Guilford School System Hires New Superintendent
The Guilford County School System will soon have a new leader. The school board voted this week to appoint Sharon Contreras as the district's new superintendent.
Contreras is a former English teacher and has 25 years of experience in education. Currently, she's the superintendent at Syracuse City School District in New York.
She'll be the first woman to officially hold the full-time post.
Contreras is expected to begin her new job with Guilford County Schools in September. Her starting salary will be $250,000 a year.
Achievement School District Clears General Assembly
A plan to hand over struggling North Carolina elementary schools to charter operators is headed to Gov. Pat McCrory's desk despite outcry from educators and local school boards who call it a takeover.
The House passed the Senate version of a bill Wednesday to create a five-school Achievement School District pilot program for schools that have shown consistently poor growth and performance.
Supporters call the measure an innovative attempt to better serve children at failing schools. Opponents say it takes power from local schools and ignores poverty issues that cause poor test scores.
Coal Ash Cleanup Compromise Clears House Committee
The North Carolina General Assembly is nearly ready to offer cheaper ways for Duke Energy to clean up toxic coal ash authorities declared a public health risk in May.
A House committee recommended Wednesday that the full chamber approve legislation that would allow Duke Energy to dry out the watery pits and close them in place rather than excavating all the toxic residue.
The proposal would require the company supply plant neighbors with safe drinking water by October 2018 and fortify unsafe dams around some pits.
NC Panel: Innocence Evidence Right Continues After Sentence
An ethics panel of the North Carolina State Bar has agreed that prosecutors should be required to disclose evidence of innocence after a defendant is convicted, although the members didn't decide on specific language for the new rule.
The ethics subcommittee voted 3-2 at a meeting in Greensboro to support the general principle that a prosecutor's duty to disclose innocence evidence continues after a defendant is sentenced.
Belk CEO To Retire, Ending 128 Years Of Family Leadership
Tim Belk, CEO of the Charlotte-based retail chain that bears his family's name, says he is retiring in July, bringing an end to 128 years of day-to-day family leadership.
The Charlotte Observer reports the 61-year-old Belk will remain on the board of directors. He also said the company's headquarters will remain in Charlotte.
Tim Belk joined the company in 1981 and has served as CEO since 2004. He is the last remaining member of the Belk family to leave the company.
A statement from the company said Lisa Harper, a Durham native and graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill will succeed Belk as CEO, effective July 5.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Receive the morning news briefs delivered to your email inbox every morning, click here to sign-up.