The Daily Alaska empire., 1951-03-28
Juneau, Alaska March 27, 1851


 of the Governor regarding the Com. missioner of Education in Marcf 26th Empire:-
 This appears to be another at tempt to drown this important is sue in a sea of high-sounding words This same purpose was apparent ir the statement by Mrs. Nordale President of the Board of Educa- ton. which appeared in the March F issue of the Empire.
 These statements confuse but dc not face the real issue; the fact that action by the legislative ses- sion just ended deprived the vot- ing public of whatever small amount of control of the qualified tions of the Commissioner of Ed ucation which then remained avail able through elected members of the legislature.
 would like to reiterate a state ment I made in talk on this sub- iect on KINY on March 22nd. T believe it should be made abund- antly clear that these members of ,, the Board of Education are appoin- ted by the Governor, who is him. self appointed and whose actions are not ansWerable to the people of Alaska. Thus, since the Legisla- ture's controls have been removed by this bill (SB 92), at no point do the people of the Territory now have any say in the selection of the Commissioner of Education whose policies. largely determine the quality of education your chill dren will receive"
 The determination of the quali- 1 fications for this important position are now left to this appointed Board | doubt that anyone would argue shat the qualificati0nss tre' moved by S.B. 92 were adequate or even desirable, but an amend ment RAISING the qualifications recurring definite training and ex. perience in school and business ad sministration, would have in no wa, | hampered the Board in it's selec' ton of a competent Commlsslonel of Education. But, at the insistenc' of the Board, such an amendmen was defeated. Why? Even If tn motives of this Board are lily-white when did it become a good thlni for education to be completely dom mated by politics? Loose talk O the way being open for the Boart to RAISE standards, under suci conditions, merely confuses the is sue. What these misleading state ments by the Governor and Mrs Nordale do NOT say is that tn way is now just as clear tosLOWEF the standards. When such Boart demands the power to both set tn standards and make the appoint ments to top jobs in such an i'm portant field as education with n |legislative controls; declares itsel l infallible in it's choice, and charac terizes as ridiculous" anyone Wh enters protest, then l believe | is high time to question both tn motives and infallibility of such group. This Board has, by Mrs Nordale's own admission, appoin ted to the position of Supervise of Education a person With tn educational qualifications of a Ba chelor of Arts. This puts into tn position of Supervisor a person wit | lower educational qualification than some of the teachers bein | supervised. If the Board does ap point competent Commissioner o l Education, it will be despite tn present law, rather than becaus l of it. Educators of integrity mlgh | well be hesitant to accept position | in system tainted by politics. | It is becoming apparent iron l successive legislative sessions tha | this is but a part of a pattern de signed to centralize control of al | important Territorial functions il i the hands of a few appointees b removing public offices of trus | from the elective processes. be lieve this a matter for thinkin people of the Territory to give thei , best attention.
 Sincerely,
 Hal Weidner,
 | Auke Bay, Alaska