Endorsement: The Editorial Board’s choice for North Carolina superintendent

For a moment, forget all the worst things you know about Michele Morrow. Forget that she advocated for a pro-Trump military coup on Jan. 6, or that she called for the public execution of former president Barack Obama, or her disturbing video post about seeing people who didn’t look or sound like her in a local retail store.

Take away all of that — alongside so many other troubling and bizarre comments — and what are you left with? A Republican nominee to lead the North Carolina’s public school system who has no experience working in public schools, no children who were enrolled in public schools, and no experience in leadership or public office.

Extremism aside, Michele Morrow is wholly unqualified to hold the office she seeks, more so than any major party state superintendent candidate in our state’s history.

Voters thankfully have a strong alternative in Maurice “Mo” Green. The Democratic nominee brings a deep background in education, including seven successful years as superintendent of Guilford County Schools and time as deputy superintendent and general counsel with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. His two now-adult children graduated from North Carolina public schools.

Green’s leadership experience also includes seven years as executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, a major donor to causes across North Carolina that include innovative education initiatives. (Note: Opinion Editor Peter St. Onge served on a community leadership council from 2016-19 for the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation while Green was the foundation’s executive director.)

Green, simply put, knows public schools. He understands the challenges facing both urban and rural public school systems, and he has a clear-eyed perspective on the landscape facing public education in a state with an unfriendly Republican-led legislature. Importantly, he’s had success navigating those challenges; in Guilford County, schools improved performance and increased graduation rates under Green’s leadership. The district also was recognized as a national district of character, a reflection of the values that Green brings to whatever role he serves.

The same can’t be said for Morrow, whose bizarre rantings and videos should trouble all voters. She’s posted QAnon slogans and disparaged Islam. She claimed, just four years ago, that an organized group of child traffickers and pedophiles tortures and kills children to harvest their blood for an anti-aging elixir. She’s already been an embarrassment for North Carolina as a major party candidate. She should not be a public official representing our state and its people.

That’s why when Morrow won the Republican primary for superintendent, the N.C. Chamber felt compelled to publish a warning of threats to the state’s business climate from “candidates that do not share our vision for North Carolina.” Most prominently mentioned: Michele Morrow.

The threat Morrow poses to public schools is even more acute. She has shown frequent disdain for the schools and educators she wants to lead. She’s called public education a “cesspool of lies, evil and deception” and suggested public schools are being taken over by Satan. Voters have every reason to wonder why she would want to lead them — and what damage she might inflict on them if she did.

If you’re a voter who understands that public schools play a vital role in our communities and our state’s future, one candidate shares that foundational belief. If you believe our public schools can improve with thoughtful, collaborative, innovative leadership, the choice in this race could not be clearer.

We recommend Mo Green for North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction.

This story was originally published October 18, 2024 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Endorsement: The Editorial Board’s choice for North Carolina superintendent."