North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction

History of the office

In 1837, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a common school law to combine state and local funds to create a public school system. Later that year the General Assembly declined to appropriate state funds for public schools and abolished the position of superintendent, effectively terminating the public school system. In 1868 the state ratified a new constitution that provided for a system of public schools to be led by a superintendent of public instruction and a State Board of Education, of which the superintendent was an ex officio member and served as the body's secretary. Under this framework, the superintendent was tasked with managing the school system and implementing relevant laws, creating an annual report on education in the state, and studying effective educational techniques in other jurisdictions. The constitution also made the superintendent an ex officio member of the Council of State.

The duties of the superintendent and the structure of the Department of Public Instruction have been altered over time by the General Assembly. Conflict between the superintendent and the rest of the board over the scope of their responsibilities became common in the 1960s and 1970s. A 1968 constitutional study commission recommended making the Board of Education responsible for the selection of the superintendent to reduce voters' burden by shortening the ballot, but this proposal was disregarded by the General Assembly when it rewrote the state constitution in 1971. The new constitution affirmed that the superintendent was the secretary of the State Board of Education and removed the office's membership and voting power on the board. In 1987 another effort was made to make the office appointed by the board in an attempt to simplify governance of the state's educational system. The North Carolina Senate passed a constitutional amendment to that effect with the support of the governor and lieutenant governor but the bill was quashed in a House of Representatives committee. The following year the legislature empowered the superintendent to organize the structure of the Department of Public Instruction, spend its funds, and enter into relevant contracts in the course of its operations. As secretary to the State Board of Education, the superintendent was made responsible for expenditures related to the board's duties and for implementing its policy decisions.

In the 1990s, the Board of Education established the position of deputy superintendent and delegated direct management authority to them. School officials subsequently complained about a lack of clarity in the leadership of the Department of Public Instruction, and the Public School Forum of North Carolina dubbed the system a "four-head monster" under the competing authorities of the superintendent, deputy superintendent, the Board of Education, and the governor. In 1995 the General Assembly passed legislation transferring most of the superintendent's powers to the Board of Education. In 1997 the General Assembly again attempted to amend the constitution to remove the popular election of the superintendent, with the effort narrowly failing by two votes in the North Carolina House of Representatives. "Dual-reporting" positions within the Department of Public Instruction, which encompassed employees who were responsible both to the superintendent and the board, came into frequent use during Bob Etheridge's tenure as the superintendent.

June Atkinson, who was sworn in in 2005, was the first woman elected to the office. In 2007, the Board of Education resolved that the deputy superintendent was responsible to them and possessed the "power and duty...[t]o manage the Department of Public Instruction," thus removing the superintendent's basic control over the department. This position was later countermanded by state legislation. In 2009, Governor Bev Perdue, with the cooperation of the board, attempted to circumvent Atkinson's authority by appointing a chief executive officer to run the Department of Public Instruction, effectively rendering the superintendent a symbolic official.

In 2016, the General Assembly passed legislation transferring some of the board's powers to the superintendent. In wake of the decision, Superintendent Mark Johnson eliminated dual reporting positions, making all such employees responsible only to him. The incumbent, Mo Green, was sworn in to the office on January 1, 2025. He is the first black person to hold the office.

Duties and structure

The superintendent of public instruction is the only constitutional officer in North Carolina assigned responsibilities solely concerning public education. As board secretary, the superintendent is responsible for managing the board's funds and its aid appropriations to local school boards. They also keep the board informed on public education matters, make recommendations to it, They are also required to report to the governor on the state of public education in North Carolina 30 days before each regular session of the legislature. They are an ex officio member of several state boards and commissions, including the statutory education cabinet. They are seventh in the line of succession to the governor.

The superintendent manages the Department of Public Instruction. As of October 2022, two officers in the department—an internal auditor and the Director of Board Operations and Policy—report directly to both the superintendent and the Board of Education. As with all Council of State officers, the superintendent's salary is fixed by the General Assembly and cannot be reduced during their term of office. As of 2025, the superintendent's annual salary is $168,384. They maintain an office in the Department of Public Instruction building.

List of superintendents of public instruction

Notes

References

Works cited

References

1. Latta, E. Michael. (2006). "Department of Public Instruction". North Carolina Government & Heritage Library.
2. (2006). "Public Education Part 3: The First Graded Schools, the State Constitution of 1868, and Legal Segregation". North Carolina Government & Heritage Library.
3. Hoff, David J.. (April 3, 2009). "Governance Muddle Leaves N.C. Schools With Many Leaders".
4. (June 28, 1995). "Under the Dome: DPI gets personnel face-lift". The News & Observer.
5. Sanders, John L.. "Our Constitutions: An Historical Perspective". Institute of Government, University of North Carolina At Chapel Hill.
6. Duke, Margaret. (January 19, 2015). "State Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. June St. Clair Atkinson".
7. Kiley, Kevin. (July 17, 2009). "Atkinson wins right to run public schools". The News & Observer.
8. Hinchcliffe, Kelly. (June 8, 2018). "Power struggle continues as NC superintendent, state board each claim victory in high court ruling". Capitol Broadcasting Company.
9. Granados, Alex. (July 17, 2018). "State superintendent tells top staff to report only to him, not state board". Capitol Broadcasting Company.
10. O'Donnell, Lisa. (January 1, 2025). "Mo Green sworn in as state superintendent of schools; he's the first Black person in that position". Winston-Salem Journal.
11. Granados, Alex. (June 15, 2021). "How and where the state's education leaders get their power".
12. Browne, Laura. (May 13, 2024). "EdExplainer : The role and responsibilities of the superintendent of public instruction".
13. Diaz, Amy. (March 4, 2024). "What's at stake for education in the NC Superintendent of Public Instruction race?". WFAE.
14. (February 5, 2025). "As a new session begins, here’s everything you need to know about North Carolina government". North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research.
15. "Current State Employee Statistics". North Carolina Office of State Human Resources.
16. Vaughan, Dawn Baumgartner. (March 31, 2025). "NC Gov. Josh Stein’s Cabinet salaries are mostly higher than Cooper’s. See the data". The News & Observer.
17. McColl, Ann. (February 19, 2015). "The missing picture".
18. "June Atkinson : Former State Superintendent Of Public Instruction North Carolina Department Of Public Instruction". Institute for Educational Leadership.
19. (January 13, 2021). "Nueva superintendente de educación de NC promete educación de calidad".
20. (January 4, 2021). "State Superintendent Catherine Truitt takes the lead of the Department of Public Instruction". EducationNC.