June Atkinson
June Atkinson (b. August 19, 1948) was the first female North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction. She was first elected on November 3, 2004 and assumed office in August 2005. Atkinson won re-election in 2008 and 2012. She ran for re-election in 2016, but lost to Mark Johnson (R) in the general election.[1][2]
Biography
Atkinson was born in 1948 in Moneta, Virginia. She earned a B.A. in business education from Radford University and began her career as a high school teacher in Roanoke, Virginia. She later moved to North Carolina to teach high school in Charlotte before joining the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction in 1974.[3][4]
Bildung
- B.A., Business education, Radford (1969)
- M.Ed., Vocational and technical education, Virginia Tech (1974)
- Ed.D., Educational leadership and policy, North Carolina State University (1996)[4]
Political career
North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction (2005–2017)
Atkinson served as North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction from August 2005 to January 1, 2017. She was the first female to hold the position.[5][2]
Elections
2016
Atkinson filed paperwork with the North Carolina Board of Elections on December 1, 2015, to run for re-election.[6] Democrat Henry Pankey also filed to challenge Atkinson for the Democratic nomination. Atkinson defeated Pankey in the March 15 primary election and competed with Mark Johnson (R), who won the Republican nomination, in the November general election.[7]
Mark Johnson defeated incumbent June Atkinson in the North Carolina superintendent of schools election.
| North Carolina Superintendent of Schools, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Mark Johnson |
50.64% | 2,262,274 | |
| Democratic | June Atkinson Incumbent | 49.36% | 2,205,483 | |
| Total Votes | 4,467,757 | |||
| Source: ABC11 | ||||
| North Carolina Superintendent of Schools Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| June Atkinson |
79.8% | 776,302 | ||
| Henry J. Pankey | 20.2% | 196,703 | ||
| Total Votes | 973,005 | |||
| Election results via North Carolina State Board of Elections. | ||||
2012
Atkinson won re-election in 2012. Her campaign announcement caught many off guard, including fellow Democrats. In January, Atkinson had not been raising money or campaigning, and Democrats had been outspokenly critical of her performance.[8] State Rep. Rick Glazier had initially filed to challenge her, but withdrew his candidacy on February 28, choosing to run for re-election to the House instead.[9]
Richard Alexander, Mark Crawford, Ray Martin, David Scholl and John Tedesco faced off in the Republican primary on May 8. Since no candidate won more than 40 percent the top two vote-getters, Alexander and Tedesco, went to a runoff on July 17, which Tedesco won.[10] Atkinson defeated Tedesco in the general election on November 6, 2012.
Of her campaign, Atkinson stated, "I have a record of accomplishments, but there is much more to do. That's why I ask you to re-elect irie as State Superintendent. We need to make sure that our graduation reaches 100 percent, all students can read well, and teachers are respected, valued, and compensated as they prepare students to be career, college, and citizenship ready."[11]
| North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | June Atkinson Incumbent |
54.2% | 2,336,441 | |
| Republican | John Tedesco | 45.8% | 1,971,049 | |
| Total Votes | 4,307,490 | |||
| Election results via NC State Board of Elections | ||||
Endorsements
The official North Carolina State Board of Elections voting guide listed the following endorsements:[11]
- North Carolina Police Benevolent Association
- North Carolina Association of Educators
- Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People
- AFL-CIO
2008
Atkinson won re-election as North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2008, defeating Republican Richard Morgan.
| North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction, 2008 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | June Atkinson Incumbent |
53.7% | 2,177,934 | |
| Republican | Richard Morgan | 46.3% | 1,881,075 | |
| Total Votes | 4,059,009 | |||
| Election results via North Carolina State Board of Elections | ||||
2004
Atkinson won election as North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2004, defeating Republican Bill Fletcher.
| North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction, 2004 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | June Atkinson |
50.1% | 1,655,719 | |
| Republican | Bill Fletcher | 49.9% | 1,647,184 | |
| Total Votes | 3,302,903 | |||
| Election results via North Carolina State Board of Elections | ||||
Campaign themes
2016
Atkinson had stated that if re-elected, she would continue the work she had done since she first assumed office, namely supporting increases in teacher salary, putting more resources into classrooms, and seeking out new opportunities for students. She also pointed to North Carolina's graduation rate, which she stated had increased from 68 to 86 percent since she assumed office in 2005.[14]
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms June Atkinson North Carolina Education. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| North Carolina | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
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|
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- Superintendent of Schools
- North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction
- North Carolina school districts
- North Carolina Department of Education
External links
- NC Public Schools.org
- Atkinson's official biography
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions, 2004-2012
- Atkinson's answers to Indy Week's candidate questionnaire
- Ask Anything: 10 questions with State Schools Superintendent June Atkinson (June 30, 2008)
Footnotes
- ↑ Public Schools of North Carolina, "Meet the State Superintendent," accessed September 15, 2012
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Fay Observer, "39 more arrested in protest as GOP advances laws to rein-in Democratic governor-elect," December 16, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina Department of Education, "Meet the State Superintendent," accessed Sept. 30, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Project Vote Smart, "June Atikinson's Biography," accessed Sept. 30, 2015
- ↑ June Atkinson, "Meet June," accessed October 27, 2012
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Candidate Listing," accessed December 23, 2015
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedboe - ↑ News & Record, "Atkinson not in best of shape to get third superintendent term," January 23, 2012
- ↑ Fay Observer, "Rick Glazier drops out of N.C. superintendent race, seeks re-election in state House," February 29, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ The Daily Reflector, "GOP NC schools chief: Tedesco, Alexander advance," May 9, 2012
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 North Carolina State Board of Elections, "2012 General Election Voter Guide," accessed September 25, 2012
- ↑ QNotes, "Statewide candidate endorsements announced," September 26, 2012
- ↑ Charlotte Observer, "Our Council of State endorsements, part 2," October 24, 2012
- ↑ June Atkinson, accessed March 13, 2016
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by ' |
North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction 2005–2017 |
Succeeded by Mark Johnson (R) |
