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Friday: June wins
posted at 2009-07-17 21:01 | Last modified 2009-07-17 21:10
Wake County Superior Court Judge Robert Hobgood ruled today that DPI Superintendent June Atkinson –and NOT Perdue-appointed CEO Bill Harrison – is the leader of the NC Dept. of Public Instruction.
One of Bev Perdue’s first acts as Governor was to appoint Bill Harrison as CEO of the state’s public schools. She said Harrison would handle day-to-day management, while Atkinson would be "education ambassador." Atkinson promptly sued the state, saying she, not Harrison, had been elected to run the state’s school system.
Reading his ruling from the bench, Hobgood said the state has the right to create positions at DPI, including a CEO, but that the state Constitution gives day-to-day management oversight to the elected Superintendent. If Harrison is to continue as CEO, he ruled, it would have to be through or under the supervision of Atkinson. Any other arrangement would be unconstitutional.
You can read the ruling at Binker’s blog, or hear Hobgood read it himself below (14 min).
Listen Now!
June beams
June Atkinson was delighted by the ruling. “I’m relieved,” she told reporters.
"I believe that the judge's ruling affirmed that votes count in elections, and that the Constitution matters."
Atkinson said she didn’t really want to take the matter to court.
"But I thought it was time that this issue be clarified. It's not in the best interest of people who work in the Department, it's not in the best interest of local school districts, and most importantly, it really is not in the best interest of children in our state."
Atkinson says she has a good working relationship with Harrison, and she hopes to have the same with Perdue, whom she says she respects “as governor.” But when asked about the next step, she didn’t mince words about the redundancy of Harrison’s $260K/year CEO job.
"I believe the department needs one person who’s responsible to staff and responsible to the State Board of Education,. And I don’t know that both – I mean, I know that both are not needed with both having the responsibility of running the dept of public construction. So Dr. Harrison and I will have to have a conversation about what’s next."
Atkinson also said she has a good working relationship with Harrison, who remains chair of the State Board of Education. Her unedited comments are below (6:40).
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More reax
The courtroom, full of Atkinson supporters, erupted in cheers when the judge ended the hearing. As the Superintendent posed for pictures and returned hugs, her attorney, former NC Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr, explained the ruling to reporters. He says he’s sure Atkinson will find the best way to work with both the Governor and Harrison. More from Orr here (2:40).
Listen Now!
A DPI spokeswoman said Harrison had no comment this afternoon, but Fay-O’s Paul Woolverton twittered the following response from the (ex-) CEO:
"I am going to take a look at what the judge's order says, and, as I have done the last four months, will continue my close working relationship with the Superintendent and the Governor to increase accountability and ensure North Carolina's public schools are globally competitive.”
An internal email from Harrison to DPI staff was similarly noncommittal:
"I know that most of you are aware of today's ruling by Superior Court Judge Robert Hobgood. I want you to know that I will continue to work with the State Superintendent and department staff to carry out our mission of educating and graduating future-ready students. Thank you for your continued commitment to the agency and to the state's 1.4 million public school students."
The Governor released the following statement this afternoon:
"I am reviewing the court's ruling. I look forward to continuing to work with Dr. Harrison and Superintendent Atkinson to achieve our goal of providing a quality education for North Carolina's children."
The AG’s office didn’t have a lot to say, either. In court, state’s attorney Mark Davis said the defense would be filing written notice of appeal. But later, AG spokeswoman Noelle Talley said the office was still in the process of reviewing the ruling and hadn’t yet decided whether to appeal.
Senator Tony Rand told Dome today’s decision could fuel a push for a constitutional amendment to make the schools chief an appointed, not elected, position. But till now, voters have shown no inclination to give up the right to elect the schools chief – and PPP pollster Tom Jensen says that hasn’t changed.
I’m offline for a few days, so no post Monday. Sorry, but the beach calls.
Comments? Drop me a line.
