Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson (born 1982/1983) the oldest of four sons. He graduated from the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts and then Emory University in Atlanta, Atkinson had served 11 years in the post and had worked for the department for about 28 years before becoming superintendent.

In 2019, Johnson supported a 5% salary increase for North Carolina teachers. He also proposed to increase funding for textbooks and digital media.

As superintendent, Johnson supported the creation of a new position of assistant superintendent for early childhood education and launched NC Reads, a statewide reading program. Prior to the start of the 2018 school year, Johnson announced that all K-3 teachers would be receiving new iPads as part of the state's "Read to Achieve" program using existing funds. Johnson announced changes to the state's standardized test procedures, including fewer questions on exams, "allowing students to leave the exams sooner and easing rules requiring exam proctors." Johnson also launched the "TeachNC" initiative (a joint effort between the Department of Public Instruction and the nonprofits Best NC and Teach.org, supported by grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, IBM, Microsoft, and others, to improve teacher recruitment and retention. and a NC School Finances website to provide more transparency on school finances.

In partnership with the nonprofit Sandy Hook Promise, formed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, Johnson launched a "Say Something" app, allowing North Carolina students to anonymously report tips or incidents. Johnson has opposed the idea of arming North Carolina teachers with guns, an idea promoted by Donald Trump and others. However, Johnson does favor more funding for school resource officers.

Johnson was state superintendent during the COVID-19 pandemic in North Carolina, when schools were closed to control the spread of the virus.

When Johnson announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor, he described himself as "in the trenches fighting the deep state in state bureaucracy," referring to the State Board of Education. In 2016, shortly after Johnson's election, the North Carolina General Assembly enacted legislation in a special session to shift power from the State Board of Education to the state superintendent, granting Johnson power over the $10 billion North Carolina education budget.

In January 2020, Johnson and the board clashed over Johnson's signing of a contract for a personalized learning reading assessment tool designed for kindergartens through 3rd graders in support of the state's "Read To Achieve" program. The value of the contract was just below the dollar threshold requiring board approval,

In February 2020, Johnson used a state database to send 540,000 text messages and 800,000 emails to parents and teachers, polling them about Common Core. The text message read, "NC Superintendent Johnson wants to remove Common Core from NC schools. Do you? Complete this survey to guide our work." that coincided with the beginning of early voting in the North Carolina primary elections, in which Johnson was on the ballot in the race for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor. In the March 3, 2020 Republican primary, Johnson lost, coming in third place.

Electoral history