We have received your letter of recent date which we quote in part as follows:

“The trustees of Putnam Independent School Dis- trict in Callahan County employed a superintendent in the summer of 1941, on a yearly basis, the salary to be paid in monthly installments. The term of such employment was from July 1, 1941 to July 1, 1942. “Said superintendent closed the school term about May 20, 1942, and was paid the monthly installment the month May, 1942. The superintendent before June 1, 1942, and secured employment elsewhere, moving away from the school district and having no further contact with the school. He is now demanding the last monthly installment the month of June, 1942. His theory is that under his employment he was not required to do more than finish the year 1941-42, while the trustees think it was his duty to remain the full year, in order to see af- ter interest of the school and the students, in such matters as making transcripts of credits, etc., and I have given them my opinion the effect they are correct in this matter, his employment being for May I have your opinion the year, though paid in monthly installments. as to whether or not the said is entitled to said last month’s in- stallment facts stated above.” Article 2781, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes, pro- vides as follows:

“The Board of Trustees of any city or town or any independent school district may employ a superintendent, or other in the schools three years, provided the Board of Trustees which had a scholastic population of 5,000 or more in last preceding scholastic year may *2 employ a superintendent, or other in the schools five years. All twelvQ- added) necessarily will be general in nature.

In the first place, this department is not authorized to pass on questions of fact. In the second place, we do not have contract of employment before us for examination. We assume such contract was legally entered into, that it calls services’over a period ‘of 12 months, and that, the board of trus- tees has done nothing in the nature of breaching th%e contract.

You will notice that Article ,,2781 provides that 12 monthcontracts shall begin on July 1st and end on June 30th. Evidently; the board of ‘trustees had this provision In mind when the contract was entered into. If the contract called of ,the superintendent fo.r a ,period of 12 months and the at the end of 11 months and did not perform such action ,being in no way ~services the 12th.month, .caused by the~‘board of trustees, it is our opinion

We quote-, the following from Corpus Juri s, Volume 56, page 396: ”

?The rules of law relating to the ,performance ,and, breach of contracts generally, apply to, contracts between teachers and the school authorities. ,Both parties must perform the. contract according t.o its terms.ll,

The following appears on page 411 of the same volume: “Failure ~of: the teacher to perfarm.his part of the contract is a defense to an action by him to recover damages its ,breach,by the school.board, as where he failed-to secure a certificate, or voluntarily aban- doned his employment before the end of his term.” In view of the foregoing you are respectfully ,aavi.sed is employed under Article 2781, supra, that where a superintendent by the board of trustees Scholl district a’ contract for al p’eriod of 12 months’and such superintendent, through-,no fault or action on the part of the board.of trustees, leaves, at the, end, ‘of ,the .llth month anddoes not pe~rform any *3 . I the 12th month of the contract,

district to the superintendent is expressly limited fact situation presented and the assumptions made.

Very truly yours ATTORNEY GENERAI, OF TEXAS By /s/ George W. Sparks George W. Sparks, Assistant APPROVED OCT 9, 1942

/s/ Grover Sellers

FIRST ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL!

APPROVED: OPINIOti COMMITTEE

BY: BWB, CHAIRMAN

GWS:db:wb