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A trio of controversial issues dominated the discussion Wednesday -- fracking, immigration and gay marriage -- but education is today's topic.

The N.C. Association of School Administrators will hold its annual conference in Raleigh today. Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue will speak at 9 a.m., continuing her push for better education funding. And the Democratic candidates who want to replace her -- Bob Etheridge, Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton and Rep. Bill Faison -- will speak at a 5 p.m. forum, along with those seeking the state superintendent post.

Republican Pat McCrory released his education plan Wednesday, getting a day -- and a story -- all to himself on the topic. He outlined a series of proposals including merit pay for teachers, more accountability, faster expansion of charter schools and more e-learning.

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Gov. Bev Perdue's job performance rating continues to tumble with less than one in three North Carolina voters approving and more than half disapproving, according to a new poll.

Public Policy Polling, a Democratic survey firm based in Raleigh, found that Republican challenger Pat McCrory maintained his double-digit lead among likely voters in a hypothetical matchup, winning 52 percent to 41 percent, a very slight improvement from last month.

Perdue's 32 percent approval rating is her lowest since March, down 6 percentage points from November. Her disapproval is at 51 percent. McCrory's favorability remained essentially the same (down 1 percentage point) and his unfavorable numbers improved from 28 percent to 24 percent ahead of his expect announcement to formally enter the governor's race.