Do community colleges always try to hire the best?(point of view)

Many believe community colleges obtain less qualified faculty because more qualified candidates teach at colleges and universities offering bachelor's degrees or higher. The belief is that because of a community college's high teaching load, lack of other colleagues, lack of prestige, and lack of time for research, the most gifted scholars go to greener pastures. The community college then gets the best of the rest.

It is true that community colleges usually lose the most gifted scholars to research oriented institutions. But community colleges will counter that they are hiring skilled individuals who love to teach. Many believe the country's best teachers work for community colleges.

Is this line of reasoning right? I do not believe so. Community colleges often do not hire the most qualified candidates as faculty, even when they promote teaching as the most important quality. While I understand that good teaching is hard to quantify, I believe several factors often get in the way, of choosing the best teacher and …