This November, State Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson received a resounding mandate from 2.2 million North Carolina voters to continue her work for four additional years. As prescribed by the North Carolina State Constitution, the function of the superintendent is as follows: “The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall be the secretary and chief administrative officer of the State Board of Education.” This description contains no ambiguities.

Unfortunately, the actions of the governor with respect to this office – namely the installation of former Cumberland County Schools Superintendent Bill Harrison as the first individual to whom both the role of chief executive of the Department of Public Instruction and chairman of the State Board of Education – do not reflect an understanding of this explicit passage; in fact, the governor’s actions directly contradict it.