Raleigh

June Atkinson, in her second term as state schools superintendent, followed through on her threats recently and sued the State Board of Education and Gov. Beverly Perdue.

She says that Perdue, by further stripping her of power and putting new Board of Education chairman Bill Harrison in charge of administering schools, acted improperly.

"It's not right that the will of the voters has been ignored, and it is not right that the constitution is being ignored," she said while announcing the lawsuit.

She's right that the will of the voters shouldn't be ignored. But she's quite wrong that the state constitution is being ignored, and that's why she's likely to lose this lawsuit.

The lawsuit points to language in the state constitution which states that the schools superintendent is the "chief administrative officer" of the Board of Education.

But the role isn't otherwise defined. And the constitution doesn't stop there on the issue of public school governance.

It specifically says that the board, not the schools superintendent, shall "supervise and administer the free public school system." There is also language that leaves it to state legislators to define the duties of statewide elected officials.

Atkinson and her lawyer, former state Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr, correctly assert that it's absurd for someone elected by two million people to be relegated to serving as an ambassador of goodwill for the schools.

But for better or worse, being morally right doesn't always win legal battles. If it did, the U.S. Supreme Court wouldn't have just overturned a decision that allowed Texas residents to sue health insurers when they improperly deny care from those that they insure.

The right thing to do in this case, as Orr has acknowledged in the past, is to put an amendment before the people to change the state constitution and allow the governor to appoint the schools superintendent.

North Carolina elects more state-wide officials than all but a few states. Perdue falls on the right side of this debate by pointing out that schools work best when clear lines of authority move from local superintendent and board to state administrator and state board to governor.

An elected superintendent who doesn't answer to the governor but is responsible for carrying out policy set by a board largely appointed by that governor doesn't allow that to happen.

Perhaps Perdue has a responsibility, given her course of action, to make that case to voters and ask them to amend the constitution.

As for the lawsuit, Atkinson and Orr might argue that the state constitution was rewritten in 1971 to specifically remove the superintendent as a voting member of the Board of Education. Harrison now has power as a board member setting policy, and an administrator carrying it out.

But making that argument will surely bring mention of the other intent of that change: ensuring that the real power rested with the board, not the superintendent.

Scott Mooneyham writes for Capitol Press Association. Contact him at smooneyh@ncinsider.com