I am not impressed with the recommendations offered in the latest study published by the NCGA Program Evaluation Division, “A Study of Structure and Organization of the State Board of Education, State Superintendent of Instruction, and Department of Public Instruction.”

There are a few sensible recommendations in the report, including,

3-1. Delegate the duties of the Executive Director of the State Board to the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the State Board (i.e., the State Superintendent), and eliminate the staff positions of Executive Director to the State Board, Assistant Executive Director to the State Board, and two support positions in the State Board Office. Replace these individuals with the three staff positions who currently report to the State Superintendent.

3-4. Enact legislation that defines the expectations for attendance and other responsibilities of State Board members, and the process by which Board members may be removed.

But these are exceptions. There are a number of issues that the consultants did not address.

1. Public relations is a mess. For example, there is no portal for public comment on proposed rules and regulations.

2. It is not always clear how program areas are related to departments. Many of the program areas can be eliminated or consolidated. For example, the “dropout prevention” program area is similar to the “raising achievement and closing gaps” program area.

I will leave you with one disturbing finding

While the North Carolina DPI Web site cites 530 employees, a recent headcount shows that the DPI employs 781 full-time staff. North Carolina has a staff/student ratio of 1:1,814 which is the second lowest among the five benchmark states. North Carolina?s staff/district ratio is 6.8:1 and stands as the second highest ratio among the five states.