North Carolina State Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson will join her fellow chief state school officers on Wednesday for a White House Briefing on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and its impact on public schools.

The briefing for State Superintendents will provide more details about how the federal economic stimulus package will assist public schools, especially in the areas of school construction, education reform and innovation, and teacher and principal quality initiatives.

Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and White House senior advisors are slated to participate in the event.

“Everyone is eager to get more information about how the stimulus package will help North Carolina schools,” Atkinson said. “I look forward to sharing these details with our local school superintendents and finance officers when I return to North Carolina. There is much to do in our schools, and we appreciate the assistance the funding will bring to the state.”

Sate Rep. Leo Daughtry has filed a bill calling for the state schools superintendent to be appointed by the governor.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Will changes atop the state public schools make clear who’s in charge, or simply rearrange the chairs and leave superintendent June Atkinson the only one sitting?

Gov. Beverly Perdue’s decision to splice administrative and policy duties into one job with her choice to head the Department of Public Instruction is the latest swing in a decades-old tug of war over leadership.

The Legislature and the State Board of Education have given and taken away power from the board and superintendent of public instruction since the 1990s.
  
So Perdue, a former legislator and no stranger to the education battles, wants to avoid them early in her administration by asking that her choice to become State Board of Education chairman would also manage day-to-day operations.

Perdue said that if the board approves Cumberland County Schools superintendent Bill Harrison to the combined role of chief executive officer and board chairman, people will know who to praise – or blame – in reform efforts to reduce the dropout rate and to collaborate with higher education.

Since Harrison was chosen by Perdue, the governor will receive the ultimate grade.

From Public Policy Polling
Auditor:
Beth Wood 40
Leslie Merritt 29

Lieutenant Governor:
Walter Dalton 32
Robert Pittenger 29
Phillip Rhodes 7

Treasurer:
Janet Cowell 36
Bill Daughtridge 34

Cowell takes the lead in the poll for the first time.

Insurance Commissioner:
Wayne Goodwin 34
John Odom 33
Mark McMains 8

Superintendent:
June Atkinson 39
Richard Morgan 34

Labor Commissioner:
Cherie Berry 39
Mary Fant Donnan 36

Agriculture Commissioner:
Steve Troxler 40
Ronnie Ansley 35

Attorney General:
Roy Cooper 48
Bob Crumley 30

Secretary of State:
Elaine Marshall 43
Jack Sawyer 32