The state will work with the Halifax County school district to find a replacement for departing superintendent Geraldine Middleton, said State Board of Education Chairman Bill Harrison.

Under a court order, the state Department of Public Instruction has a role in trying to improve student performance in the troubled district. More than half of the districts schools were labeled low performing because student test scores were so low, reports Lynn Bonner.

The poor performance triggered a provision in state law that would have allowed the state board to fire Middleton and appoint a temporary replacement. Harrison earlier this month said he did not want to fire her.

Middleton announced Monday night she was leaving Halifax for a job in Chicago.

The Halifax school board chairwoman is working closely with the state on the turn-around plan, Harrison said. He expects the relationship to continue as the board looks for a new superintendent.

"I think we'll work together and get someone to go in there and carry on the plan that's been put in place," he said.

Gov. Beverly Perdue made a surprise visit to two Halifax schools, a district a state judge says is failing students.

Halifax will be the subject in Wake County Superior Court next week, when Judge Howard Manning will consider the state's plan to provide the district with more guidance on how to teach and spend money.

Perdue visited a Halifax  elementary school and high school Friday, meeting with principals, teachers and students, according to her office. She observed a classroom at each school.

"It was important to me to get a first-hand look at the schools in Halifax County," Perdue said in a statement. "The state will work with local education leaders to maximize efforts to improve student achievement. Strong leaders, strong teachers and strong community support can make a difference."

Halifax students fall below state averages in all tested measures. None of its schools meet federal progress standards.

In a letter to state administrators, Manning said Halifax was committing "academic genocide," and hinted he was going to order the state take control of the district's schools.

The state will intervene with Halifax County Schools.

Gov. Beverly Perdue announced today that the State Board of Education Chair and CEO Bill Harrison, schools Superintendent June Atkinson and the N.C. Department of Public Instruction will make an unusual intervention to help the low-performing district.

"Dr. Harrison, Superintendent Atkinson and I will act aggressively in Halifax County and all of North Carolina to make sure our schools have the support, direction and accountability that give our kids a chance to succeed," Perdue said in a statement.

Under the plan, Public Instruction staffers will coach school principals, spend weeks training teachers, oversee the hiring of new educators and provide help seeking state and federal funding.

Approximately one third of high school students in Halifax County are considered proficient on end-of-year tests, compared to 68 percent for the state average.

The plan will be presented to Judge Howard Manning on April 29.

Randy Parton may not be performing anymore, but he's still getting publicity.

The country music singer has been banned from of his namesake theater in Roanoke Rapids, but he's still featured in a full-page advertisement in the 2008 state travel guide released today.

Still, it's hardly star treatment.

The ad, paid for by the Halifax County Convention and Visitors Bureau, includes a portrait of Parton looking into the distance beneath an exterior shot of the Randy Parton Theatre.

But it gives equal or better treatment to a young woman drinking coffee, an anonymous pool player, a crowd of somewhat enthusiastic fans, a teen trying out bull riding and another country singer giving the devil horns hand gesture.

The text of the ad makes no mention of Parton other than to say that the Randy Parton Theatre will anchor the Carolina Crossroads district and feature country, pop, beach, and gospel music.

The travel guide is produced by the N.C. Department of Commerce.

Scotland Neck Mayor Robert Partin said today he would appeal the Halifax County Board of Elections' dismissal of his protest over the results of the town election.

Partin said he would appeal to the State Board of Elections. He seeks a new election in Scotland Neck, where he says he has uncovered irregularities, Jane Stancill reports.

Partin lost the election to James Mills, who is expected to be sworn in next month as Scotland Neck's first African-American mayor.

"I am not a bitter loser," Partin said today. "I am an American that expects a fair and honest election."

Partin said he knows of 15 voters who cited addresses of abandoned homes or vacant lots and 11 voters who actually live outside town limits. A high number of provisional votes also raise questions, Partin said, and he believes there are dozens of voters who used inaccurate addresses.

On Tuesday, the Halifax County Board of Elections threw out Partin's protest, while acknowledging one questionable provisional ballot and two voters who voted twice. The board's decision said "there is not substantial evidence of any violation, irregularity, or misconduct sufficient to cast doubt on the results of the election."

The Halifax County Board of Elections has dismissed an election protest by Scotland Neck Mayor Robert Partin, who claimed voter fraud in a predominantly black precinct in town.

Partin was defeated by James Mills, who said he will be sworn in as the first African-American mayor of Scotland Neck. The board did find one questionable provisional ballot and two voters who voted twice—once by absentee ballot and once at the polls on Nov. 6, Jane Stancill reports.

But those votes were not enough to throw the final result into question, the board said in a written decision filed this afternoon after a hearing Monday. The decision said "the protest should be dismissed because there is not substantial evidence of any violation, irregularity, or misconduct sufficient to cast doubt on the results of the election."

Partin sought a new election with his protest, which contended that more than 70 voters used inaccurate addresses. He could appeal the board's findings to the State Board of Elections, but had not filed notice as of this afternoon.