Letter Opinion 1971 No. 042

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                                                                  March 15, 1971
 
 
 
Honorable Elmer W. Stanley
Executive Secretary
Washington State School Directors' Association
200 East Union Avenue
Olympia, Washington 98501
                                                                                            Cite as:  AGLO 1971 No. 42 (not official)
 
 
Dear Mr. Stanley:
 
            By letter dated March 5, 1971, you requested an opinion of this office concerning the legality of the Washington State School Directors' Association entering into a contract with a consultant relative to excess levies by local school districts.
 
            You indicated in your letter that the school directors' association would like to participate in supporting a portion of the activities outlined in the proposal which you submitted to us.  The proposal by the consultant provides for contracting for research service to determine why special levies for school support fail, and why others succeed.  You indicated that the school directors' association planned to publicize the findings of such a study so that local school district officials would have a better understanding of the forces at work in their own communities and to further delineate what conditions would be most favorable in the community to insure the passage of a special levy.
 
            Your specific question is whether the Washington State School Directors' Association is legally authorized to expend a portion of its funds for this type of a study so that the information could be disseminated to local school districts throughout the state of Washington.
 
                                                                     ANALYSIS
 
            We are of the opinion that the statutes relating to the Washington State School Directors' Association would specifically authorize the association to engage in such a study and disseminate the information to local school districts throughout the state of Washington.
 
            This specific authority is contained in RCW 28A.61.030 (5), which provides that the school directors' association shall have the power:
 
             [[Orig. Op. Page 2]]
            "To conduct studies and disseminate information therefrom relative to increased efficiency in local school board administration;
 
            ". . ."
 
            Therefore, based upon this statute the Washington State School Directors' Association has the statutory authority to expend its funds to carry out the study relating to special levies of school districts as outlined in the proposal which you submitted to this office.
 
            We trust the foregoing will be of assistance to you.
 
Very truly yours,
 
FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
 
 
Richard M. Montecucco
Assistant Attorney General