Howard Lee

Perdue reorganizing education oversight

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:06:13 -0500

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.

Buxton leaving DPI

janestancill — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 10:30:31 -0500

J.B. Buxton, the state deputy school superintendent, told staff at the state Department of Public Instruction that he is leaving the post next month. As deputy, Buxton runs the 781-member education department.

In an e-mail to staff today, Buxton said he was leaving "to build a new education organization," reports Lynn Bonner.

Buxton was an aide to former Gov. Mike Easley before the State Board of Education picked him to run the department.

Buxton said in his e-mail that he told board chairman Howard Lee after the December holidays he would be leaving, but agreed not to make the announcement until it was time to name a successor.

"I will go with the conviction that we have in place at the Department an outstanding leadership corps, a staff committed to service, and initiatives which will have a significant impact," Buxton wrote.

Buxton served in the position since January of 2007.

Easley ties in Perdue's Cabinet

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:41:02 -0500

Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue has stressed she will break from Gov. Mike Easley.

Still, the newly elected Democrat hasn't entirely escaped the shadow of her two-term predecessor. Several of her appointees so far have ties to Easley.

In order of most closely tied to least:

Britt Cobb: Perdue's secretary of Administration held the same job under Easley, who also appointed him commissioner of agriculture.

Linda Wheeler Hayes: Perdue's secretary of Juvenile Justice chaired the Governor's Crime Commission for Easley and was one of his fundraisers in 2000.

Eddie Speas: Perdue's general counsel worked for Easley during the eight years he was attorney general. Easley later appointed him lottery commissioner.

Reuben Young: Perdue's secretary of Crime Control served as deputy legal counsel and chief legal counsel for Easley's two terms as governor.

Lanier Cansler: Perdue's secretary of Health and Human Services served as deputy secretary under Easley, although he was directly hired by Secretary Carmen Hooker Odom.

Gene Conti: Perdue's secretary of Transportation served as chief deputy secretary under Easley, who asked him to leave because of a conflict of interest.

In addition, Perdue transition team had ties to Easley: Don Hobart worked as legal counsel to Easley when he was attorney general, Norris Tolson was Easley's Revenue secretary, Hilda Pinnix-Ragland was appointed to the state community college board by Easley, and Howard Lee served as Easley's budget and education adviser and was appointed to two boards by Easley.

Still, many of Perdue's key appointees have no ties to Easley, including at least half her Cabinet.

Easley nominates Beatty for commission

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 15:00:51 -0500

Gov. Mike Easley has nominated Bryan Beatty to the N.C. Utilities Commission.

Beatty has served as secretary of the N.C. Department of Crime Control and Public Safety under Easley since 2001, overseeing the State Highway Patrol, the Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement and the Emergency Management Division, among other agencies.

"Bryan Beatty's dedication and integrity is unmatched in government," Easley said in a statement. "No matter what job he has held, he has always put the best interests of the state of North Carolina and her people first. I know he will continue to do so as a member of this commission."

Beatty had been angling to continue as secretary or in another position under Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue, but recently announced that he would instead leave for a new post.

The Utilities Commission regulates the rates and services of the state's public utilities, including telephone, electric, natural gas, wastewater, buses and ferryboats.

The governor appoints all seven members to eight-year terms, but they must be confirmed by the legislature. Other members appointed by Easley are Howard Lee, Bill Culpepper, Lorinzo Little Joyner, Sam Ervin IV, Robert Owens, and Chairman Edward Finley.

The appointment will fill one of two openings on the board.

Ervin will leave the board to join the N.C. Court of Appeals on Dec. 31. Jim Kerr left the board on Aug. 31.

What does the Environment Secretary do?

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:39:33 -0500

Answer:

Oversees programs regulating water and air quality and protecting wildlife, wilderness and coastal areas.

As head of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the governor-appointed secretary supervises state programs protecting the environment, managing state parks and forests and educating the public on natural resources.

It is one of 10 Cabinet-level positions appointed by the governor to head state agencies.

It is one of the major agencies, with 3,505 employees and a $329.8 million budget in 2007-08. The secretary's salary was $120,363 in the 2008-09 budget.

Howard Lee, who served as secretary from 1977 to 1981, was the first black head of the department and first black Cabinet appointee in North Carolina. The longest-serving secretary since 1971 has been Bill Ross, who led the department from 2001 through the end of Gov. Mike Easley's administration in 2008.

Two Republicans who served in the position, George Little and Bill Cobey, ran unsuccessfully for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in 2004.

The department has gone through substantial changes over the years.

In 1823, the N.C. Geological Survey was formed. In 1905, it was expanded and renamed the N.C. Geological and Economic Survey, the forerunner to the modern department.

A restructuring of Cabinet agencies in 1971 put most of the environmental functions under the N.C. Department of Natural and Economic Resources. In 1977, it was retitled the Department of Natural Resources and Community Development.

In 1989, the legislature combined parts of the N.C. Department of Natural Resources and Community Development and the N.C. Department of Human Resources into the N.C. Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources.

In 1997, health services were transferred back to the reorganized Department of Health and Human Services and the department was given its current name.

The department is outlined in general statutes under Article 7 of G.S. 143B.

Brief:

Oversees programs regulating water and air quality and protecting wildlife, wilderness and coastal areas.

N.C. Spin's names in the mix for Perdue

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:54:12 -0500

N.C. Spin has heard some of the same gossip as Dome.

The weekly politics newsletter seconds some of the names we've heard tossed around for Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue's administration.

(Those would be Bryan Beatty and Scott Thomas for Crime Control; Crandall Bowles at Commerce; Clark Jenkins, Gene Conti and Lanny Wilson at Transportation; and Dempsey Benton, Bill Ross and Britt Cobb to stay.)

They also toss out some new names:

Cultural Resources: Kay Myers, wife of former state transportation board member and Democratic fundraiser Gordon Myers of Asheville.

Education: Howard Lee to remain chair of the board of education and J.B. Buxton to remain advisor to the governor on education.

Commerce: Former deputy Tony Copeland, now working for Longistics in Raleigh.

Environment and Natural Resources: Current assistant secretary Robin Smith, Richard Rogers and former UNC-Wilmington chancellor Jim Leutze.

Administration: Rep. Alma Adams of Greensboro.

Employment Security Commission: Current head Harry Payne to remain.

Office of State Personnel: Rep. Linda Coleman of Knightdale.

The usual caveat applies that the above names are just gossip. The Perdue transition team says the governor-elect has not made any decisions.

Perdue expands transition team

markjohnson — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:06:58 -0500

Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue named a group of women and African-Americans to her transition leadership after being stung by criticism that her first appointments lacked diversity.

She added:

Howard Lee, chair of the state school board and former senator
Valeria Lee, vice chair of the Rural Economic Development Center and past president of the Golden Leaf Foundation
Linda Carlisle, retired founding president of Copier Consultants and former Bank of America vice president
Hilda Pinnix-Ragland, chair of the State Board of Community Colleges and a vice president at Progress Energy

Howard Lee, Valeria Lee (who is not related) and Pinnix-Ragland are black.

The new appointments followed criticism last week from Rev. William Barber, president of the state NAACP, that Perdue's first three appointments were of politically-connected white men. She initially named three transition leaders: Zach Ambrose, Perdue's campaign manager and former chief of staff in the lieutenant governor's office; Don Hobart, her current chief of staff, and Norris Tolson, former secretary of revenue and former secretary of transportation.

Roundtrips to China

lynnbonner — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 13:58:14 -0400

Three members of the State Board of Education are in line to travel to China in November, if a few companies open their checkbooks.

Board members Wayne McDevitt, Patricia N. Willoughby and Melissa Bartlett are invited to a conference of “education ministers” as part of the board's exchange program with China’s Jiangsu Province.

Board chairman Howard Lee said he was looking to raise up to $20,000 for their trip from GlaxoSmithKline, Lenovo, and Jim and Ann Goodnight. Jim Goodnight is the SAS Institute CEO.

The state board and the provincial education department formally agreed this year to collaborate on classroom and student projects, hold joint conference and host exchanges for students and teachers.

Teachers from China visited North Carolina last spring. The N.C. Center for International Understanding sent 23 teachers and principals to China last year. No state money was used for their travel.

This November's conference registration fee includes sightseeing on the final two days, including a visit to the Great Wall, the Olympic stadium and Tiananmen Square.

McDevitt said board members may not be able to stay for the days that include trips to tourist attractions because they want to visit partnership schools.

The partnership aims to give North Carolina students the chance to work on projects with students from other countries, learn other languages and engage in other activities they’ll need for the workplace, said Stephanie Caplan, the center’s spokeswoman.

The Howard Lee Story

lynnbonner — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:16:06 -0400

We have a local entry for bookstores' political biographies section.

Howard Lee, chairman of the State Board of Education, has published his biography, "The Courage to Lead."

Lee was elected the first black mayor of Chapel Hill in 1969, and is a former state senator.

Lee said he worked on the self-published memoir for about five years, and trimmed his first draft of 800 pages to 240.

He has 15 book signings scheduled around the state.

How Hagan got the budget gig

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:35:27 -0400

Kay Hagan can thank redistricting for her budget-writing powers.

After a Republican lawsuit made its way to the Supreme Court, a Superior Court judge drew districts more favorable to the GOP that eventually put the Senate's three budget co-chairs out of office:

Sen. Aaron Plyer: After 14 terms in the Senate, the Monroe Democrat, was drawn into a district with just 35 percent Democrats. He chose not to run again and was replaced by then Rep. Fern Shubert.

Sen. Fountain Odom: A seven-term senator, Odom was drawn into a district with 32 percent Democrats. He lost an expensive race against Robert Pittenger, now a candidate for lieutenant governor.

Sen. Howard Lee: The former Chapel Hill mayor was forced to run against fellow Democratic Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, losing by 119 votes. He now heads the state Board of Education.

With the three budget writers gone, Senate leader Marc Basnight tapped three younger legislators: Hagan, Walter Dalton of Rutherfordton and Linda Garrou of Winston-Salem.

"She'll go outside of that box," Basnight said of Hagan. "She'll do a bang-up job."