These 7 candidates are running for NC state superintendent of public schools in 2020
A new person will be taking over the leadership of North Carolina’s public schools early next year, with seven candidates hoping to become the next state superintendent of public instruction.
Superintendent Mark Johnson was elected in 2016, but the Republican is running for lieutenant governor instead of seeking re-election this year. His absence means five Democrats and two Republicans will compete in the March 3 primary to win their party’s nomination for the open seat.
The magic number in the Democratic primary is for the top finisher to get at least 30% of the vote to avoid a runoff election. With only two Republicans, the top vote getter moves automatically to the November general election.
With early voting already underway, here are some things to know as you cast your primary ballot.
Meet the candidates
On the Republican side, Craig Horn is running against Catherine Truitt.
▪ Horn is a retired food broker who has been a state lawmaker since 2010, chairing several major legislative education committees.
▪ Truitt is a former K-12 teacher who was Gov. Pat McCrory’s education advisor before becoming chancellor of Western Governors University North Carolina, an online university.
Among the Democrats, James Barrett, Constance Lav Johnson, Michael Maher, Jen Mangrum and Keith Sutton are competing for the seat.
▪ Barrett is a Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board member who works in corporate IT leadership.
▪ Johnson is a former K-12 teacher, school counselor and school administrator who now owns CityPolitical magazine.
▪ Maher is a former K-12 teacher who is now president of the North Carolina Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators and vice chairman of the N.C. Professional Educator Preparation and Standards Commission.
▪ Mangrum is a former K-12 teacher who is now an associate professor at UNC Greensboro’s School of Education.
▪ Sutton is chairman of the Wake County school board and runs an education consulting firm.
Money and endorsements
Mangrum has raised the most money of any Democrat, collecting $108,125 as of the end of 2019. Her 2018 campaign run against Senate leader Phil Berger helped raise her profile, leading to endorsements this year from groups such as the N.C. Association of Educators and education activists such as Diane Ravitch.
Also through the end of last year, Barrett had raised $59,129. He’s followed by Maher at $33.137, Sutton at $32,435 and Johnson at $20,802.
The Republican candidates got off to a late start waiting to see whether Johnson would seek a second term. Horn has raised $29,951 and Truitt has raised $9.959, as of the end of 2019.
School choice and vouchers
One of the most noticeable differences between candidates from both parties is their view on school choice, particularly the Opportunity Scholarship program that provides taxpayer money for lower-income families to attend private schools.
The Republicans say they support school choice while also saying their primary job as superintendent would be to advocate for public schools.
“I support the right of every parent to decide what’s in the best interest of their child,” Horn said at a candidate forum this month sponsored by the N.C. Parent Teacher Association, Public Schools First NC, the Public School Forum of North Carolina, and the N.C. League of Women Voters “I support the idea that no one thing works for everyone.”
Truitt said parents know what’s best for their children, but she also called for balancing personal choice with the greater good. She said she would support capping the amount provided to the voucher program.
All five Democratic candidates are opposed to the voucher program.
“I don’t believe in the voucher program,” Johnson said. “I don’t believe that the objectives are clear and well thought out.”
Maher said the voucher legislation should be repealed.
“We should not be providing tax dollars to unaccountable private institutions, particularity institutions that are free to discriminate against children and teachers and families,” Maher said.
Mangrum said she hopes that the N.C. Supreme Court will reverse its decision declaring the voucher program as constitutional.
“‘Vouchers are a complete waste of money,” Mangrum said. “They are starving our (public) schools.”
Increasing state funding for schools
One of the major issues facing the state is how it will respond to a judge’s order to improve the education system to ensure that all students get access to a sound basic education.
The Democrats are all calling on the Republican-led General Assembly to respond to the Leandro decision by sharply increasing state funding for education.
“We have stepped backwards from our constitutional obligation that the General Assembly has to provide an equal opportunity for each and every student across the state of North Carolina,” Barrett said. “I will advocate for the General Assembly to meet their constitutional obligation.”
Sutton said the state can robustly fund public education by looking at options such as taking more from the rainy-day fund and restructuring a tax system that he says gives breaks to corporations and upper-income taxpayers.
“We’re the ninth-most populous state in the country,” Sutton said. “We are not a poor state, and there are resources and there are several places that we can go and look for that.”
Both Republicans say they largely agree with the recommendations in the court decision. But they called for restructuring the way schools are funded first.
Horn said that the state’s funding system needs to be restructured to make it student-centered.
“The way the system is set up right now doesn’t allow for the money to go where it is needed the most,” Truitt said. “Just by adding more money we would be throwing good money after bad so to speak.”
