The DeKalb County Board of Education, at its Sept. 14 board meeting, will introduce interim superintendent Dr. Norman C. Sauce III as the sole finalist to lead the nearly 100,000-student district.
If approved, Sauce would be named the finalist in the board’s search for the next superintendent, with the final vote anticipated to take place on Oct. 5, according to a release from DCSD.
“This is a significant moment for the DeKalb County School District and the students, families, employees, and communities we serve,” said DCSD Board Chair Allyson Gevertz. “The board has carefully considered the leadership qualities and experience needed to guide our district forward. We look forward to continuing this important process and to making a decision that reflects our commitment to providing strong, stable leadership for DCSD.”
The previous superintendent, Devon Q. Horton, resigned after the U.S. Attorney indicted him on 17 charges for acts he allegedly committed while serving as superintendent of Evanston-Skokie School District 65 in Illinois.
The board placed Horton on leave and appointed Dr. Norman Sauce, the chief of student services, as the acting superintendent. He was then elevated to the title of interim superintendent last November.
The 37-page indictment, according to the Evanston RoundTable, claims Horton, along with three other co-conspirators – Antonio Ross, Samuel Ross, and Alfonzo Lewis – took kickbacks from businesses they owned that were under contract with District 65 and Chicago Public Schools (CPS), without disclosing their involvement or financial stake. The offenses, according to the indictment, occurred between 2020 and 2023.
Student Assignment Project
Sauce has inherited a controversial program begun by Horton that involves both overcrowded and below-capacity schools in the district, which some labeled a botched effort orchestrated by a company hired by the former superintendent.
The Student Assignment Project, launched in 2024, has as its goal to maximize its resources, ensure long-term academic sustainability for students, families, and DCSD staff with the closure or consolidation of dozens of schools over the next six to eight years.
The company spearheading the effort, HPM, had proposed closing, consolidating, or repurposing dozens of schools throughout the district, including several high-achieving schools like Vanderlyn Elementary in Dunwoody, and Ashford Park Elementary in Brookhaven.
Parents in several school clusters, including some in the Lakeside school cluster actively lobbied against the plan and the choice of Tracy Richter and his company, HPM, to implement it, claiming that facility planning campaigns he has led for more than two decades have a history of mixed and financially disastrous results.
After months of feedback, protests, and angst about the proposal, the school district announced on May 5 that it was shifting to a new direction.
In an emailed announcement and an online video, DCSD officials said they heard that the information-gathering process “felt too top-down, scenarios appeared predetermined, conversations separated buildings, boundaries, and programs in ways that did not reflect how communities experience schools.”
On Aug. 21, the DeKalb County School District announced the continuation of its Student Assignment Project, inviting families, students, staff, and community members from six school clusters to help shape how new and expanded schools will serve students beginning in 2027.
This fall, the district will focus on overcrowded schools in the Lakeside, Cross Keys, Chamblee, Tucker, Dunwoody and Druid Hills clusters, which will be affected by new and expanded schools opening from 2027 to 2029, according to a release from the school district.
About Sauce
Before his newest role as interim superintendent, he served as chief of student services starting in February 2024, supporting the district’s Departments of Exceptional Education, English Language Learners, Gifted Education, and Early Learning and Pre-K, according to his bio on the DCSD website.
Sauce also served as area superintendent for high schools, supervising a team of academic and climate support personnel and principals for 22 of DeKalb County’s high schools.
Before returning to DCSD in November 2022, Dr. Sauce served the Griffin-Spalding County School System (GSCS) in the positions of executive director of student support services and executive director of elementary education.
Dr. Sauce also served as principal of Chamblee High School and as an elementary principal within Fulton County Schools.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to be considered for this opportunity to continue serving the students, employees, families, and communities of the DeKalb County School District,” Sauce said in the district statement. “DeKalb is a remarkable school district with extraordinary potential, and I remain committed to working forward together alongside our dedicated employees and community to build on our strengths, address our challenges, and ensure that every student has the opportunity to succeed.”
