text: ABSS board hires interim superintendent - Top News - The Times News
  COMMENTS ABSS board hires interim superintendent
  Published: Tuesday, July 1, 2014 at 12:43 PM.
  The Alamance-Burlington Board of Education hired a retired Cumberland County Schools head to be interim superintendent for the Alamance-Burlington School System.
  William "Bill" C. Harrison starts July 9. The district will pay Harrison $13,000 per month plus a $1,500 housing allowance. His contract goes until Dec. 31 or the board hires a permanent superintendent.
  The board announced the hire at the end of a 40-minute closed session at a special called meeting Tuesday morning. The vote to hire Harrison was unanimous with all board members present.
  Harrison was superintendent of Cumberland County Schools for 12 years and chair of the state Board of Education from 2009 to 2013.
  Gov. Beverly Perdue appointed Harrison as the state's first chief executive officer of public education in 2009 to consolidate authority and accountability for public schools. June Atkinson, the elected Superintendent of Public Schools, challenged Perdue's power to create the position in court, and the court ruled Perdue had overstepped her constitutional authority. Harrison stepped down as CEO and continued serving on the state board.
  Former ABSS Superintendent Lillie Cox's last day was Monday. The board previously voted to name Charles Monroe, assistant superintendent at ABSS, acting superintendent. He will fill in until Harrison starts.
  Harrison was one of six candidates the board interviewed in the past few weeks. The board did not use a search firm other than its attorneys at Tharrington Smith.
  So far the board is considering hiring one of two search firms to find a permanent superintendent: the N.C. School Boards Association, which ABSS has worked with several times before, and McPherson and Jacobson of Omaha, Neb., which helped Wake County Schools hire former ABSS superintendent Jim Merrill.
  The board announced Cox's resignation May 30. The board voted to accept the resignation 4-0 with three members absent. The absent members published a letter criticizing the vote and supporting Cox.
  Cox received $200,000 in severance pay, and she and the board signed a resignation agreement limiting their public statements. The public silence has not equaled public quiet. Ten people spoke at the board's latest public meeting to criticize the board for losing Cox.
  Harrison steps into an ongoing school-budget process and the implementation of the district's new strategic plan.