RALEIGH, N.C. — You may not have heard Michele Morrow’s name much before primary election night. But she quickly rose to the national spotlight as questions and accusations arose about her political stances and social media posts. She says she wants to bring this race back to the issues of the job.
Morrow has already ousted an incumbent from her own party, Catherine Truitt, in a primary race for state superintendent of public instruction. Now, she has her sights set on winning the seat in November.
“The majority of parents want their children to be in a public school,” Morrow said in a sit down interview with Spectrum News 1. “That's kind of the easiest, you know, road to go. Right now, I'm completely on board with school choice, but right now we don't even have a lot of other options, and I think our school system should be the best option, because when you have true competition, that's healthy competition, it makes a better product at a better price."
She is a homeschool mom herself, but says she wants step into the public school realm to lead it and to tackle what she sees as the biggest issue in public education: school safety.
“You know, everyone in North Carolina is concerned, and they're appalled about what they've been seeing,” she says.
Morrow has assembled a “School Safety Task Force” as part of her campaign. Educators, law enforcement and others recently joined her for an intimate town hall-style meeting to dig into this issue, including Annette Allbright, a former Mecklenburg County employee who was assaulted on the job.
“So absolutely, educators are leaving this field. They are afraid,” Allbright said. “And not only are educators afraid, students are afraid. Parents are afraid for their students.”
As part of her safety plan, Morrow wants both students and their parents to be liable for a “code of conduct” at school. This would include teachers enforcing the covenant with the entire family and for there to be consequences, including suspension, when necessary.
"Quite honestly, all of us as parents really are responsible for our minor children, whether it's education or it's medical or, you know, whatever they're doing out and about in the community and it falls on into the laps of parents,” Morrow said.
She also says there will be no tolerance for hate in schools. That includes, in her opinion, keeping critical race theory, or CRT, out of the classrooms.
“I don't want to see children being either defined, their character being defined, or their future being determined by the color of their skin, or by their religion,” Morrow explained. “What I think is missing right now is that moral fabric to our schools that used to exist. Which, what I mean by that, is what is understood across the board, is to teach children to be kind, to work hard, to be respectful.”