In the race to lead North Carolina’s schools, a former district superintendent has defeated a homeschooling mother who attended the “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021.
Maurice “Mo” Green, a retired leader of a progressive foundation who was recruited by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper to run for state auditor, defeated Michele Morrow 51% to 49%.
January 6 Protester, former Supe Vie, to lead North Carolina schools
“The work doesn’t end here. It is now up to us to put forward and implement our bold vision, direction and plan [North Carolina] public schools,” Green said in a statement. “Our children and the future of our state depend on it.”
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The race came down to both candidates accusing each other of extremism. Morrow, a former nurse who focused her campaign on school safety, portrayed Green as a left-wing radical who is not tough on student discipline. Green, meanwhile, reminded voters of Morrow’s derogatory statements about public schools and her calls for violence against Democrats on social media, including one 2020 message that she wanted to see former President Barack Obama in front of a firing squad – comments she said were blown out of proportion. In the final weeks of the campaign, Obama spoke out at a campaign rally in Charlotte, noting that someone who “just says crazy things” should not be in charge of decisions about textbooks and school funding.
In a statement, Morrow, who unexpectedly unseated incumbent Superintendent Catherine Truitt in the Republican primary, blamed “slanderous reports” for her defeat and said the fact that the race was so close was evidence that many voters disagreed with her message agreed.
“We have overcome almost unbelievable adversity,” she said. “Between Mo Green’s campaign finance and the support of his special interest groups, we’re outspent almost 300 to one.”
Morrow acted as an outsider and regularly criticized public schools as “indoctrination centers” that promoted liberal ideas about race and gender. She considered her years teaching science and Spanish to homeschooled students, including her own, as sufficient qualifications for the position.
Green, an attorney, held a top position in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools and then led the 68,000-student Guilford district from 2008 to 2015. He plans to advocate for more funding for public schools. While he supports public school choice, he has criticized the state’s voucher program. With lawmakers poised to approve a $1.1 billion budget deal that would fully fund private school vouchers and eliminate a waitlist of more than 50,000 students, Green said during a September debate with Morrow that the funds “draining from our public schools.”
Although he used Morrow’s past social media posts to his advantage, his background in public schools seemed to make the difference for education advocates.
“Her lack of experience in public education was glaring,” said Marcus Brandon, who heads CarolinaCAN, part of a network of policy and advocacy groups. “Mo Green, as a former chief inspector, advocated the case [that] he knew public education, and that is literally the job.”
