Clayton poised to hire retired Marine as superintendent

A California superintendent and retired Marine is the lone finalist to lead the Clayton County school system, school officials announced Tuesday night.

Edmond Heatley, superintendent of the Chino Valley (Calif.) Unified School District, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week that he was a finalist for the Clayton job.

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Edmond Heatley

Clayton County schools headlines:

• Photos: Timeline of Clayton schools' woes

• Union members protest Clayton school pick 
• Retired Marine says he's a contender for Clayton schools chief 
• Clayton poised to hire retired Marine as superintendent 
• Clayton schools regain accreditation 
• Clayton schools to get $25M in federal aid 

• AJC editorial: Less hope

• Read the full report to SACS:
  • Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 (Large PDFs)



• Read SACS' report (PDF)

Clayton County news

“He’s great leader, had a proven track record and is excited about Clayton County,” board chairwoman Alieka Anderson said Tuesday night.

Residents are invited to meet Heatley at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the school board’s offices in Jonesboro. He is expected to take over the school system by July 1.

The school board selected two finalists out of about 60 candidates. However, the other finalist withdrew from competition for the job, Anderson said. She declined to identify him.

Interim Superintendent Valya Lee was one of six candidates interviewed, but was not selected as a finalist, Anderson said. Lee declined to comment Tuesday night.

Georgia law requires the board to announce the finalists and take public comments 14 days before hiring a superintendent.

The superintendent announcement comes four days after the Clayton school system regained accreditation.

On Friday, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools placed the district, which spent about nine months unaccredited, on probation. The accreditation is contingent upon Clayton making continued improvements, including hiring an experienced superintendent.

Heatley split his career between teaching and 21 years in the Marines, where he rose to the rank of master sergeant.

In 2005, Heatley was named superintendent in Chino, where the majority of the 33,000 students are Hispanic.

Heatley boasts improved tests scores and attendance rates during his tenure in Chino, along with decreased litigation costs.

“He came at a great time in our district and he did great work,” Chino board member Michael Calta said Tuesday night. “It [his departure] was unexpected, but he established a strong team. My mind is already starting to think about what we are going to do next.”

Heatley said last week that he and his family were ready to move to Clayton. He said he believed in the school system so much that he would send his 14-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter to Clayton schools.

Some parents are happy to see Heatley go. Two weeks ago, parents protested outside his office after he announced school closings for budget cuts.

“I don’t like to blame anyone for anything, but he is the superintendent and does bring forth recommendations,” said Calta, the only board member to vote against the school closings.

Heatley insists he can meet the standards to fully restore accreditation by drawing from the lessons he learned in the military — discipline, order, how to lead a team and open communication.

“You take care of your people and you take care of the mission,” he said. “Anything good goes back to the staff and the students. Anything bad that happens in the system goes back to the superintendent.”