Atkinson wants clear statement on who runs N.C. schools

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina schools superintendent June Atkinson wants the Legislature to decide once and for all her role in supervising public education.

Atkinson wrote a letter Tuesday to House Speaker Joe Hackney and Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight, asking them to work to restore authority to her job or give the governor complete control over the public schools.

The Legislature and State Board of Education have given power to and taken away power from the superintendent since the 1990s. The post currently has few duties, although voters elect the superintendent. Atkinson was re-elected in November.

Gov. Bev Perdue last week appointed Cumberland County Schools Superintendent Bill Harrison as chairman of the State Board of Education and chief executive of the state's public school system. Former education board Chairman Howard Lee was named executive director of the Education Cabinet, a policy-making group that has been dormant for several years.

Perdue's move came in response to a consultant's report that criticized the state Department of Public Instruction for lacking a clearly defined leadership structure.

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I suggest everyone investigate total dropout rate, not senior dropout rate. Last number I saw was close to 30%. This is the number of students enrolled for 9th grade to the actual number of students that graduate. Some education directors argue method and numbers to get this percentage are unfair- I say a dropout is a dropout. Public school has become a push you to college club and not all students need college. My guess is if more trade,service, and community service classes were offered with better scheduling and more promotion, the dropout rate would improve. A friend has had to go every semester(5 so far) to get her son in auto mechanics class. The class has a waiting list and he loves it, which keeps him going to school. Thank God he has an advocate, most kids that drop don't. Keep June, we elected her, and hold her responsible-good or bad.

agricon3
February 4, 2009 9:57 p.m.

I am a teacher, and I invite EVERYONE to take one day to volunteer at your local school. Just DO it and quit talking about how "bad" or "good" our school systems are. You will find, I believe, that students and teachers do quite well every day in the learning environment in spite of the wilted and irrelevant bureaucracy which exists at the state and national levels. We have school every day, and we KNOW what to do. Yes, we have dropouts, but we also have students who are national scholars, who are working to support their families while going to school, and who are respectful, wonderful citizens. Failed schools? Not at all. Failed organizations who pretend to KNOW about schools....EVERYWHERE. Did our governor even send her own children to NC public schools? If not, why? She apparently thought we weren't good enough for her children, and nothing...I mean NOTHING...could be further from the truth. She needs to spend some time with us too.

thnkb4uspk
February 4, 2009 9:41 p.m.

shep- You got that right! And it's clear the kids don't run the system, or they wouldn't feel so frustrated in the futility of it that they drop out at a rate of 12% a year. And as for the folks with the pink palace references, well, there's a number of palaces in raleigh. The esteemed governor lives in one of them! Maybe it's time her to move on before she makes any more grandiose mistakes!

oldfirehorse
February 4, 2009 5:14 p.m.

There are NO TEACHER'S UNIONS IN NC! But oh, how we can dream!

Citizen7265
February 4, 2009 5:06 p.m.

I've noticed some statements regarding a teachers union. Ain't no such animal in North Carolina--state law prohibits state employees from unionizing. The NCAE is an employee organization concerned basically with lobbying on various issues, providing legal and other support to its members. The NCAE certainly doesn't run the education system in NC. If it did, teacher salaries and working conditions would be one heck of a lot better than they are..