AGO 1996-176.

• Case Date: April 09, 1996
• Court: Alabama

Alabama Attorney General Opinions 1996. AGO 1996-176. 1996-176April 9, 1996Honorable Adolphus Moss President, Sumter County Schools Post Office Box 10 Livingston, AL 35470 Education, Boards of - Teachers - Employees, Employers, Employment - Compensation A county board of education may give its employees a temporary pay increase for prospective services with the approval of the county superintendent of education as long as a deficit is not incurred.Dear Mr. Moss: This opinion is issued in response to your request for an opinion from the Attorney General. QUESTION Whether the Sumter County Board of Education can give its employees a temporary pay increase for prospective services and, if this can be done, whether the temporary pay increase can be in a lump sum. FACTS AND ANALYSIS A county board of education is a governmental agency created by law and endowed with certain rights and powers defined by statute, and, being a creature of statute, can exercise only those powers which are expressly conferred upon it, or necessarily incident thereto. Board of Education v. Slaughter, 160 So. 758 (Ala. 1935). A county superintendent has the authority to make changes in the budget during the fiscal year which are deemed desirable with the approval of the county board of education. Code of Alabama 1975, _ 16-13-143(c). The board may not amend its annual budget unilaterally without the recommendation or at least the consent of the county superintendent. Armstrong v. Board of Education, 430 F.Supp. 595 (N.D. Ala. 1977). Thus, any changes in the school budget made by the county board of education must be made with the consent of the county superintendent of education. Nothing in the law prohibits the county board from amending its budget to grant its employees a temporary pay increase, but the budget must be amended and approved in accordance with statutory procedures set forth in the laws regulating the budget system. However, there is no explicit statutory authority for a county board of education to award its employees a lump sum, as opposed to an adjustment of salary, and we do not think awarding a lump sum increase is necessarily incident to the authority to pay a normal salary. Furthermore, please be reminded that any pay increase must be prospective in...