Judge rules for N.C. schools official, against governor

By Emery P. Dalesio

RALEIGH, N.C.

North Carolina's elected public schools superintendent, not a CEO whose job was created at the governor's behest, has the constitutional powers to be the day-to-day administrator of the state's education bureaucracy, a Wake County judge ruled Friday.

The ruling deals a blow to Gov. Beverly Perdue's bid to influence and be clearly accountable for how the public schools educate about 1.5 million students. An attorney representing Perdue and the state Board of Education said the ruling would be appealed within a month.

Judge Robert Hobgood refused to delay the effect of his decision, meaning Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson and state schools CEO Bill Harrison will have to figure out within days how to work together with Atkinson taking over command.

"Dr. Harrison and I will have to have a conversation about what's next," Atkinson said. "I believe we can continue to operate well."

Her attorney, Robert Orr, said he didn't think most parents, students or teachers would notice any difference in how schools function when most open next month.

Perdue said in a statement she was reviewing the judge's ruling and planned to work with both Harrison and Atkinson. Harrison said in a statement he would look over the judge's order and continue his "close working relationship with the superintendent and the governor."

Hobgood ruled that the state board of education violated the state constitution by creating an overarching public education executive and giving state schools chief executive officer Bill Harrison that job. The General Assembly in March changed state law to allow Harrison to serve as both schools CEO and chairman of the state school board. It was the first bill Perdue signed into law after taking office in January.

But only voters could decide to replace the schools superintendent they elect with an appointed administrator at the top of the education bureaucracy, Hobgood said.

"The General Assembly and the state board of education do not have the power, without a constitutional amendment, to deprive the superintendent of public instruction of her inherent power," he said.

North Carolina is one of 13 states that elect their chief school administrators.

The state constitution establishes the superintendent as the chief administrative officer of the state Board of Education, whose voting members largely are appointed by the governor to supervise and administer the public schools. But the constitution also says the duties of the schools superintendent, and other elected executive offices like attorney general and agriculture commissioner, "shall be prescribed by law."

That means the General Assembly can pass laws defining their duties, said Mark Davis, a state attorney representing Perdue and the state school board.

The political tug of war over the superintendent's powers has gone on for more than a decade. The General Assembly has twice come close to letting voters decide through a referendum whether to have the superintendent appointed by the state board or chosen by ballot, but politicians backed away because the public resisted giving up the right to choose.

A 1995 law gave the state school board flexibility to shape the superintendent's job. Since then, the power of the post has ebbed and flowed, depending on who held the job. In Atkinson's first term, the board gave most of the day-to-day authority of the schools to a deputy superintendent. Atkinson was elected to a second term in November. She said her role has been diminished to ambassador for public education.

Perdue, a former teacher with a master's degree in education, said in January that she wants the responsibility for education but didn't want to spend the time and effort to change the constitution.

Influential Sen. Tony Rand said the ruling may push the Legislature to act, but he didn't know if that would mean putting a constitutional amendment on the ballot.

"I think most people want to resolve this issue now," said Rand, D-Cumberland. "We don't need to limp along with the convoluted system of governance for education."

The ruling further muddies a confusing situation that has lingered for more than a decade, said John Dornan, executive director of the Public School Forum of North Carolina, a business-funded education advocacy group in Raleigh.

"We're now facing another school leadership crisis at the very time that strong school leadership is needed," he said on the group's Web site.