From Dallas Woodhouse of Americans for Prosperity North Carolina:

An Open Letter to the Citizens of Wake County and Mr. Del Burns:
Mr. Burns has announced his retirement from the Wake County Public School System. It should be noted that he did not resign his position but simply announced his retirement date. We wish Mr. Burns well in retirement, and after his temper tantrum yesterday it is clear he should be allowed or forced to depart the Wake County Public School System immediately.

In announcing his departure, Mr. Burns stated he had respect for the new board members. He then in a series of media interviews accused them of having partisan political agendas. He accused them of not caring about children. It is the same over the top rhetoric we hear from defenders of the discredited busing policy.

With a series of publicized media interviews, Mr. Burns has disqualified himself to administer the Wake County School System. He expressed his personal opinions about the newly elected School Board, their policies and his disagreement with those policies.

What do the North Carolina statutes say about the roles and responsibilities of school superintendents? According to ?115C‑276(a), “In General. ? All acts of local boards of education, not in conflict with State law, shall be binding on the superintendent, and it shall be his duty to carry out all rules and regulations of the board.”

– The superintendent is an ex officio secretary to his board.

– The local boards shall prescribe the duties of the superintendent.

North Carolina’s laws leave little doubt that the superintendent, appropriately called an administrator, works for the elected school board.

What would happen to a CEO of a company if he met with the media and told them how boneheaded were the policies of the Board of Directors? What would happen to a City Manager who met with the media and told them how wrong were the policies of the elected City Council?

For years, Del Burns agreed with the majority of the School Board and controlled the flow of information to the school board. This information ensured the kinds of outcomes consistent with his goals and vision.

So Mr. Burns does not agree with the new ideas presented by the new School Board who by the way, were elected by the voters. Is it not possible that some changes are warranted in the Wake County Schools? After all, graduation rates for black, Hispanic, and low-income students continue to decline.

Last year, the Wake County Schools graduated just over half of low-income students on time, a sharp decline from the 63 percent of students who graduated in 2007. Have we given up? Should the new School Board simply say this is good enough?

It says a lot that Mr. Burns cares more about socioeconomic diversity than diversity of opinion.

Unlike past school boards, the current one refuses to exalt the superintendent as an educational and organizational authority beyond reproach.

The current school board merely believes that the position of school superintendent should return to the role of the office as outlined in state law.

The school board should not let this distraction get in the way of its work ? diligently serving the families of Wake County.

Elections have consequences. Elections matter. It is clear Mr. Burns disagrees with those election results. Since he can not live with the outcome as directed by the voters, he needs to exit immediately.