Gerald C. Mann
Hon. T. M. Trlmble Opinion Bo. O-4033
First Assistant State Re: Whether independent school
Superintendent of Public district may make deductions
Instruction from salaries of teachers for
Austin, Texas hospitalization plan.
Dear Sir:
We have received your letter of recent date asking
the opinion of this department upon the above captioned
question. We also have the letter of September 19, 1941,
from Mr. E. W. Jackson, Superintendent of the Beaumont Inde-
pendent School District, to Dr. L. A. Woods, State Superin-
tendent, and the letter of October 8, 1941 from Mr. T. N.
Whitehurst, East Texas Manager of the Pan- American Life In-
surance Company, to Mr. Jackson. We quote the following from
Mr. Jackson’s letter to Dr. Woods:
“The plan proposed would provide for no
financial obligations on the part of our Board
of Education unless it be for a slight amount
of clerical work necessary In making the month-
ly deductions from the salaries of teachers
participating in the hospitalization plan.@’
We know of no reason why teachers of independent
sczhool districts should not be allowed to avail themselves
of the benefits of a hospitalization plan. This would be
purely a private undertaking, and there is nothing in the
statutes or in their employment which would prohibit such
an undertaking on their part.
You wish to know whether the clerical work of mak-
ing monthly deductions from the salaries of the teachers may
be, done by the district.
The proposed plan imposes no financial obligation
on the part of the district. The teachers would enter the
plan on a purely voluntary basis, and we see no reason why
the teachers may not authorize the district to make deductions
from their salaries for oayment of the premium. As we have
mentioned above, partici,patlon in the plan is purely voluntaryj
Hon. T. M. Trimble, Page 2
therefore, the teachers could withdraw both their membership
in the plan and their authorization to the district to make
the d,edutitions at any time.
It is, therefore, the opinion of this department
under the facts submitted to this department that the teach-
ers of an Independent school district may enter the described
hospitalization plan, and the district may make the monthly
deductions from the salaries of the teachers participating in
the plan for payment of the premium. This view is especially
strengthened by Article 2883a, Vernon's Annotated Civil Stat-
utes, which provides for the assignment of salaries of school
teachers under conditions therein stated.
We want to emphasize that we express no opinion ex-
cept as to the particular facts disclosed herein, and this
opinion is limited accordingly.
Yours very truly
ATTORNEY
GENERAL
OF TEXAS
By/s/ George W. Sparks
George W. Sparks, .Assistant
APPROVED OCT 23, 1941
/s/ Grover Sellers
FIRST ASSISTANT
ATTORNEY GENERAL
APPROVED:OPINIONCOMMITTEE
BY: BWB, Chairman
GWS:LM:wb