DeKalb CEO to become only black member of Stone Mountain's board

FEBRUARY 5, 2014 AVONDALE ESTATES Dekalb Schools Superintendent Michael Thurmond talks to parents of the Fernbank Elementary School following a presentation on the design of a replacement for the 60 year old school at a meeting, Wednesday, February 5, 2014. Fernbank Elementary in Druid Hills is to be torn down and replaced, and in the meantime students are bused to a temporary facility, the closed Avondale Middle School. After a presentation on the design, Thurmond asked the crowd, which was upset that parents had little input into the design process, to give his administration 10 days to come up with alternate plans that would include some of their input. Thurmond has been running DeKalb schools for a year. And it's been a lively one, with the removal of most of the school board, a school shooting, a major snow storm and positive changes in the budget and accreditation. Thurmond had no experience as a public school administrator, a weakness that may also be a strength. Most of his job seems to involve wowing parents who lost faith in the system, and his political skills seem to have equipped him well for it. KENT D. JOHNSON/KDJOHNSON@AJC.COM Michael Thurmond, during his days as superintendent of the DeKalb County school system. Kent D. Johnson, kdjohnson@ajc.com