ATKINSON HAS GREEN LIGHT TO LEAD – NOW GO DO IT
It’s not often that a politician gets a second chance to run a
department that they were elected to govern. But that’s the situation
Dr. June Atkinson finds herself in this week as she returns to the
Department of Public Instruction with a Superior Court Judge’s Order
stating that she’s the boss when it comes to managing our state’s
school system.
The question over who’s going to run the day-to-day operations of our
state’s public schools has been brewing for 13 years. Bobby Etheridge
was the last real superintendent and he left while the getting was good.
Since 1996, the General Assembly and Governor have worked to erode the
powers and functions of the elected Superintendent. The Legislature
empowered the Chairman of the Board of Education to take on more
responsibilities and allowed the chairman to become de facto
superintendent.
The straw that broke the camel’s back came earlier this year when
Governor Beverly Perdue named a new chairman of the Board of Education
and by executive order granted unto the chairman the powers of “chief
executive officer”. Dr. Atkinson had seen enough – she decided to
stop rolling over and stood up to fight.
Former Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr took on the case and argued in
Wake County Superior Court last week that the Governor and General
Assembly did not have the constitutional authority to ignore or
undermine the authority granted to the duly elected Superintendent of
Public Instruction.
Judge Robert Hobgood agreed and restored the power and authority
granted to the duly elected Superintendent. Judge Hobgood made it
perfectly clear for the Governor and the General Assembly that Dr.
Atkinson is responsible for running the Department of Public
Instruction and that while she must report to the Board of Education
that sets policy, the board cannot ignore or set aside the role and
responsibilities of the duly elected Superintendent.
The Attorney General, who represented the Governor, requested that
Judge Hobgood place a stay on his order while the State can proceed
with an appeal to the Court of Appeals and likely to the State Supreme
Court but the Judge denied that motion.
So now Dr. Aktinson has been given a second chance to govern, she has
a new life and she needs to show the people of North Carolina that she
is worthy of that chance.
She needs to demonstrate her leadership and take command of the
schools. She must show the Governor and the General Assembly that she
is up for the job. In politics, you have to show people what you can
do or you otherwise become irrelevant.
If Dr. Atkinson likes her job and believes she has something to offer
and has the ability to govern our state’s public schools – she better
get to work and get to work fast. The courts are in her favor but the
clock is ticking because powerful State Senator Tony Rand is already
telling reporters he wants to change the state’s constitution to take
away the people’s right to elect a State Superintendent.
Let’s just see what Dr. Atkinson is willing to do.
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