Joshua Williams, chief operations officer for the DeKalb County School District, is leaving to join the city of Atlanta.
City officials announced the hire in a press release Thursday. Williams starts there on Aug. 6. School district officials did not say when Williams leaves.
“As we strive for excellence across all aspects of City operations, Joshua Williams will play a pivotal role in ensuring we are operating not only in an efficient and transparent manner, but in a way that has a tangible impact on the quality of life for all Atlantans,” Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said announcing Williams’ hire.
Williams, who recently celebrated 10 years with the district, leads operations for the school district, including its transportation division and facilities maintenance, and leads plans for the district's upcoming Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax projects.
District officials say an interim will be named “in the coming days” and a national search will commence soon after to find a permanent replacement.
“We thank Joshua for his dedicated service to the children of DeKalb County,” Superintendent Steve Green said through a spokesman. “We wish him well.”
Like his new boss, Williams received his bachelor’s degree from Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University in Tallahassee, Fla. Williams has also earned a Master of Science in Project Management and a Master of Business Administration in Operations and Supply Chain Management from Colorado Technical University. Williams is currently working on a doctorate in Business Administration at Capella University.
Williams' departure is the most recent in the last 18 months as the district has lost several critical top administrators, including regional superintendent Ralph Simpson, who now works for Clayton County Public Schools and former Chief Academic Officer Lisa Martin, who resigned in January after less than two years.
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