Today will mark the another day for the hearing for the iStation / Amplify debacle over the procurement of a reading assessment tool for elementary schools. Liz Bell of EdNC.org has been covering everyday.

The long-awaited hearing on the Department of Public Instruction’s choice of an assessment tool vendor to test K-3 student reading began Monday.

Department of Information Technology (DIT) General Counsel Jonathan Shaw on Monday began reviewing DPI’s process, which losing bidder Ampify claims was unfair.

Along with Bell, Dr. Chelsea Bartel, an experienced school psychologist, has been following the hearing with her twitter feed – @chimpsea. Her knowledge of the case and her advocacy for more transparency in the procurement process for iStation lends a rather piercing view of the the entire hearing process.

As many times as the word “superintendent” has shown up in a statement she has reported, it seems odd that probably the one person who might really need to be questioned in this hearing is Mark Johnson, especially after the bombshell of a revelation was reported by Justin Parmenter on his blog, Notes From the Chalkboard.

The very text message that is “at the center of the months-long controversy was intercepted by DPI staff who used used the laptop of the former Director of K-3 Literacy to monitor her personal communications for more than a year after her retirement.”

So, it begs the question “Why in the hell is Mark Johnson not testifying at this hearing?”

Because what Parmenter has uncovered has truly necessitated a whole new line of questioning.

And he is running for the second highest office in the state right now.