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A state Senate panel approved a bill Wednesday that would allow Boards of Commissioners in nine counties, including Wake, to take away from their local school boards their authority to build and own schools.

Senate Bill 236 would allow boards of commissioners in those counties to take over all facets of school construction, including the locating, constructing, owning, maintaining, renovating and building of schools. These responsibilities have traditionally been held by school systems.

In the counties that take advantage of the legislation, the bill would leave school boards only the ability to advise commissioners on school construction.

After all the recent controversy about whether Wake County elementary schools should have unarmed or armed security, a new state Senate bill could affect the situation.

The "Public School Protection" bill introduced Thursday would authorize school boards to designate people to the newly created position of school safety marshal. These people, who could be school employees, school volunteers, or people specially hired for the position, would be authorized to carry firearms on campus.

This is the last year of a much-maligned system that made parents angry, caused teachers to complain that they had to “teach to the test,” and kept principals up nights worried about showing improvement. The ABCs are gone after Thursday. In its place is a new measuring stick that emphasizes national standards and students’ readiness for college and work. Read more about the changes here.

More political news:

--Michelle Obama attended a campaign rally in Greensboro, previewing her role at the Democratic National Convention, and then attended a fundraiser in Raleigh in which she defended her husband's administration.

--Even in the wake of last month’s Colorado shooting rampage and a gunman’s spree last year that nearly killed former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, don’t expect Democrats to arrive in Charlotte armed with renewed calls for tougher gun laws. The issue is too risky.

In an extraordinary act of political theater, the state Democratic chairman described and dismissed outright the sexual harassment claims against the party’s former top official and refused to immediately relinquish his post Thursday, despite intense national political pressure.

David Parker stood behind a podium, pale in the TV lights, speaking for 35 minutes using prepared notes and pausing long enough before answering questions to allow the laughter of children on the school playground next door to fill the cavernous room. Read the full story about the controversy paralyzing the Democratic Party and learn more about his investment in a Charlotte area development that put him in the public eye.

In other headlines this morning:

--Activities for and against the constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and civil unions have drawn more attention than the primary campaigns so far. The marriage campaigns have been working for months on their messages, but now that early voting has started and with less than three weeks until the May 8 primary, the pace and intensity of the efforts are increasing. Read about the competing campaign's efforts here.

State budget cuts have damaged the quality of education offered in public schools across North Carolina, school superintendents said during a five-hour gathering Tuesday, where they shared stories and sounded alarms about financial woes that have worsened during the past three years. Read more here.

Other headlines:

--The Council of State takes action to close Dix Hospital. More here.

--The UNC system continues its push to remove university workers from the state personnel act. Read an interview with President Tom Ross here.

--Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who will chair the Democratic National Convention, took his first look at Charlotte’s convention venues Tuesday, and took the chance to reach out to the city’s Hispanic community. Read Jim Morrill's story here.

Claim: “The terrible thing we’ve all seen this time around is the Republicans taking us to 49th nationally in education spending.”

Speaker: Bill Faison, Democratic candidate for governor, at the N.C. Association of School Administrators forum in Raleigh

Context: On the campaign trail, Faison is quick to say the current state budget authored by the Republican legislative leadership hurt education funding – ranking North Carolina 49th in the nation in per pupil spending.

Is he right? Read below for the answer. And click here for more on the Democratic candidates' education records.

The Democratic hopefuls for governor spent yesterday debating education -- though none of them landed a major punch against each other. Republican Pat McCrory took a few jabs, but a N.C. Association of School Administrators forum was largely polite. Read the full article here.

In other May 8 primary news, the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and civil unions remains largely misunderstood. Heck, 7 percent in a recent Public Policy Polling survey think it legalizes gay marriage. Read more about the confusion and what it means for the referendum here.

And the division is no surprise if you read about a forum on the so-called marriage amendment from Charlotte. Observer reporter Michael Gordon has the story.

In other news, one of the many Republicans running for Congresswoman Sue Myrick's seat left the race, leaving 10 standing. More here.

Claim: “This is the facts. You all know the facts. There are fewer dollars in the public school system today than there’s ever been.”

Press conference: Held Monday by Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue at the state Capitol

Context: Perdue is countering the Americans for Prosperity ad on education spending.

To get the ruling, read below.

Administration Secretary Moses Carey Friday hammered the education cuts being proposed by the Republican legislature.

Visiting the Josephine Dobbs Clement Early College High School in Durham, Carey said the namesake of the school would have been deeply troubled by the mass layoffs of teachers proposed by the legislature.

“Because I knew her, I can tell you she would have been appalled by what what is being considered,” said Carey, according to a news release. Carey was elected to his first term as Orange County Commissioner in 1984 the same year that Clement became a Durham County commissioner after overseeing desegregation as the first African-American superintendent of the former city school system.

“She spent her time and energy to help students develop themselves to move on to higher education and becoming contributing members of our state's economic future,” Carey said. “But the budget cuts being considered today would literally turn back the clock on North Carolina.”