The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1873-06-17
HERBERT.


Mr.. EDIToR: AS there is an impress
sion in the minds OF some teachers, and
prudential committees even, that a cert.
hcate given to a teacher by any town su.
perintendent in the county, entities such
teacher to teach a legal school 10 any
other town in the county, and as this err
ror may lead some teachers into difficulty
in collecting their wages, it may be well
to examine the law and decisions of the
Supreme Court in relation to this matter.
This impression doubtless grows out of a
report that the town superintendent, at
a convention holden at Middlcbury,A April
10, 1873, agreed to recognize each 9TH
er's certificates. There may be some
truth 10 this, so far as the written exam
~ination is concerned, for the same ques-
tons in the written examination were to
be used at the public examinations
throughout the county, and if the teacher
could answer them i'll one town, they
could, of course, in any other. But the
written examination did not require au-
swers to questions in only four branches
of study, leaving the other branches Tor
oral examination. La the published pro-
ceedings Of that convention, | find the
following regulation, ian oral examination
satisfactory to the superintendent on all
the subjects prescribed by law, including
history and civil government" Now the
plain inference Is that each superintendent
reserved the right to require such oral
examination as would be satisfactory to
him.
Sec. IL, chap. %, of the General Stat.
utes says, after Pei ting out some Of the
duties of tow supcrintcndents, " and ev-
cry instructor Of IA district school shall
obtain Of the town superintendent Of Such
town a certificate Of bis qualifications
&c.
In n decision - Al o-r.~"io court
reported in Goth Vermont, page $50, it
was held that a teacher, In order to re.
cover his wages Of a school district, must
first show Q compliance with his require.
ment," and in 10Th Vermont, page ZIG,
=" nor can the prudential committee waive
the requirement Of law, or bind the dis.
trict by a contract with tho teacher, that
he may teach the school without procuring
a certificate" &c. Sec. GO. chap. %
General Statutes says that " any contract
FOR teaching hereafter made between the
prudential committee of any school dis
trict, and any common school teacher
shall be null aud void, if the said teacher
shall have failed to obtain a certificate OF
qualification of the superintendent Of the
town in which such district shall be stu.
ated," &c. Sec. 90 of same chapter pre-.
scribes tho penalty for prudential com
mittees for m~isapplying school funds, or
in other words paying teachers without
certificates.
From the foregoing, the conclusion is
inevitable that every teacher, not having
a certificate obtained from or approved
by, the superintendent Of schools in the
town in which he is teaching, is not n le-
gal teacher and cannot collect any wages
for services. though holding a certificate
given by a town superintendent of one or
more other towns. But suppose the pru-
dental committee is willing to disregard
the plain provisions Of the law, SO far as
applicable to him, and pays such illegal
teacher with the school district funds
then the district will be the loser, for
such district is not entitled to any of the
public money, for in the division Of the
public money, the selectmen are prohib.
tied by law from giving any portion of
the school fund to any district that has
not maintained a legal school. The tax
payers 10 every district are, therefore di-
rectly interested in having legal schools,
unless the prudential committee pays il
legal teachers out Of his own pocket as
he has a perfect right to do. N. s.