In a presidential election year, it can be difficult for downballot candidates to get attention. But North Carolina’s candidates for Superintendent of Public Instruction, Republican Michele Morrow and Democrat Mo Green, have squared off in two events in the past week, hoping to distinguish themselves as the best person to run the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) and administer approximately $11 billion in state and federal funding.

Saturday morning, both Morrow and Green met in person on the NC State campus in an hour-long forum hosted by Public Schools First North Carolina and the North Carolina Parent Teacher Association.

In her opening statement Morrow, a nurse who homeschooled her children, said she believes an outsider is needed to focus on students, not the system.

“There was a time when our students knew what it meant to respect authority and to honor their elders, and that they were proud and that they were appreciative for being citizens in the United States of America,” said Morrow. “But now, ladies and gentlemen, we are in crisis. We are not serving our students, our teachers, our parents, or our administrators well.”

Green, a former superintendent of Guilford County Schools and past executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, told the audience this position requires a true champion of public education, especially at a time that North Carolina ranks 48th in school funding.

Per-pupil spending nationally is about $16,000 per student, but in North Carolina that figure is a little more than $11,000 according to Green.

Instead, legislators are funding private school vouchers, that will drain hundreds of millions more from public education.

“And then you talk about the way that our public-school educators and our public schools are being disrespected by many, including my very own opponent who has called our public schools, cesspools of evil lies and deception, has called our educators groomers,” said Green. “I would submit to you that this election is about protecting the very soul of public education.”

Morrow, a conservative activist who has drawn national attention for her calls for political violence, acknowledged that too many teachers are leaving the public school system, and the next state superintendent must address that.

“They are leaving what they were called to do because they don’t feel like they are getting the resources, they’re not getting the support, and they are not able to do what they want to do, which is called to teach,” Morrow said. “They are having to push an agenda.  I’m going to advocate for families, for students, for staff, and I’m going to ensure that the laws are obeyed in every single one of our 115 districts.”

School safety a top concern

On the issue of school safety, Morrow said would push for at least two school resource officers (SROs) in every school.

“We need a code of conduct. We need for parents, teachers, and staff to understand what is going to be expected in conduct as well as academic performance,” Morrow said.

She faulted two group that received funding from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation that advocated for removing SROs.

“If you live here in Wake County, you have seen in the last week, we have had more than five schools on lockdown. That is absolutely irresponsible,” Morrow said.

Green said strategies he would employ to make schools safer include building effective relationships with law enforcement, increasing the mental health professionals working with students, and hardening some facilities.

“And then finally, character development. I think it’s important that our children understand how to comport themselves, how to be in a relationship with each other, even when they’re in disagreement with each other.”

Raising pay amid a rise in private school vouchers

On the issue of compensation, both candidates agreed that the starting salary for North Carolina’s teachers is not enough.

Morrow said she would like to see starting pay for teachers in the $50,000-$55,000 range, with certain educators earning more based on their skills.

Green suggested starting pay be set at $55,000 to $60,000, with no ceiling on what teachers earn.

Green also made clear his opposition the taxpayer-funded private school voucher program recently expanded by the Republican-controlled legislature.  The additional funding for vouchers approved just last week totals $5 billion over the next decade.

“This is deeply troubling when you think about now the wealthiest of the wealthy, those who can already afford to send their child to a private school already have their child in a private school can now get government assistance. What are we doing?”

Morrow said under her administration, NCDPI would do ‘a deep dive’ into how the money is spent, but “healthy competition creates the best product at the best price.”

Limiting smartphones in schools

With an increasing number of states implementing bans on cellphones in schools, both candidates agreed there should be limitations.

“I’m not at a place where I’m going to say there should be a total ban on cell phones in all of our schools at all times. But I do think that we’ve got to figure our ways to limit the access of cell phones in our schools because our students, I believe, are being inundated with all sorts of things that are distracting them from receiving the educational opportunities that they should be receiving in the classroom,” Green said.

Morrow took it a step further.

“I think it’s very dangerous to have our kids on a screen. When I talk about it as a nurse and the developmental issues that we’re seeing in our young people with the frontal lobe, with their ability to maintain impulse control, I think we absolutely need to remove at least the cell phones from the classroom. I’d also like to see a severe diminishment, if not removal from our elementary school of handheld devices,” she said.

Morrow said it’s more important for students to have face-to-face time with teachers.

Morrow sharpens her attack, Green questions her fitness to lead NC schools

The polite, hour-long conversation on education policy took an unexpected turn in the candidate’s closing remarks.

Morrow said the exodus of teachers and families from North Carolina public schools can be tied to a politicized system, with an agenda funded in part by Z. Smith Reynolds, the foundation Green once led.

“So he can talk a good game, but I want you to know what is at stake. He talks about grooming, well, let me tell you, Planned Parenthood, go look up, Amaze Jr. and Amaze. They are cartoons that are teaching our four to nine-year-olds how to masturbate.

“They’re telling them that it is fine as a four-year-old to poke and prod one another naked, go watch it. It is being funded, it is being promoted by Planned Parenthood who is one of his biggest supporters,” asserted Morrow.

Morrow said white teachers need not apologize for their whiteness.

“We should not be telling our teachers that our minority students cannot perform because you have inherent racism. It’s time for us to recognize that this social, this politically charged, this racially divisive, and this sexually inappropriate content is destroying our children, it’s destroying their future,” said Morrow in her pledge to make schools a place where children are protected and parental rights respected.

Green for his part reminded the audience that it was Morrow who took her children to the attempted insurrection on January 6th at the U.S. Capitol and even suggested then-President Donald Trump use the military to stay in power.

“This is a person who’s called for the executions of many, many folks, listing President Biden and Governor Cooper and President Barack Obama,” said Green in referencing Morrow’s prior social media posts. “Is this the kind of character we want next to our children?”

Voters won’t have to wait long to answer that question. Early in-person voting for the General Election begins on October 17th.