Brunswick Beacon, 10.03.24
Given my 33-year career as a public school teacher, mainly in Brunswick County, I care deeply about our schools and the local board of education. That’s why I’m running for the Brunswick County school board. Likewise, I am highly invested in the race for NC Superintendent of Public Instruction. The superintendent oversees the state’s public school system — a critical role affecting almost 1.4 million students and families.
The MAGA contender for superintendent, Michele Morrow, is a homeschooling parent who vilifies teachers and calls public schools “indoctrination centers.” She spouts Q-Anon conspiracies and took her children to the January 6th Insurrection. She tweeted in 2020: “I prefer a pay-per-view of him [President Obama] in front of the firing squad.”
The Democratic nominee, Maurice (“Mo”) Green, is a staunch advocate for public education. He worked as a school board attorney; served as the superintendent of Guilford County Schools for over seven years; and was chief executive of a foundation that awards grants supporting public education.
I am proud to endorse Mo Green, with his impressive experience, for NC Superintendent of Public Instruction. Similarly, I submit it would be highly beneficial to have a career educator such as myself on our local school board — for a change.
The GOP-dominated NC General Assembly has decreed nearly 50% of NC school board elections are to be partisan, including Brunswick County's. MAGA House Speaker Tim Moore justified it this way: “all you’re really doing is giving those voters more information.”
So, it seems fair to ask my GOP opponent to confirm support for his party’s nominee for NC Superintendent of Public Instruction, Michele Morrow. After all, the “Republican” label next to Steve Barger’s name on the ballot is meant to “give voters more information.” Does that mean if Morrow is elected, Mr. Barger will embrace her dystopian approach to public education?
Inquiring minds want to know, Mr. Barger, about your Superintendent of Public Instruction endorsement.
Janis Simmons
Boiling Spring Lakes
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