Reform state education boards

By John Hood | Dec 03, 2012

RALEIGH — The single-largest expenditure of state taxpayers funds in North Carolina is public education. We spend billions of dollars on public schools, community colleges, and universities. So why aren’t we talking more about how weird and chaotic North Carolina’s system of education governance is?

Public schools, community colleges, and the University of North Carolina system have their own governance boards. But these boards differ substantially in design and operation. Consider the details:

• The State Board of Education has 13 voting members. They include 11 members appointed by the governor to eight-year terms, plus the elected lieutenant governor (soon to be Republican Dan Forrest) and state treasurer (currently Democrat Janet Cowell) as ex-officio members. The elected state ...

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