Case Information

*1 Honorable L, A, Woods

State Superintendent of Fublio instruction

Austin, Texas

Dear Mr. 'Kcods: Opinion Xc, 0-55!7 R0: Employment hnd supervision of emp!oyoes who keep the records of the State BoaPd of Edumtion.

Your recent request of this department for 8r1 opinion regarding the above subjects reads as follows:

"In a recent opinion you held that ,the State Doard of &dumtion and the State 9oard for Vocational +Jducwtloo are one and the same* and that the duty of distributing Fedarrj! subs,idins for vocationa? subjects is an additional responsi.bi1ity ,tc be ciemed by the Statr. Board of Education, arid that the State Supar<nter,den~t, who 1s EX Officio Secretary of the State Board of Educwtion is also Ex Off'lc;~o Secretary of the State Board for Voo~t;onel Edwation.

"Article 2662 of the Revised Civil Statutes states that "The Stwsn Superintendent shall fi1.e SIX reports, doomants and papers ,transa,ittad to him and the State Ecard by cowty OF city mhoo:! offioers, and fcm all other sources pertaining to putlio stihhoo'ls, awd keep B comp:~eta index of the same,"

'"Article 2666 of the Revised Civil Wxtutes, which prescrtbes the duties of the State Superintendent, provides, in pert, that *Fe shall exa&ne and approve all accounts against the school funds that are ,tc be paid by the State Treasurer, and upon such epproval,'the Comptroller shall be authorized ,to draw his vjarrar!t. He may employ suoh clerks to perform the duties of his office 8s may be authorized by appropriPtions therefor,'

"The Stat+ Superintendent has considered it his fun&ion to keep a record of the business which the Board has transacted, both finan- ci*l and otherwise, Is it no,t B fact that the State Superintendent is authorized, under the provisions of Article 2662, ,to keep all records of the State Board of Education? states that the "Article 2656, referrod to above, specifically State Superintendent may employ suah clerks to perform the duties of his office as may be authorized by approprietion ~therefor. Sircet the *2 Honorable L, A, Woods - page 2

State Superintendent is responsible for all records dealing with the Stats Board of &due&ion, and the records, both financia:i and other- wise s are kept by persons for whom the Legislature ~RS appropriated salaries, is it not a fact that the auditors, secretepies and other persons responsible for keeping these records, ,whose posi,tions are listed in the appropriation for the State Department of Eduaation, are to be considered employees of the State Superintendent of Puhlio In- struction and subject to his supemisions?"

Article 2662, R. C. S. is correctly quoted in your letter, ex- cept that a comma precedes the clause, 'pertaining to public school,'" It is clear, therefore, that said Article only requ!res the State Superintendent to file and keep a complete index of a:l:I reports, docu- ments and papers covered thereby and which pertain to public schools. -- Said Article was passed by our Legislhture in 1905,<:nd has never been

changed, Reports, dooments and papers pertaining to vocetional edu- cation and rehabilitation do not pertain to pub:ldc schools, and are not covered by said Article, Tf we should be mistsken in this con- clusion, said Article has been superseded insofsr as reports,, docu- ments and papers pertaining to vocational education and rehabilitation pro concerned. The passage of our vocational eduoetion and rehabili- tation statutes was effected many years nfter 1905, %ey therefore supersede all previous statutes in confliot therewith. For en ex- tended discussion of said statutes, see our former Opinior! No, 0-571fi,

Article 2656, R. C. So 0 nas also covered by said former Opinion No, O-5716, as ~611~ a8 by our former. Confertwice Opinion No. 2905. As heretofore stated in Opinion No.. O-6716, "i-t wes pointed out In Con- ference Opinion NO~ 2905 **** ,thet this Article (2656) authorized the State Superintendent to appoint olerks where there are approprfa,Uons made for that purpose and where such eletiks we to perform the duties I~- of his office, --

'"It was further held therein that said Article (2656) was insp- plicable to employees engaged in the vocational eduaational divisions and ,that such employees are not clerks of the State Supwintendend, As was therein observed, the employment of personnel, under the stst- u,tes and state-federal plans relative to vocational eduoation, is by specific legislative recognition the finc'tion of the State Board for Vocational Education,"

In our former Opinion STOP O-5828, which dealt with the creation of the original Eoard of Education and the creation of the present State board of Education, their powers and duties, 'we pointed out thate

" *here certain duties are conferred by the Legislature upon 5 designated officer, the Legislature is the only authority .whereby said duties may be withdram or conferred upon others, By "certain duties' is meant, of course, those duties whioh the i~egislature has power to confer,"

Honorable L. A. Woods - page 3 O-5917

Therefore, when the Legislature designated the Stats Board cf Education as the State Board of Vocational Education, and .impossd upon it the added duties of promoting vocational education and reha- bilitation in Texas, said Board was empowered to employ and supervise the necessary personnel for their accomplishment. I?c such power pws given the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and ncne can be implied frcm the present provisions of cur statutes,

The Stats Superintendent is the statutory exofficio Secretary of said Board. Article 2675b-3, V. A. C. S. Since his duties as such are not enwwwted in said Article, he should perform such duties as are ordinarily performed by a secretary. Keeping a complete record of the Board's proceedings is certainly one of his duties. This is commonly referred to as keeping the minutes of said Board. By "minutes" is meant "The official record made of the transactions or proceedings at a meeting or an organized body, as of the stockholders or directors of a corporation." Webster's &w International Dictionary, Second Edi.,ticn. "A 'Secretary' is an official scribe; an amanuensis or,writer; a person employed to write orders, records and the like, The term is practically synonymous with 'clerk'." Griffin va Town of Corydon, Ky. 44 sew’. 629.

"Secretary" is also defined as "An official scribe, amanuensis, or writer: a person employed to write letters, despatohes, orders, public or private papers, records, and the like." This last defini- tion is from 66 C. J. 1269, and is quoted in the Texas Civil Appeals cass of Mauritz v. Schwind, 101 S. W'. (2) 1085, 1090,

The foregoing statements and definitions era sufficient in soape to ccver the duties which are ordinarily performed by a secretary,

It should be noted that the duties set forth in Articles 2662 and 2656, V, A. C, S., are duties imposed upon the State Superintendent as such, and not as ex-officio secretary of the board,

In view of the foregoing, cur answers to both questions submitted are in the negative.

Very truly yours ATTOR&m GENERAL OF T?XAS By s/L. A, Flewellen ,Assistant LHF-&~-WC APPROVED APRIL 6, 1944 ./Get. P. Blackburn ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS APPROVED OPINION COMMITTEE By BWB CHAImN