Glut of governors in Cary

The town of Cary had almost as many governors as tidy subdivisions on Sunday and Monday.

Former N.C. Gov. Jim Hunt and his eponymous institute at N.C. State played host to 22 governors for a private summit at the upscale Umstead Luxury Hotel & Spa. The group's goal was to brainstorm on ways to maximize student achievement in the course of allocating some of the $100 billion in federal recovery money earmarked for education. Speakers included U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. 

The forum, with the exception of Duncan's speech, was closed to the press and public. Hunt Institute spokeswoman April White said the invitation-only requirement was to encourage candor and was a requirement of the event's funders: the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, State Farm Companies Foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies and the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation.

The governors, 16 Democrats and six Republicans, hailed from as far as Kansas and Oklahoma and as close as West Virginia and Kentucky and included North Carolina's Gov. Beverly Perdue.