Orr's open book

Bob Orr has released his answers to a teacher's survey as well.

The former Supreme Court justice's cited his role in Hoke County Board of Education vs. State, which argued that educating children is a "paramount" concern of government, and his previous endorsements by the N.C. Association of Educators.

On the issues, he said he doubts that school vouchers or the lottery are constitutional, but he said he would continue using lottery money for education until a court rules otherwise.

In contrast to the two Democrats, Orr said he would support increasing the cap on charter schools.

He also hedged on whether North Carolina's teacher salaries are competitive, saying he thinks that they are not competitive in poorer counties, but he's not sure that's true everywhere in the state. 

However, he also criticized the federal No Child Left Behind Act, saying that though it has done "a pretty good job in pointing out deficiencies," it has not produced "the desired results."

"I do believe that we know better how to address the education challenges in our state than the federal government does, regardless of which party is in power," he wrote.