June Atkinson

Gearing up for the Fall 2008 elections, three Council of State campaigns and a judicial candidate jointly use State campaign HQ in Raleigh.

This week's column is on the weird two-headed system that governs the state education policy. Cross-posted from Ex.

One suspects that as of this writing, State Superintendent of Education June Atkinson and her public affairs staff are huddled somewhere writing a response to a recent Winston-Salem Journal editorial that says her duties are so light, she "goes to work every day, maintaining her trademark cheerful and positive attitude about life, while the deputy state superintendent of public instruction runs the department."

This, as the Journal points out, is due to a sharp reduction in the super's duties mandated in the mid-'90s by the then-GOP-led House after a row with then-state super Bob Etheridge.

Now, Atkinson, who had to fight a long court battle over a recount of the 2004 election to win her seat, is even pulling down $25K a year less than said deputy, J.B. Buxton, a former education advisor to Gov. Mike Easley, who was hired last week by the State Board of Education. And Buxton, defeated by Atkinson in the '04 primary, reports to the board, not Atkinson.

Remember June Atkinson? She was the Democratic candidate in 2004 for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. You might also remember she won that election, but her opponent, a Republican creature named Bill Fletcher, contested her victory and mounted a long drawn out legal fight.

The election was close, but the decision was clear. Never-the-less, Fletcher refused to give up and the battle through the courts cost both political parties a fortune and prevented June Atkinson from taking office until late in 2005.

You might assume all of that would be frustration enough for someone like Dr. Atkinson who has terrific qualifications and a strong desire to serve. After all, she campaigned all across the state and enjoyed high hopes for her aggressive agenda to improve the schools.