EDUCATION BOARD IN A QUANDARY

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 288, 31 August 1929, Page 22

EDUCATION BOARD IN A QUANDARY

TEACHER’S CLAIM FOR COMPENSATION

Dominion Special Service. Auckland, August 29. “School teaching is not usually regarded as a dangerous occupation unless one is injured by a splinter from, a cane,” remarked a member of the Auckland Grammar School Board yesterday during _ a discussion upon the advisability of insuring its teachers against accident The discussion arose out of a claim for compensation made by a woman tea flier who met with an accident while conducting an experiment in the laboratory. The Department advised that the board had authority to pay such a claim from its general fund and that the auditor could not object. The board’s solicitor, however, advised that , such a payment would be unauthorised expenditure, and would be “tagged” by the auditor. Several members expressed the view that the board ought to be protected against compensation claims from teachers by insurance, but the secretary warned them that there was no authority for expenditure of the board’s funds upon premiums for that purpose. The opinion of the board’s solicitor stated that teachers in receipt of salary below a certain sum had a just claim if they met with an accident in the course of their employment. The Department regarded the board as an employer, and the responsibility would fall upon it. “It is time that we let a little daylight into this legal tangle,” remarked Mr. A. St. Clair Brown, who suggested that to do so the board should let the teacher sue. “We are not allowed to insure, and if there is a claim we are advised that we are not allowed to pay it out of the funds,” he said. It was decided to place the position the board was faced with before the Minister.

Later another claim for £7 for expenses arising out of an accident in the cookery room fit the Auckland Girls’ Grammar School was considered, and it was decided to pay the amount. “What shall I charge it up to?” asked the secretary. The chairman: To the general fund. We will s%> if the auditor tags it.