Nearly 70 people applied to become the next DeKalb County School District superintendent, according to information from the search firm charged with finding the district's next leader.

The news was shared late Tuesday, after several requests from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and nearly a week after BWP & Associates presented preliminary information to the DeKalb County Board of Education.

The 68 applicants is higher than what is normally seen in candidate pool information, according to a statement from Porter Novelli, the public relations firm hired by the district to handle the superintendent search firm.

"The high number of qualified applicants affirms the progress made by the DeKalb County School District and suggests that the superintendent position is one of the most sought after in the country," the district said in the statement.

No information was shared on whether that number of candidates has been reduced yet. Personal information on candidates, including names, is being withheld because of state laws allowing for confidentiality in searches. The district's last confidential search produced former Superintendent Steve Green as its sole finalist in 2015. Green departed the district in November after more then four years.

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