STATE OF MICHIGAN

FRANK J. KELLEY, ATTORNEY GENERAL

Opinion No. 6198

January 20, 1984

EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF:

Measurement of distance along public walkway for purpose of state school aid transportation reimbursement

SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS:

Measurement of distance along public walkway for purpose of state school aid transportation reimbursement

WORDS AND PHRASES:

'Walkway'

The term 'walkway' contained in 1979 PA 94, Sec. 71(1), for purposes of measuring distances to and from school in order to qualify for state school aid transportation reimbursement means a public pathway owned or controlled by the school district or other governmental unit and maintained on an ongoing basis throughout the school year as a safe passageway for students to walk to and from school.

Honorable William Faust

State Senator

The Capitol

Lansing, Michigan

You have requested my opinion as to the meaning of the term 'walkway' in the State School Aid Act of 1979, 1979 PA 94, Sec. 71(1); MCLA 388.1671; MSA 15.1919(971), which provides for the measurement of distances for purposes of state school aid transportation reimbursement to school districts. State school aid transportation reimbursement is not provided to school districts for the transportation of pupils living within one and one-half miles of the schools which they attend.

As originally enacted, the last sentence of section 71(1) of the State School Aid Act of 1979, supra, provided:

In 1981 PA 134, the Legislature amended the last sentence of section 71(1) of the State School Aid Act of 1979, supra, to read as follows:

(Emphasis added.)

The term 'walkways,' as employed in the above quoted statutory provision, has not been defined by the Legislature. Nor has the State Board of Education adopted an administrative rule defining such term. In the absence of statutory definition and controlling judicial definition of the statute, words in a statute are to be construed according to their common meaning. State ex rel Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney v Levenburg, 406 Mich 455, 465; 280 NW2d 810 (1977).

In Webster's Third New International Dictionary, 'walkway' is defined as '[a] passageway used or intended for walking. . . .'

A plain reading of the current language of section 71(1) of the State School Aid Act of 1979, supra, makes it clear that only public walkways, i.e., walkways owned or controlled by the school district or other governmental units, may be utilized in measuring distances for purposes of state school aid transportation reimbursement to school districts. A public walkway may not be utilized for measuring distances unless it is maintained on an ongoing basis throughout the school year as a safe passageway for students to walk to and from school. A passageway open to the students to travel upon going to and from school that does not receive snow removal in the winter may not be considered a walkway for purposes of measuring distances pursuant to section 71(1) of the State School Aid Act of 1979, supra.

It is my opinion, therefore, that pursuant to section 71(1) of the State School Aid Act of 1979, supra, a walkway is a public pathway owned or controlled by the school district or another governmental unit and maintained on an ongoing basis throughout the school year as a safe passageway for students to walk to and from school.

Frank J. Kelley