The DeKalb County Board of Education officially voted Dr. Norman C. Sauce as its permanent superintendent at its Oct. 5 meeting.
Voting for his appointment were Board Chair Allyson Gevertz, Andrew Ziffer, Whitney McGinness, and Deidre Pierce. Tiffany Hogan, citing a non-competitive hiring process, voted against Sauce’s appointment, and Awat Eyasu, who echoed Hogan’s reasoning, abstained from the vote. Diijon DeCosta was absent from the meeting.
“I will not support the direct appointment of Dr. Sauce, without a fair, competitive, and transparent process,” Hogan said. “As my colleague, Mr. Eyasu stated, though I don’t for yes for him today, it doesn’t mean I am not in support of him. That is two different things. “
After the vote, Gevertz said Sauce’s appointment represents “a pivotal moment for DeKalb County School District.”
Gevertz, without specifically naming the system’s previous superintendent, Devon Q. Horton, who was charged with 17 counts for allegedly committing fraud at his previous school district, said, “We have had a really rough year.”
“It was about a year ago, this month, October 9, it was a beautiful day,” she said. “We thought things were going really well. Students were learning, teachers were teaching, and many of us were going around to the Difference Maker Awards with staff at different schools.”
“We got the call. It was horrible news,” she continued. “I think it’s the worst thing that can happen to a board of education … But this board came together, this board listened, problem-solved, and grieved. Thankfully, we chose a leader who could calm the waters.”
“Little did we know that back in 2025, that 2026 would bring us what DeKalb has needed for so long.”
She called Sauce a model for ethical leadership, professionalism, accountability, and collaboration, and said that he handles triumph with humility.
Sauce, after taking the oath of office, said he was humbled to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors as the first-ever Italian-American superintendent in the DeKalb County School District’s 153-year history.
“Today I stand before you with profound gratitude, deep humility, and unwavering optimism,” he said. “I’m honored by the trust placed in me to serve as superintendent of the DeKalb County School District.”
