DeKalb school board to select superintendent candidates for interview

The DeKalb County Board of Education will meet behind closed doors on Wednesday to select which candidates for superintendent they’d like to schedule for interviews.

The board is participating in a two-day retreat this week that began Tuesday. Today is dedicated to discussing recommendations from the district’s accrediting agency about how the board can work better together, and reviewing the progress of interim Superintendent Vasanne Tinsley. The second day is when they’ll narrow down the list of applicants for the top job.

ExploreSix months in, DeKalb school board pleased with interim superintendent

The board reviewed 26 applications earlier this month. Details about candidates will be confidential until the board is ready to announce one or more finalists.

The Georgia School Boards Association, which is facilitating the search, estimates the interview process will take a month.

The state’s third-largest school district began searching for a new leader in 2022. The board fired Cheryl Watson-Harris from the top job in a split vote in April. Tinsley has been leading the district since then.

The board plans to hire a permanent leader this spring.

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About the Author

Cassidy Alexander

Cassidy Alexander covers K-12 education in Cobb and DeKalb counties for the AJC. She previously covered education for The Daytona Beach News-Journal, covering the school district where she grew up. In 2020, she was named Florida's Outstanding New Journalist of the Year.

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