January 28, 1991

Mr. Bob Brown
Executive Director
West Virginia Federation of Teachers 501 Broad Street
Charleston, West Virginia 25301

Dear Mr. Brown:

You have asked whether a county board of education policy would be invalid if it stated:

"Teachers from buildings that will close will be placed on a RIF list . . ."

Yes. Please refer to W.Va. Code 18-5-13(3).* Transfer and reassignment are preferred over RIF by the Legislature. There may be no need to have a RIF pursuant to //18A-4-7a and 18A-4-8b.

Hoping that I have been of service, I am,

Sincerely,

/s/

Henry Marockie
State Superintendent of Schools

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* This statute authorizes county boards of education: "(3) To close any school which is unnecessary and to assign the pupils thereof to other schools: Provided, That such closing shall be officially acted upon and teachers and service personnel involved notified on or before the first Monday in April, in the same manner as provided in section four of this article, except in an emergency, subject to the approval of the state superintendent, or under subdivision (5) of this section . . ."