Judges: WINSTON BRYANT, Attorney General
Filed Date: 11/10/1992
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/5/2016
The Honorable Nick Wilson State Senator P.O. Box 525 Pocahontas, AR 72455
Dear Senator Wilson:
This is in response to your request for an opinion on the following questions:
1. What procedure must the Department of Finance and Administration follow to implement and administer a `direct deposit' system?
2. Is it constitutionally sound and/or statutorily correct for the Department of Finance and Administration to make a direct deposit of school funds to a school district treasurer instead of making the deposit to the county treasurer?
While it is my opinion that a provision for the direct deposit of state-appropriated public school funds to the school districts would in all likelihood be constitutionally sound, I believe that legislation will be necessary in order to effect such a program. My review has failed to yield authority under current law for the implementation of such a procedure.
A review of the various Code provisions governing school finances compels the conclusion that funds appropriated by the state for the benefit of the public schools are generally intended to be deposited with the county treasurer, for allocation to the districts by the county boards of education. See, e.g.,
A.C.A. §§
The conclusion that legislative action will be necessary in order to implement such a system is buttressed by A.C.A. §
"[a]ll taxes and revenues of the district, except activity funds and school food service funds, shall be turned over to the county treasurer by the collector or other agencies, who shall immediately pay over the funds to the school district treasurer in those districts maintaining a school district treasurer.
A.C.A. §
The above section of the Code applies in school districts with more than 5,500 students and an annual budget exceeding $250,000.00. Arkansas Code Annotated §
With regard to the constitutionality of such a deposit system, consideration must be given to Article
It is my opinion that a court would, as a general matter, in all likelihood resolve this question in favor of the constitutionality of such an enactment. There are no reported decisions addressing this precise question. The Arkansas Supreme Court has noted, however, with regard to the legislature's duty to provide by general law for the support of common schools (Ark. Const. art.
[t]here is no limitation upon the power of the Legislature with respect to the manner of distributing or using the funds, except that it shall be for common school purposes. . . . The Legislature has, as already stated, the power to specify how the funds shall be used with the constitutional limitation that they be used for common school purposes. It can designate the functionaries through whom the funds may be distributed and can ascertain the basis upon which such distribution may be made. . . .
It is thus clear that the court did not view Art. 7, § 46 (establishing the county treasurer as ex-officio treaasurer of the common school fund of the county) as a limitation on the legislature's authority to direct the manner and method by which "the common school fund of the state" (id. at 83) will be distributed. There is no constitutional requirement that state school funds be deposited in the county treasury. While it seems clear under current law that the county treasurer is considered the custodian of the funds (see discussion above, and see also generally School Dist. No. 1 v. Kitchens,
It is therefore my opinion that while the Arkansas Constitution is not an impediment, legislative action will be necessary in order to implement such a "direct deposit" system.
The foregoing opinion, which I hereby approve, was prepared by Deputy Attorney General Elisabeth A. Walker.
Sincerely,
WINSTON BRYANT Attorney General
WB:cyh