September 25, 2002

Thomas E. Long, Superintendent
Marion County Schools
200 Gaston Avenue
Fairmont, West Virginia 26554

Dear Mr. Long:

I am in receipt of your letter dated September 18, 2002 requesting an interpretation of a portion of a West Virginia Board of Education Policy. In particular, you wrote:

Policy 6204, School Closings or Consolidations, requires in 2.1.1 that the supporting data, etc. be available for public inspection during the thirty days preceding the date of the public hearing. The policy in 2.3 further states that the notice for the public hearing be provided at least thirty days prior to the date of hearing. Is the thirty days requirement thirty calendar days or thirty school days?

This same language, thirty days, may be found in revised West Virginia Code 18-5-13a.

In computing time, unless otherwise specified, the general rule may be found in West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 6(a), which states, in part:

In computing any period of time prescribed or allowed by these rules, by the local rules of any court, by order of court, or by an applicable statute, the day of the act, event, or default from which the designated period of time begins to run shall not be included. The last day of the period so computed shall be included unless it is a Saturday, a Sunday, or a legal holiday in which event the period runs until the end of the next day which is not a Saturday, a Sunday, or a legal holiday. When the period of time prescribed is fewer than 11 days, intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays shall be excluded in the computation.

As a result, "thirty days" as used in West Virginia Board of Education Policy 6204 shall mean thirty calendar days as is described in Rule 6(a), West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure.

Hoping that I have been of service, I remain,

Sincerely,

/s/

David Stewart
State Superintendent of Schools

DS/rt