Montana Attorney General Opinion 15-234

Opinion No. 234 Nepotism-Schools-TeacheI's. HELD: The Nepotism Act applies to school districts and the appointment of school teachers. June 8, 1933. You ha ye requested IllY opinion on the question whether the Nepotism Act, Chapter 12, Laws of In::!3, applies to school boards and teachers. You have questioned its application on the ground thn t the act uses the word "ap- point" and therefore does not apply to the "hiring" of school teachers. 'Vhile it is true that teachers are hired or employed, such hiring or em- ployment between the bonn] and the teacher results from the appointment to the position. which is the act of the board. This distinction is recognized 164 OPll\'IOl\'S OF 'I'HI~ A'l'TOHXEY GEXEHAL by the authorities as appears from Sec- tion 287 in 56 C. J. 377: "Selection, Ap- pointment, or Election - Definitions. Appointment to a position as teacher or principal or superintendent in the pub- lic school system is the act of the offi- cer or board, upon whom that duty rests, assigning a particular person to that service or office. 'When the act is that of a board. it is referred to gen- erally as an election. Employment has reference to the agreement between board and appointee for the latter's sen-ices, resulting from the appoint- lIlent or election to the position." The word "app6int" is quite generally used in connection with the selection of teachers. See 56 C. J. 377, Section 237 and notes, as well as the following sections. The word "appoint" is de- fined ill 4 C . .T. 1402 as follows: "AP- POIXT. To allot, set apart, or desig- na te; to choose or select: to nominate or authorita tively assign." 'Vebster's Xew International Dictionar~-, the New Standard Dictionary, and the New Cen- tUl'~- Dictionary all define the word "appoint" as meaning to assign, to designate, set apart, allot, to fix upon. select, etc. It is 'true that the word "appoint" is used in connection with the appoint- lJIent to an office but as apppars from Corpus Juris and the dictionaries above cited, the general use of the word is not so limited and we do not believe the legislature intended to use it in such a limited meaning. It will be ob- ~erved that in both Sections 1 and 2 of the Act, the phrase "appoint to any position" is used. If the legislature in- tended to use the word "appoint" in a narrow, technical meaning, referring to offices only, it certainly would have used the word "office" in the above phrase in place of the word "position," which is by no means synonymous with the word "office." Words in common use are to be given their natural, plain, ordinary an (i commonly understood meaning. (59 C . .T. 975). The intention of the legislature no doubt was to stop political patronage by reason of rela- tionship and certainly political patron- age has a hroader significance than lIlere appOintment to office. It is interesting to note in this con- nection that the legislature in Chapter 87, IAlWS of 1927, passed an act en- titled: "An Act • • * Relating to the Tenure of Office of Tea~heJ's." I also call attention to Section 10710: "Con- struction 'of the Penal Code. The rule of the COllllllon law, that penal statutes a re to be strictl~· construed, has no ap- plication ·to this code. All its provi- sions are to be construed according to the' fair import of their terms, with a view to effect its object and to pro- mote justice." It is therefore my opinion that the Xepotism Act applies to the appoint- ment and hiring of ,,("hool teachers.