N.C. Supreme Court Block New State School Superintendent

The N.C. Supremes smiled yesterday on Republican Bill Fletcher's last-gasp efforts to deny the State Superintendent of Public Education office to winner June Atkinson. The Supremes have decided to hear Fletcher's argument on why he thinks some 10,000 ballots cast provisionally on Nov. 2nd should not count. Fletcher trailed Atkinson by some 8,500 votes state-wide and apparently thinks he can catch up with her by getting the court to throw out ballots that were cast anywhere but in the voter's home precinct.

The Supremes' order means that come Jan. 15th, the Dept. of Public Instruction will not have a new leader, as the rest of the Council of State takes office -- minus also the Commissioner of Agriculture, of course.