County and city boards of education are hereby authorized to require county and city public school principals and such other persons as may be charged with the custody and responsibility for handling public school funds to give bond in an amount to be fixed by the county or city board of education, as the case may be, in a reputable surety company authorized to do business in Alabama, conditioned upon the faithful performance of the duties of their office and upon the accounting and paying over to the proper authority of all such public school funds coming into their hands.