Atlanta Public Schools has reversed course on who to hire to be the principal of the new Midtown elementary school set to open next fall, according to a report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The new school, to be located in the former Inman Elementary School building in Virginia-Highland, was approved this year as part of a controversial redistricting of Morningside, Mary Lin and Springdale Park elementary schools to reduce overcrowding.
Superintendent Lisa Herring had recommended Kari Schrock, former principal at DeKalb County’s Laurel Ridge Elementary School, to be principal of the new Midtown elementary school as part of a Sept. 21 presentation posted on the the temporary website for the new school. The school board was expected to approve her hiring in October.
But a day after Herring’s announcement, Schrock told the AJC that APS officials informed her she was no longer being considered for the job.
APS confirmed the report in a statement to Atlanta Intown.
“Atlanta Public Schools has rescinded the recommendation of a candidate for the position of principal at the new elementary school for the Midtown Cluster, which will open in August 2023,” APS said in an email.
“The decision was made in the spirit of the district’s mutual goal with the community to maintain a focus on establishing a successful school. APS will move with great intentionality to vet a new finalist focusing closely on school design and community engagement,” APS said.
A timeline to have a new principal hired has not been established yet, but the search is “beginning immediately,” according to APS.
APS’s decision to rescind the principal offer to Schrock comes just days after Herring told parents that Janet McDowell would no longer be principal at David T. Howard Middle School. McDowell was on the job at the school for two months.
This story has been updated with statements from Atlanta Public Schools