The Daily Alaska empire., 1941-03-12
BOARD CLARIFIES RULE AFFECTING
 TEACHER HIRING
Local Directors Are Final Judges of QuaIifiea-
 lions of Employees

With the publication of the min utes of the meetings of the Terri torial Board of Education held in Juneau February "A to March 6 in- elusive, the Board included a clari- fication and amendment to Article XI adopted at the Anchorage meet ing in May, 1940, wherein school authorities were required to apply to the University of Alaska when teaching vacancies occurred.
 The ruling caused widespread dis sension at the time, objections being based on three points: the uncertainty as to who would deter mine whether or not a teacher IS qualified; the inconvenient delay of. the 10 days stipulation while awaiting a reply from the UniVer- sity Appointment Bureau and the threat of withholding refunds on salaries of teachers employed in violation of the ruling.
 Further protests were expressed that such ruling would work a hardship upon graduates of Alas kan schools receiving their teach CT training in outside institutions.
 Members of the Juneau School Board who appeared before the Territorial Board to protest the ruling stated that several other Southeast Alaska schools, who were unable to send representatives, were not in agreement with the regula- ton. ar,g
 Ruling Misunderstood
 President of the Board H. l.. Faulkner stated that the ruling had been misunderstood and that although letters had been sent to all boards some points. still were not clear The board had no in- tention, he said, of exerting coer- cion Matters were explained to the satisfaction of all concerned and it was decided to clarify the ruling.
 The local school board, as before, is to be the final judge in deter mining the qualifications of an applicant for a vacancy. With all other things being equal, Alaskan teachers, whether graduates Of the University of Alaska, teachers in other Alaskan schools, or bona fide residents of the Territory, who have received their education outside the Territory while maintaining their residence within the Territory should be given preference over Outside teachers of similar qualifi- cations.
 University Reference
 Much of the misinterpretation was caused by the reference to the University of Alaska, which as the only teacher training institution of the Territory naturally is a clear ing house for teacher appointment. Many local boards feared that they would be required to hire Univer- sity graduates whether or not they met the specific requirements Of the vacancy.
 It was felt by the board and by those attending the hearing that inexperienced graduates of the Uni- versity of Alaska would be in most cases better trained and better fitted for teaching positions in Alaska than inexperienced teachers from the States. i AS the ruling stands now, with an amendment to clarify it, local boards having vacancy must apr ply to the University of Alaska for their list of available candidates. In cases where there is no difference in qualifications, Alaskan teachers are to be hired whether from the University, other Territorial Schools, or qualified residents. The only oc- casion when a penalty of withhold ing refunds would be made when an Outside teacher of decidedly in- ferior qualifications would be hired in preference to available qualified