October 23, 2003

Curtis Gunnoe
P.O. Box 196
Midway, WV 25878

Dear Mr. Gunnoe:

I am in receipt of your request for a Superintendent's Interpretation, dated October 14, 2003, regarding the application of West Virginia Code 18A-4-10. You explain that you are employed by the Raleigh County Board of Education as a Custodian III/Electronic Technician at Woodrow Wilson High School. You hold a 210-day employment contract in this position. You also hold a 30 day extra-duty summer contract as a Custodian III. You further explain that you frequently work several extra days on both your summer and your regular contracts of employment. Specifically, you ask:

"Do the extra days I work on each of my contracts count for calculation of the personal leave I earn?"

No. West Virginia Code 18A-4-10 provides, in pertinent part:

At the beginning of the employment term, any full-time employee of a county board of education shall be entitled annually to at least one and one-half days personal leave for each employment month or major fraction thereof in the employee's employment term. (Emphasis added).

Because your "employment term" consists of a total of 240 days, you are entitled to earn personal leave only for those days. It is common for employees of county boards of education to work extra days during their employment terms in the performance of overtime work, extra-duty work, etc. Performing this extra work does not entitle an employee to earn additional personal leave. As the answer to this question is no, your other questions are moot.

Hoping that I have been of service, I am
Sincerely,

/s/

David Stewart
State Superintendent of Schools