Superintendent of Public Instruction Race

by | Jun 22, 2016 | 2016 Elections, Carolina Strategic Analysis, Education, Features, NC Politics | 5 comments

Superintendent of Public Instruction race: June Atkinson (D, inc.) vs. Mark Johnson (R)

Mark Johnson, Republican candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction, says that he wants to make North Carolina public schools “remarkable.” The implication is that currently, the state’s public schools are not remarkable. He would probably contend that’s partially the fault of the department’s longtime head, June Atkinson, who he says is unwilling to challenge the status quo.

Atkinson, a Democrat, has been in office since 2005. She was considered an almost certain retirement possibility before she surprisingly declared she was running for another term. Unlike some other Democrats on the Council of State, Atkinson has frequently clashed with the Republican legislature. As superintendent, she wants to “uplift” teachers in the classroom, primarily by increasing their salaries.

Johnson, a lawyer who serves on the Forsyth County Board of Education and once was a public school teacher, says that Atkinson is part of the problem. He criticizes the current system for over-testing students and a one-size-fits-all system that ignores local priorities. In addition to reducing testing and localizing public education, Johnson wants to increase the use of technology in the classroom. He’s opposed to Common Core.

When it comes to education, voters don’t tend to fit comfortably within either party in North Carolina. They want to reform education and expand nontraditional schools. At the same time, they think public school teachers need dramatic increases in pay. Johnson’s message of reform should resonate, but so too will Atkinson’s message of raising teacher morale … if the messages of these candidates can cut through the noise.

Atkinson has the advantage of being an incumbent woman on the Council of State. That makes for pretty good job security. So, while Republicans have a chance of knocking her off, it won’t be easy. This race leans her way.

Race Rating: Leans Democratic

2012 Result
54.2% Atkinson
45.8% Tedesco

Voter Registration
40.2% Democratic
30.5% Republican
28.9% Unaffiliated

70.3% White
22.3% Black
7.4% Other

Results in Other Elections

2014 Senate
48.8% Tillis
47.3% Hagan

2012 President
50.4% Romney
48.4% Obama

2012 Governor

54.6% McCrory
43.2% Dalton

2010 Senate
54.8% Burr
43.1% Marshall

5 Comments

  1. Marie P.

    I’m so happy to read all of these comments from citizens who understand what is really behind the Republican’s agenda. Please continue to spread the word.

  2. Troy

    Johnson is another example Republican ‘Radicalism’. He’s going to pull a Mitt Romney if he’s elected. He’s going to cut, slash, outsource, and micro-manage DPI into the ground. Then use that collapse as evidence for his claim it was broken when he took over; thus proving his point. Self-fulfilling prophecy.

    Certainly he plans to replace teachers; brick and mortar schools; textbooks; desks and staff; school and activity buses. And if he can outsource any of those to a vendor, that’ll be better still.

    Yes, if Johnson can revert control back to the local boards he will; you have the potential of 112-117 (I can’t remember how many public school systems there are in the State) different ways of doing things. Charters and privates will run rough shod without any control or regulation. This is what is meant by the phrase “…tailoring education to meet local needs…” which if I remember correctly was made by McCrory a few months ago. They don’t want people smart enough to figure out just how badly they’re being used and screwed. They want obedient workers who say nothing, expect nothing, but do the work under threat of being replaced by technology. Because it’s a “J O B”. They want people educated locally, to remain locally, pay taxes locally. In other words, they want them ignorant of the world beyond ‘locally’ and they don’t want them educated beyond high school.

    Because, solar farms will steal sunlight.

  3. Yojji

    I think that Republican positions on science-related issues make them unqualified for any office involving education. Republican dogma includes the denial of climate change and It’s not reasonable to elect a climate change denier to head a state’s school system. Mr. Johnson says he wants to “increase the use of technology in the classroom.” Is this a euphemism for replacing live teachers with online courses? He disparages “a one-size-fits-all system that ignores local priorities.” Is he advocating a school system that has different curricula in different school districts? Why? What “local priorities” is he talking about? Shouldn’t kids in all schools have the same learning opportunities?

    And then, there’s biology. Efforts to sneak the teaching of creationism into biology curricula have been exclusively Republican. These efforts have been expensive failures, but Republicans must pander to religious wingnuts, so they will continue.

    The story about Woodland, NC, citizens rejecting a proposal for a solar farm because it would steal sunlight from plants and cause cancer in humans (this from a retired science teacher) hints that we need to improve our schools’ science programs, not dumb them down.

    • Norma Munn

      Points well taken. I missed the Woodland story. How awful and sad.

  4. Norma Munn

    Perhaps Mr. Johnson should take a closer look at his GOP colleagues in the state legislature. Their posture on “local control” is as reliable as Donald Trump telling the truth. As for where the cause of the difficulties in public education lie, the NC legislature has done an excellent job of adding to them these past few years. Common Core is not the root of the over testing, and properly used, creates a far better learning environment. It was not, contrary to what many say, a federal mandate. Common Core standards were developed by governors and state commissioners of education from 48 states starting in 2009. Public comments were solicited across the country for about two years. No Child Left Behind was, and is the origin of the over-testing. Unless Mr. Johnson is ready to take on the NC legislative leadership and Gov. McCrory (should he be re-elected), he will have no success in improving the public schools. I will wait to see how he intends to do what he suggests.

Related Posts

GET UPDATES

Get the latest posts from PoliticsNC delivered right to your inbox!

You have Successfully Subscribed!