The DeKalb County School District has fired its superintendent.
The school district announced via press release that the Board of Education voted to approve a separation agreement with Superintendent Cheryl Watson-Harris following a virtual Tuesday meeting. No reason was given for the decision.
According to the press release, board members voted to name Dr. Vasanne Tinsley as the interim superintendent. Tinsley previously served as the deputy superintendent of Student Support and Intervention in the school district.
“We appreciate Mrs. Cheryl Watson-Harris for her service to the DeKalb County School District and wish her the best in her future endeavors,” Board Chair Vickie B. Turner said in the press release. “The Board has the utmost confidence in Dr. Tinsley serving as the interim superintendent. The immediate departure of Mrs. Watson-Harris will have no bearing on the search for the next superintendent. The Board remains fully committed to an open and transparent process and supporting the students of DCSD.”
Her termination comes a day after State School Superintendent Richard Woods ordered the DeKalb County School Board to take immediate action to make repairs at Druid Hills High School after a viral video showed water damage, mold, and other hazardous conditions.
Woods sent a scathing letter to the school board indicating that the district would be cut off from state funding if repair issues were not addressed.
A second press release from the DeKalb County School District stated that the Board’s relationship with Watson-Harris had been “deteriorating for some time.”
“The Board lost confidence in Mrs. Watson-Harris’s ability to provide the leadership the District needs in the face of significant challenges,” read the release.
Update: this article has been updated with a comment from the DeKalb County School District