IN RE

PUBLIC SCHOOL FUND.

The expense incurred by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction in preparing and having printed blank forms, registers and books for the use of teachers and school officers, must be paid by warrants drawn on the Printing Fund or General Contingent Fund, but the same shall be charged to the respective counties at cost and deducted from the amount apportioned to such county at the semi-annual apportionment of the Public School Fund.

It is the duty of the State Treasurer to transfer the amount so deducted from the Public School Fund to the General Fund. The expense of printing school laws must be paid by warrants drawn on the Printing Fund or the General Contingent Fund.

State of Colorado. Attorney General's Office. Denver, Colorado, May 16, 1899.

Dear Sir-Your official communication under date of February 18, 1899, requesting my opinion in response thereto, was received on that date and was as follows:

"I respectfully ask your opinion in regard to the legality of the transfer of the sum of $1,363.93 from the Public School Income Fund to the General Revenue of 1898 as per attached notice from Hon. Geo. W. Temple, Auditor of State.

Some question has arisen as to whether any part of the school Fund, Permanent or Income, can be transferred to any other Fund under the Constitution of the State of Colorado.

Will you kindly furnish this Office, at your earliest convenience with an opinion on this matter, so that we may be governed in the future in regard to the distribution of this Fund."

The attached official communication from the Hon. Auditor of State, under date of January 12, 1899, was in the following words:

"I hereby certify to you that I have transferred on the books of this office, the sum of $1,363.93 from the Public School Income Fund to the General Revenue of 1898."

In response to my written request, under date of February 20, 1899, for further information upon this subject, I received your communication of February 21, 1899, from which I quote as follows:

"I understand that this money was used for printing blank reports which are distributed by the Supt. of Public Instruction to the various School Districts throughout the State."

** *

"The question in my opinion seems to be:-First, whether or not, any part of the Public School Income Fund, can be used by the Supt. of Public Instruction in payment of printing blanks furnished the School Districts throughout the State?

Second, whether or not, under the Constitution, any transfer of School Funds, Permanent or Income, to any other fund, would be legal?"

The legislature was then in session and the demand upon my time was such that I was unable at that time to give this matter the consideration which its importance deserved. Knowing that it did not necessarily call for your official action before the first of June, I notified you that with your consent, I would postpone further consideration of the matter until after the adjournment of the legislature. In the meantime substantially the same questions were informally presented to this office by the State Auditing Board.

The statutes of this state, relating to the duties of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, adopted at the first session of the General Assembly after the adoption of the State Constitution, contain the following section:

"He shall have a general supervision of all the county superintendents and of the public schools of the state. He shall

prepare, have printed and furnish to all officers charged with the administration of the laws relating to public schools and to teachers, such blank forms and books as may be necessary to the discharge of their duties. But he shall not copy-right such forms, nor be directly or indirectly compensated by reason of the sale thereof. He shall have the laws relating to public schools printed in pamphlet form, and annexed thereto, forms for making reports and conducting school business, and shall supply school officers, school libraries and state libraries with a copy each. Said printing to be paid for out of the printing fund on the warrant of the auditor, on bills approved by the superintendent of public instruction, and attested by secretary of state."

G. L. of Colo., 1877, Section 2455.

Under the above section, the expense of printing blank forms, books and schools laws, was paid by warrants drawn on the printing fund. An examination of the several Session Laws of Colorado, will show that it was the uniform practice of the legislature for many years to insert in each general appropriation bill a specific appropriation for the printing required by law.

In 1879 the above section was amended and now reads as follows:

"He shall have a general supervision of all the county superintendents and of the public schools of the state. He shall prepare, have printed and furnished to teachers and all officers charged with the administration of the laws relating to public schools such blank forms, registers and books as may be necessary to the discharge of their duties, but he shall not copyright such forms, nor be directly nor indirectly compensated by reason of the sale thereof. All registers and blank books so furnished for the use of teachers and school officers shall be charged to the respective counties at cost, and the county superintendent of schools shall receipt for and distribute the same among the districts of his county as they may require; and the amount so charged against each county shall be deducted from the amount apportioned to such county at the semi-annual apportionment of the state school fund; and the superintendent of public instruction shall certify to the state treasurer the aggregate amount of such deductions, and the treasurer shall thereupon transfer

said amount from the school fund, subject to apportionment, to the general fund.

The superintendent of public instruction shall have the laws relating to public schools printed in pamphlet form, and annexed thereto forms for making reports and conducting school business, and shall supply school officers, school libraries and state libraries with a copy each. Said printing to be paid for out of the printing fund on warrant of the auditor, on bills approved by the superintendent of public instruction and attested to by the secretary of state."

Session Laws of 1879, page 161.

2 Mills' Ann. Stats., Section 3973.

Under the above amendment of 1879, it is made the duty of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to prepare and have printed blank forms, registers and books, and it is provided that "all registers and blank forms so furnished for the use of teachers and school officers shall be charged to the respective counties at cost." I must construe this amended section to mean that not only registers and blank books, but also blank forms, shall be charged to the respective counties at cost.

The second paragraph of said section provides that the State Superintendent of Public Instruction shall have the school laws printed in pamphlet form for distribution. After a careful consideration of this section, construing it in the light of the said amendment, it is my conclusion, first, that the expense of preparing and printing such blank forms, registers and books as may be necessary shall be paid for, in the first instance, by warrants drawn by the Auditor on the printing fund, but shall be ultimately charged to the respective counties at cost, and the amount so charged against each county shall be deducted from the amount apportioned to such county at the semiannual apportionment of the state school fund. Second, the cost of preparing and printing the school laws shall be paid for by warrant drawn by the Auditor on the printing fund, but shall not be charged

the respective counties, nor deducted from the amount apportioned to such county at the semiannual apportionment of the state school fund. Third, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction shall certify to the State Treasurer the aggregate amount of such deductions on account of the expense of preparing and printing such blank forms, registers and books, and the State Treasurer shall thereupon transfer said amount from the school fund to the general fund.

The General Assembly has not, at either of the last two biennial sessions, made a separate appropriation, in the general appropriation bills, for the printing required by law, but has made, in the general appropriation bills, a separate appropriation for the incidental and contingent expenses of the several departments of government and the various bureaus and officers connected therewith and for the printing of said departments and bureaus. I conclude, therefore, that the printing required by the above section shall be paid for by warrant drawn against the last mentioned appropriation, which is commonly called the "General Contingent Fund,” and which is under the control of the State Auditing Board.

It follows from the foregoing that the expense incurred by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction in preparing and printing blank forms, registers and books, while paid for in the first instance out of the printing fund or out of the general contingent fund, is ultimately borne by the school fund, and an amount equal to the face value of the warrants drawn in payment thereof is transferred from the school fund to the general fund, which is commonly called the general revenue fund. The statute makes no provision for the interest which must accrue on the warrants from the date on which they are drawn to the date on which they are called and paid, and this interest must, therefore, be borne by the general fund, out of which such interest is paid, without reimbursement from the school fund.