Bill Harrison's e-mail announcing retirement as Schools CEO

CEO of Public Schools Bill Harrison announced his retirement Wednesday in an e-mail to employees at the North Carolina Board of Education. Here's his e-mail: Dear Colleagues, As you are aware, I have spent a great deal of time during the last two days responding to a legal dispute regarding my position as CEO. Quite frankly, I've wasted too many hours on this case - hours I would rather use working with you and education leaders across the state to accomplish the one thing Gov. Perdue asked of me six months ago: reforming our public education system to best serve our children. Because the 1.4 million students in this state remain my primary focus, and because I feel I can best serve them by focusing on my role as chair of the State Board, I will retire from DPI effective Aug. 31, 2009. I have truly enjoyed working with this staff, and I look forward to continuing the relationships we've built since March. Like many in the field, I came to this job with a perception of DPI that wasn't accurate. There are incredibly talented people working in this Department, and the work you are doing makes a real difference in the lives of our kids. I hope you feel I have supported you in that work, and know that as we go forward, you can count on my continued engagement and involvement as chair of the State Board. Thank you for what you do everyday to improve the public education system in North Carolina. I look forward to working with you and Superintendent Atkinson. Bill