?
Honorable R. V. Rayford
County Auditor
Rusk County
Henderson, Texas
Dear Sir:
Opinion MO. O-7537
Re: Proper fund to be credited
when ex-County Superintendent
repays amounts overdrawn
on salary; and whether
annual allowance for office
and travel expense is
apportlonable by the month.
Xe quote from your recent letter to this department:
"Tne State Department of Education approved
budget appropriations of ,$3,300.00 salary for County
Superintendent for the year September 1, 1945 to
August 31, 1946 and a budy;et appropriation of $300.00
for office ? travel expense for the County Superintendent
for the same period.
"The County Superintendent drew and received the
following sums from September 1, 1945 to and including
December 21, 1945 the date his resignation was accepted
by the Commissioners I Court and a successor appointed:
"Net Salary Checks wg:g
Withholding Tax on Salary
Teaciiers Hetirement on Salary 63.46
Total on Salary , b.
Salary figures 112/Y% of
$3,~00.00 (g-1-45 to 12-21-45) l,lG.O3
Salary overdrawn for above period $L,S70.2'(
let Checks on tiffice k Travel as
drawn by County Superintendent 8 533.36
Office ?.; Travel fi ures for above
period 112/365 of &300.00 245.42
tiffice E: Travel Expense ovendrawn 2Ii7.33
Total Amount Due County A&inistration $1,95~.15
Fund
Ron. R. V. Rayford - Page 2, (O-7537)
“The Ex-County Superintendent haa stated that he is
willing to repay thiB sum a8 overdrawn but wants to be sure
that it is paid over to the right fund or department. He
also questions the method of arriving at the amount credited
him for Office & Travel Expenses. Stating that the $800.00
approved for Office & Travel could all be used up in a few
months and then after the $800.00 approved for this purpose
is gone, within one month or within any period during the
school year, that he Is entitled to this expense regardless of
the time it was consumed, just so long a6 it waB used within
the school year approved.
“We rely on the fact that the then Superintendent
figured his Office and Travel Expenses at the rate of $66.67
per month and was dl’awing that sum to start with and contin-
ued this sum of $66.67 on separate vouchers but drew 8 such
vouchers,at $6667 lnatead of 3 and a fraction of this sum for
September, October, November and part of December of 1945
and also because the Office and Travel Expense occurs each
month and not all within one month or within a certain limited
time. It would also work out as in this case If the entire
$800.00 was used up in 4 months , no funds would be available
for such operations by the Buccessor of a resigned County
Superintendent.
“Our question is have &figured thle in the correct
manner by using the number of ,dayBhe actually served for both
salary and the office and travel expense?
“Second question, Is the refund of the amounts over-
drawn to be returned to the County Administration Fund and to
be used to reduce the assessments against the school district6
in preparing the next budget, for this office or does it go to
some other fund or State Department of Education?”
We submit that the proper way to compute the amount of
salary overdrawn is aB followa:
Amount drawn on salary $2,616.10
Amount earned during period
Sept. 1, 1945, to Dec. 21, 1945
($3800 per annum less withholding
tax and teacher’s retIreme&) 962.07
Amount overdrawn on salary b54 m
Plus unearned po&tion;of withholding ’ ’
tax paid for December 12.65
Plus unearned portion of TeacherCB
Retirement fund payment for December 5.11
Total amount to be repaid lab 1.
county
Hon. E. V. Rayford - Page 3, 10-7537)
The unearned portion of the payments made in December on
withholding tax and teacher's retirement should be refunded
to the county. For the period September 1, 1945, to December
21, 1945, the withholding tax and teacher's retirement fund pay-
ments were actually yearned, and should not be calculated. All
salary checks drawn by the ex-county superintendent had these
two payments deducted therefrom, as reflected by your exhibit
"A" .
Thus, the amount6 actually drawn less the salary actually
earned during the period plus the unearned portions of the with-
holding tax and teacher’s retirement fund payments for December,
gives the amount which should be repaid to the county.
In regard to office and travel expense, Article 2700,
V.A.C.S., provides:
I, the County Board of Education may make
f;rih& provisions as it deems necessary for office
and traveling expenses of the County Superintendent;
provided that expenditures of the County Superinten-
dent shall not be more than Eight Hundred Dollars
($800) per annum.). . .I’
It is, in our opinion, not mandatory upon the County
Board of Education to provide for the expenditure of the
entire sum of $800.00 for office and traveling expenses. It
is merely incumbent upon said Board to make such provisions
as they may deem necessary provided the sum expended for such
purposes shall not exceed G800.00.
The statute does not purport to make an annual award in
the flat sum of $800.00 per annum for said purposes, but places
a ceiling on such expenditures. It does not follow that the
intention of the statute is to pay out the entire sum of
$800.00 in twelve equal installments. The law intends that the
county superintendent should be reimbursed for office and trave
expenses actually and necessarily incurred, and the expenses
for one month may be greater than for other months.
In other words, the county superintendent Is entitled
to be reimbursed for all authorized expenses incurred provided
said expenses do not exceed the statutory ceiling of $800.00.
In view of Articles 2700; 2700d-1, Section 1; and 2827a,
Section 1, V.A.C.S., you have correctly concluded that the
County Administration Expense Fund Is the.proper fund to which
the amounts overdrawn are to be repaid.
Considering the provisions of these statutes, we are at
a loss to understand how the County Superintendent Was able to
Hon. R. V. Rayford - Page 4, (O-7537)
dra.u ten separate monthly salary checks in less than four
months.
Very truly yours
ATTORNEYGENERALOF TEXAS
/s/ William B. Henley, Jr.
BY
William B. Henley, Jr.
Assistant
APPROVEDDEC. 21, 1948
/s/ Harris Toler APPROVED
OPINION
FIRST ASSISTANT COMMITTEE
ATTORNEYGENERAL
BY B.W.B.
WBH:djm:elb Chairman