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Gov. Beverly Perdue will seek to get a state law changed so her choice for education czar can lead the State Board of Education.

State law allows only one "public school employee paid from State or local funds" to be on the state board at one time, Lynn Bonner reports.

The board has a member who meets that description, Melissa Bartlett, who works for the Iredell-Statesville district.

William Harrison, whom Perdue chose to fill a new job as chairman/CEO for state schools, could be considered a public school employee, too. Harrison was superintendent in Cumberland County, and the state is paying the district for his services. Perdue’s office has described Harrison as being 'on loan' from Cumberland.

Perdue spokesman Chrissy Pearson said this afternoon that a bill will be introduced to raise the board's school employee cap.

"We anticipate this will have support in both chambers," Pearson said. "We're looking forward to working with the General Assembly to move this forward."

Harrison is supposed to take over next month as CEO and school board chairman.

Gov. Beverly Perdue has named William Harrison, superintendent of the Cumberland County Schools, to oversee statewide public education.

Harrison, a former teacher, principal and school system administrator, will serve as both chief executive officer and chairman of the State Board of Education, Lynn Bonner reports.

"We need to have a clear line of accountability," Perdue said at a news conference this afternoon.

Harrison has been superintendent in Cumberland County, the fourth-largest school system in North Carolina, since 1997. He also served as superintendent in Hoke and Orange counties and an assistant superintendent in Brunswick County.

In appointing Harrison, Perdue said she wanted to change the way the state's education system operates.

Harrison, a native of Pennsylvania, has a bachelor's degree from Methodist College in Fayetteville, a master's degree from East Carolina University and an educational doctorate from Vanderbilt University.

Howard Lee will step down as state board chairman and will serve as executive director of the education cabinet, which coordinates public and higher education in North Carolina.

Illegal immigrants arrested in North Carolina are being deported like never before, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole said at a press conference today.

"If they're thinking of coming to North Carolina to commit crimes, they darn well better not do it," Dole said. "Because we're going to catch them."

Dole held the press conference along with four county sheriffs just days after her Democratic opponent Kay Hagan held a meeting with sheriffs to discuss immigration, Kristin Collins reports. Dole says she has been the leader in calling for a crackdown on criminal illegal immigrants.

With Dole's support, sheriff's departments in North Carolina have teamed up with federal immigration officials to help deport illegal immigrants who come through county jails through a program called 287(g). Dole said about 500 people a month are now being deported with the help of North Carolina's local law enforcement.

Three sheriff's departments — in Wake, Henderson and Cumberland counties — are now training for a federal immigration program that will allow them to check the immigration status of their jail inmates and begin deportation proceedings.

Four sheriff's departments and the Durham Police Department already have the program. North Carolina is among the leading states in the nation for participation in the program.

A sex offender in Cumberland County has sued the state.

In a federal lawsuit, Jay Usategui of Hope Mills argues that a new state program that uses a bulky ankle bracelet and a 2-pound monitoring device to allow law enforcement officers to track him by satellite is unconstitutional.

He pleaded guilty in 2003 to taking indecent liberties with a 15-year-old girl.

The device would allow state officials to see if he is near a school, day-care center or other areas that are off limits to sex offenders. Usategui argues that it amounts to an "unreasonable search."

About 114 people are being monitored under the program. (N&O)