenses”, which are appro-
priationa fr~lg the lienera RevolnuatFund of the
State.
ta viov of thla pwiriaia, th4 local
&msral Revem Fund with regard to the ps@hPibf-
tkon contained Irn Swtion 35 of Arttcle XVZ of
the ConstltutXon.
A whoal. tsaeher of an tndependent Bchool
dtcstrict booi& 8 “posLtioa a% bionop, trust Or
_ . . :
as part-time instructor in a State-supported col-
lege and at the same time cserve as 8 part-time
teacher fn a school district where the dutkes of
each position are not inconristent, but LB 60 dQinS
he forfeits all ri&ht to a?@ salary he right have
been entitled to as college instructor fsom funds
in the State Treabury, beeauae Section 33 of Arti-
cle XVI su ra forbids the drawing 0i & State
Wa*rant’iE+Z?favor .
In P.tt’y Gen. Op. O-4433 (1.942), it was
held thst this conetitutiona~. provision prohibited
the Comptroller from issuing s Warrant in favor of
a public school teacher for pert-time services 8s
a critic teacher in the teacher tralnfng proSram
of a State institution conducted through the public
schoo1.s. Whi1.e the fact situation presente% in
your request is different, in that un%.er the pre-
sent proposal the teacher would receive 0bl the
salary paid. by the college during a particu 9 ar pay
period, we think the same rule is applicable.
Your latter states that the teachers per-
forming these arervices are~,em~ployea by the San Marco8 :
Independent Schbol Distriat. ,’ 3;t cannot be questioned
that the teachertet amenability ‘to the public school
authorLties is not affected 11 e consideration of
whether he ia being paid, by t &1) college or by the
school district. It would be unrealistic, aa well
861 extremely und,e8irable, to conclude thet the
teacher ceased to be an smplsgee of the school
distrlot during the time he was being paid by the
college. We 8,xeof the opinion that he WQUxd Cbn-
tlnue tv~hola a gosltion 0f h0n0r, trust, or prorit
within the meaning of the qu6ted ~constitutional pro-
Vi8iQtl.
From the fore@in& it P0ll0wa that funds
ep ropriated to tbe 20uthWest Texas State Teachers
College which are to be paid out of the State Treas-
ury may not be ef$ended fn payment 0f direct salaries
to teachers of the San Mareos fna~ependent School
%Sst;rBat lroc st-tLme or full-time errviaes in the
teacher tmtn r a&j paogrsm of the collsga.
- . _
Hon. Claude Isbell, page 5 (V-2333)
However, we are of the opinion that it
would be lawful for an independent school distrlet
operating und,er a contract with a college in accord-
ance with Prtic1.e 2547~ to supplement the salaries
of teachers rendering services under the contract
from the amount ‘paid by the colI.ege. The funds
paid to the school. district would become local
funds of the district. Article 2827, V.C.S. Arti-
cle 2547~ authorizes the school district to use its
l.ocal funds in the operation of such a cooperative
program. This plan of payment would not be con-
trary to the prohibition of Section 33 of Article
XVI of the Constitution, since it wou1.d not require
the State Comptrol.ler to draw a State warrant in
favor of a person who holds at the same time any
other position of honor, trust, or profit under
the State. Att'y Cen. Op. V-759 (1949).
SUMMARY
The Southwest Texas State Teachers
College may expend its local funds appro-
priated under the item designated “Plus
estimated other income for general operat-
ing expenses” in Article V, H.B. 426, Acts
52nd Leg., R.S. 1951, ch. 499, at p. l.455,
for the operating expenses of a teacher
training program under a contract with
the San Marcoa Independent School District
as authorized br Article 2647~. V.C.S.
Funds approprla’ted from the State’s General
Revenue Fund may not be expended for that
program .
A teacher employed by an independent
‘school . district .~ may not be issued a State
warranT; a0 salary or compensation for either
part-time or full-time service8 performeeXln
a college’s teacher training program. .
Const . , Art. XVI, Sec. 33.
3
APPROVEDr Yours very.truly,
J. C. Davis, Jr. PRICE DAEIEL
County Affairs Division Attorney General
Everett Hutchinson
Executive Assistant
BY
Charles D. Mathews Chester E. Ollleon
First Assistant Assistant
CEO:mh