ie'.refer to your letter of recent date where- in you request ouropinion on,the above aaptloned mat- ter& We quote from yourletter as follows:

"Article III, Section 2, Aragraph 6 of II. ~B., 295; an;Aot of the 50th Leg- ~4slature, reads ari follows: "tlZlementary kijunlor high sahobi principals In a' school district having a four-year high school may receive an addi- tlonall'aliowance of Two Dollars and Fifty Cents ($2.50)'per month for eaoh elemen- tary teacher under hia ~supervlslon, If the school in which he ls'teaohlng 1s located is a.bullding apart from th6 high sohool s building or lf he devdtes fifty per cent

(50$) or more of his tlnie to' stipervlsion and the school empldys nine (9) or more teachers, but in no event shall he receive more than twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) per month addltlonal.t

"Following the llneaof thought in the first part of the sentence quoted above, .&2.50 can b e allowed .for each teacher under the supervision of the principal of an ele- mentary school which is located in a bulld- ing apart from the high school even though *2 Hon. L. A. Woods, page 2 (V-631)

the school does not have nine teachers, as is required In the second part of the sen- tence, and the principal Is not requlrp to devote 50% of his time to supervision. QUESTIOB: "Is the Equalization Dlvi- slon of the State Department of Education allowed to grant an increment in salary for a prlncl 1 of, an elementary school at the rate of 2.50 per teacher under his super- r

vision, If his school Is located In a bulld- lng separate and apart from the high schooli and the school has less than nine 'teachers. We are Informed further that the district In question has a four-year high school, that the elemen- tary school Is accredited and that the dlstrlat has a stiperintendent. Therefore, paragraphs 2 and 3 of Arti- cle III, Section 2, H. B. 295 have no application.

We think that paragraph 6, above quoted, is clear and unambiguous. It provides that an elementary ,school principal, as well as a junior high school prln- olpal; in ~lstrlcts having a four-year high sohool may receive an increment of $2.5O.per month for each ele- mentary teacher under his supervision under either one of the following conditions: (1) "if the school In which he 1s teaching Is looated in a building apart from the high school building: 93: (2) "Ii: he devotes 50$ or more of his time tonsupervisIon gnd the school employs nine or more.teachersb The maximum Increment such a principal may receive thereunder is fixed at $25.00 per month.

The word ‘orn as uaed in said paragraph and emphasized her819bove Is used In the disjunctive sense. When the term or Is used, It Is presumed to be used In the disjunctive sense unless the le lslatlve Intent Is clearly contrary., Sutherland Stat. er onst.,3d Ed. Vol. 2, Sec. 4923.. We find no provision in this law which re- quires or~compels the construction that norn should be used in the aonjunctlve sense. Therefore, the olause 'and the school employs 9 or more teachers" may not be and was-not Intended to be considered as an addliilonal condition to be read In conjunotion with "If the school In which he Is teaching Is loc%ted In a building apart from the high school building.

,The Legklature, we believe, clearly expressed in sald,pafagraph 6 an intent that an elementary school

153 Hon. L. A. Woods, page (V-631)

principal In such a dlstriot teaching in a school locat- ed apart from the high school building (thus removed from the immediate assistance and advice of the superior school authority, the school superintendent and left to admin- ister his school In a large capacltyj should be paid the Increment as provided, even though the school employs less than nine teachers.

SUMMARY The Equalization Division of the De- partment of Education Is allowed to want an Increment In salary for a principal of kn elementary school at the rate of $2.50 per teacher under his supervleion If his sohool Is located in a building separate and apart from the high school even though said school empldys less than nine teachers.

Aots 50th Leg., 1947, H.B. 295, Art. III, Sec. 2, paragraph 6.

Yours very truly, ATTORRES! GENERAL OFTEXAS BY -rw cEo:mw Cheste;E. Olllson

Assistant APPROVED: