NC superintendent's event cost nearly $47K; see the invitation list

When North Carolina Superintendent Mark Johnson stepped on stage at the Raleigh Convention Center last month, hundreds of educators, lawmakers, business leaders and others listened as he shared his top education priorities for the state, including raising teacher pay, improving teacher recruitment and giving local school systems more flexibility.

The dinner and event cost nearly $47,000 – paid for by The Wallace Foundation – and drew about 700 people, according to records reviewed by WRAL News. A copy of the superintendent's guest list and RSVP list show he and his team invited more than 2,700 people. About 25 percent of those responded that they would attend.

NC superintendent shares top education priorities, including raising teacher pay at least 5%

"We didn't have many preconceptions about what are our response rate would be," said Drew Elliot, communications director for the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, who noted that the event was on a Tuesday night and lawmakers were in session. "I think we're very happy with how things turned out. It was a great evening."

The event drew criticism from some teachers and parents who were turned away after trying to get tickets to the event online. About half of those invited were educators. The superintendent and his team also invited every North Carolina lawmaker, Gov. Roy Cooper and various business leaders, including some from Apple, AT&T, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Duke Energy.

{
    "name": "footable",
    "attrs": {
        "id": "18220070",
        "identifier": "Invites",
        "sortable": "Title|First name|Last name|Organization",
        "limit": "5",
        "filter": "true",
        "placeholder": "Search by title, name or organization",
        "credits": "Source: NC Department of Public Instruction",
        "header": "2,700+ invited to NC superintendent's event"
    },
    "children": null
}

{
    "name": "footable",
    "attrs": {
        "id": "18220070",
        "identifier": "RSVP",
        "sortable": "Title|First name|Last name|Organization",
        "limit": "5",
        "filter": "true",
        "placeholder": "Search by title, name or organization",
        "credits": "Source: NC Department of Public Instruction",
        "header": "650 RSVP to attend NC superintendent's event"
    },
    "children": null
}

The New York City-based Wallace Foundation, which paid for the $46,726.43 event, said it was pleased with how the money was spent. No taxpayer funds were used, according to the superintendent's office.

"We think that a convening of 700 educators and other key stakeholders indicates a great deal of interest and (the) costs were reasonable," Wallace Foundation spokeswoman Jessica Schwartz told WRAL News by email. "This event is fully consistent with what other grantees in our current University Principal Preparation Initiative were asked to do."

Wallace is supporting a four-year initiative in seven states, including North Carolina, to improve university principal preparation. In North Carolina, the foundation is supporting North Carolina State University to redesign how it trains principals and to partner with local school districts that hire its graduates. As part of its initiative, the foundation is also supporting state agencies, including the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, to share what the universities are doing.

To fund the superintendent's event, The Wallace Foundation's grant money was given to and administered by the N.C. State College of Education Research Office. The state Department of Public Instruction sent N.C. State invoices, so payments could be made.

"The foundation provided modest grant funding to the North Carolina (state superintendent) to disseminate NC State’s best practices and put those lessons to good use statewide," Schwartz wrote. The state superintendent "has flexibility in how he uses the grant and does not need prior budget approval from the foundation."

N.C. State and The Wallace Foundation were part of the superintendent's event, including the organization's support of the North Carolina Leadership Dashboard. The online tool will launch next school year and allow school leaders to search for teachers and principals they want to hire based on certain characteristics, such as what subjects they teach, how experienced they are, what licenses they hold, etc.

NC superintendent's private, invitation-only education event draws criticism

In addition to some parents and teachers who were denied tickets, the North Carolina Association of Educators criticized the superintendent for making an announcement about public education in a private setting. Elliott, DPI's communications director, said some news stories describing the event as private were "irritating."

"I think it definitely caught us by surprise because of the wide net we were casting in who we wanted at the event," Elliot said, noting that he was speaking for himself as a communications director and not for the superintendent. "I guess we have a different definition of 'private' ... We invited 2,700 people of all stripes. It was live streamed. The press was invited. There were two TV cameras there. We sent out the announcement to 105,000 (educators) before the event even started. And so I don't know what sense of the word 'private' applies there."

Two people who showed up to the event without tickets were allowed inside, he added.

"I think when you're talking about something like a somewhat wonky educational event and you have people clamoring to get inside, that that says a lot about the passion and excitement for public education in North Carolina, and that can only be good for the students in the long run," Elliot said.

The superintendent plans to release a more detailed summary of his legislative priorities, including dollar figures, within the next few weeks, his office said.