A sharply divided DeKalb County Board of Education voted 4-3 to name interim superintendent Dr. Norman C. Sauce III as the sole finalist for the top post.
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 Sauce, then the chief of student services, as the acting superintendent. He was then elevated to the title of interim superintendent last November.
Board members criticize the process, not the candidate
Most of the dissenting board members said their concerns did not lie in Sauce’s performance, but the process by which Sauce was determined to be the sole finalist.
Both Diijon DaCosta and vice chair Awet Eyasu, who initially stated that they would abstain from the vote, said they felt that a narrow executive search should have been conducted to compare Sauce’s qualifications with those of other potential candidates.
“It seems that we are doing the same patterns that we’ve done in the past, where we got three or four members getting together and deciding to hire a superintendent, which is not really a proper way to me,” Eyasu said. “We could have had a controlled process where we are actually using a third-party and actually evaluate the candidates and compared apples to apples.”
Dr. Tiffany Hogan asked board attorney Winston Denmark if there were any other candidates identified or interviewed for the position, to which Denmark replied in the negative.
Sauce’s supporters speak out
However, Whitney McGinniss, Andrew Ziffer, and Diedrie Pierce countered that Sauce had proven himself a worthy candidate during the year he served in the interim role.
“In this case, we have had a very unusual opportunity to watch Dr. Sauce perform the job in real time under extraordinarily difficult circumstances,” Ziffer said. “I believe that Dr. Sauce has earned that opportunity from everything I’ve seen to date.”
Ziffer said Sauce has taken on two of the most polarizing issues facing the school system, its Student Assignment Project and an audit of the district’s central office, leading the district in making tough decisions.
Pierce also voiced her support for Sauce and his track record over the past year, as did McGinniss.
DaCosta made a motion to table the vote for 30 days, but it was defeated, 3-4, and Sauce was confirmed as the sole finalist with chair Allyson Gevertz, McGinniss, Pierce, and Ziffer voting yes, and Hogan, Eyasu, and DaCosta voting no.
“Today’s action represents an important step forward in selecting the next leader of the DeKalb County School District,” Gevertz said in a release from the school system. “Dr. Sauce has demonstrated steady leadership and a deep understanding of our District, our schools, and the communities we serve. The board appreciates his continued commitment to DeKalb as we move through the final steps of this process.”
Sauce said he was grateful for the support from the board.
“Serving the DeKalb County School District and its students, employees, families, and communities is a tremendous responsibility and an honor,” he said in the release. “I remain focused on the work ahead and on building a strong future for our district by working together to ensure every student has the opportunity to thrive.”
In accordance with the Georgia Open Records Act, the name of the finalist must be made public at least 14 calendar days before the meeting at which final action or a vote is taken.
‘The DeKalb County Board of Education’s final vote on the position is scheduled to take place on Oct. 5.
