June Atkinson: in charge of NC public schools

Didn't we vote for that in November when June Atkinson was elected as Superintendent of Public Instruction? That's what the North Carolina State Grange thought at least... which is why we contacted Governor Perdue's office in February over our concern that the appointment of Bill Harrison eroded the authority of the Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson as an elected official.

Our communication with the Governor's office was as follows:
According to G.S. 115C-19, the Superintendent of Public Instruction acts as Chief Administration Officer of the State Board of Education and manages the administration of day-to-day functions of the public school system. Appointing Bill Harrison to function as the operator of day-to-day operations of the Department disregarded the Superintendent's duties as prescribed by state law. The State Constitution states that the elected official is the leader over North Carolina schools. The Superintendent of Public Instruction was elected by North Carolina voters as more than an "ambassador" for local school systems teachers and business communities. The power to hand-pick appointees is clearly undemocratic because portions of the Superintendent's functions will no longer be fulfilled by the duly elected Superintendent.

June Atkinson sued the state and Superior Court Judge Robert Hobgood said Friday that Atkinson is the person at the top of North Carolina schools because the state constitution assigns that duty to the elected superintendent. The video of the Court's ruling can be found here (for the "meat" of the ruling, fast forward & watch from 5:30 to 9:45)

Bill Harrison will still be employed by the Department of Public Instruction and will serve as the Chairman of the Board of Education, however, he will no longer be considered the CEO of schools. "I think we're both adults and we're both focused on the work that needs to be done, and that's what's important," Harrison said.