DeKalb stalls on superintendent search

By Megan Matteucci
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
June 18, 2010

The DeKalb County school board fired its superintendent two months ago, but the troubled district has taken few steps to find a new leader.

Board Chairman Tom Bowen said the board has had some initial conversations behind closed doors about a timeline for the search, which could take 12-18 months.

The board will likely submit a request for proposals to hire a search firm, but no decisions have been made, Bowen said Friday.

And as the search process begins outside the public eye for someone to lead the nation’s 27th largest school system, the agency that accredits the district's schools is taking an interest in the search.

“There will be a mechanism in the superintendent search process to get public input, but the exact method has not been determined,” Bowen told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “An initial meeting was held, and we will begin meeting regularly regarding the process in the near future.”

Bowen did not say when, nor if the meetings will be public.

Board attorney Joshua Mayes, of Sutherland firm in Atlanta, said the Georgia Open Meetings law allows the board to discuss “employment and personnel issues” in closed session.

But the Georgia First Amendment Foundation maintains the board should be meeting publicly to discuss the search process. Once the board has candidates, it can meet behind closed doors, said Hollie Manheimer, the foundation’s executive director.

“The personnel exemption is very narrow and allows the public to be barred only in very limited instances,” she said. “Deliberating about an individual’s specific disciplinary action would be a narrow example; discussion of the elements of a job description would not. The Open Meetings Act is about maximizing access to the public.”

The board terminated its contract with Superintendent Crawford Lewis in April.

At the time, the board had said it hoped to launch a national search by the end of the school year -- June 30.

Since his termination, Lewis, former Chief Operating Officer Patricia Reid, her husband and her secretary have been indicted on charges they ran a criminal enterprise at the school system.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which accredits DeKalb and most schools in the Southeast, will also be watching the superintendent search.

Mark A. Elgart, SACS’ president and executive director, said DeKalb will have a tough time finding a qualified candidate because of its size.

“There are a very limited number of superintendents who have the background and skills to run a system that size,” Elgart told the AJC. “It will take a long search because larger systems are more complex. It will be a challenge because of the size of the district and the dynamics.”

SACS is conducting a preliminary probe following the indictments. In the next six weeks, SACS officials will send the DeKalb school board a list of questions to answer in response to the indictments and other recent incidents.

“Based on their responses, we will determine our next steps,” Elgart said. “We’re looking at all of the information we’ve gathered over the past year. A full-scale investigation is within the realm of possibilities.”

Board members fear that the indictments and SACS investigation may make it hard to attract top candidates for the job and raise their salary demands. The district is also in the middle of a civil investigation by the grand jury, redistricting and tough financial times. The board slashed $104 million from next fiscal year’s budget.

These are just some of the reasons why it’s essential the board find a superintendent with experience running a large organization and improving academic achievement, Bowen said.

“We need someone who can objectively identify the good and bad qualities in the system and to bring change to the specific areas where improvement is needed,” he said.

Interim Superintendent Ramona Tyson, who has led the district since Lewis took leave in February, has said she is not interested in the permanent job.