A citizen request for information regarding one of the two D.C. trade groups responsible for the Common Core standards, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), yielded some interesting results from the NC Department of Public Instruction (NC DPI).

At least $60,000 in taxpayer funds paid for CCSSO related activity last year. Keep reading, there is more beyond the specific CCSSO dollar figure.

The question asked is in bold below. The answer from NC DPI follows.

What are all the names of people that attend CCSSO meetings from NC?  How much are the dues for CCSSO for all attendees?  I am requesting you submit the financial paper trail showing what money is used for those dues. 

State Superintendent June Atkinson attends CCSSO meetings. Sometimes, CCSSO sponsors meetings specifically for Deputy State Superintendents and Dr. Rebecca Garland, Deputy State Superintendent, attends those. Other staff have attended specific meetings on specific topics, such as Common Core, educator effectiveness and evaluation and so forth. Other staff who have attended at least one CCSSO-sponsored meeting include Michael Yarbrough, Race to the Top Communication specialist; Jennifer Deneale, Race to the Top project coordinator; Tom Tomberlin, director of District LEA HR Support; Lynne Johnson, director, Educator Effectiveness; Tammy Howard, director of Accountability Services; Robin McCoy, director of Curriculum and Instruction. CCSSO dues are levied for the NCDPI as a whole. The annual subscription fee is $60,000. This is paid out of state funds for professional memberships, dues and subscriptions. Also, please see the attached chart illustration staff who attend the State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards (SCASS).

The SCASS document referenced above was provided (see below). Accountability Services paid out an addition $132,250. ELL group was another $16,500. Overall, including the specific CCSSO figure, the dollar amount comes to $208,750.

CCSSO SCASS Participation 2012-13