The DeKalb County (Ga.) school board has hired an administrator from a small Illinois district as superintendent.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the hiring of Devon Horton comes after 14 days of public input that followed the selection of Horton as the finalist for the job. Critics have questioned whether Horton — superintendent of the 6,500-student Evanston/Skokie (Ill.) School District — would be a good fit to lead the 93,000-student DeKalb County system.
Board member Joyce Morley was the lone vote against hiring Horton. She said he was unqualified to lead a district as large as DeKalb.
Horton has been superintendent in the Evanston/Skokie district since 2020. Prior to taking that job, he was the chief of schools for Jefferson County (Ky.) district, which has more than 100,000 students.
Board members have said they were impressed with Horton’s track record related to improving student achievements and championing equity.
Horton said he hopes to have a contract signed by July 1.
Horton was one of about two dozen applicants seeking to lead the DeKalb County district. The position became vacant in April 2022 when the board fired Cheryl Watson-Harris after less than two years on the job.
