April 19, 1999

Ellsworth Buck
Director of Personnel
Greenbrier County Schools
Post Office Box 987
Lewisburg, West Virginia 24901

Dear Mr. Buck:

This letter is in response to your request of January 27, 1999 for an interpretation concerning the following question: "If a position is posted for a school counselor in a grades 10-12 high school, does an applicant certified as a counselor K-8 and 5-12 and whose only experience is in an elementary school counselor position receive credit for the existence of teaching in the required certification area?"

Based on the statute which provides:

"Guidance counselors and all of the professional employees, as defined in Section 1, Article 1 of this chapter, ‘shall gain the seniority in their nonteaching area of professional employment on the basis of the length of time the employee has been employed by the county board of education in that area'."

The response to your question, the answer is "yes".

For your edification, I am providing you with a copy of Jones v. Summers County Board of Education, West Virginia Education and State Employees Grievance Board, Docket #97-45-147.

Hoping that I have been of service, I am

Sincerely,

/s/