DeKalb to vote on superintendent finalist almost 1 year after Horton ousted
The DeKalb County Board of Education will vote Monday on whether to name interim Superintendent Norman C. Sauce the sole finalist for the permanent job.
Sauce was promoted to the interim superintendent role in November after Devon Horton was indicted on federal charges related to an alleged kickback scheme at his old job in Illinois and resigned from the superintendent job in October.
In Georgia, school boards must announce superintendent finalists at least two weeks before they are officially hired. The board is expected to vote on the permanent superintendent Oct. 5, according to a news release.
“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 news release. “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.”
DeKalb is Georgia’s third-largest school district, with about 90,000 students.
Sauce has previously served as a principal, administrator and area superintendent. Most recently, he was the district’s chief of student services.
Sauce has been leading the district through the student assignment planning process — the major effort that could include closing some schools, changing attendance boundaries and adding or subtracting academic programming.
Naming Sauce as the superintendent finalist will mark a “significant moment” for DeKalb, board Chair Allyson Gevertz said in a news release.
“The Board has carefully considered the leadership qualities and experience needed to guide our District forward,” she said. “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 school board hired Horton in 2023. In 2025, a federal indictment filed in Illinois accused Horton of steering district contracts in Evanston-Skokie School District 65 outside of Chicago to his longtime friends, then getting about $85,000 in kickbacks from the contracts between 2020 and 2023.
Horton was the district’s superintendent during that time period. He was also accused of misusing his district-issued purchasing card and tax evasion.
Horton pleaded not guilty to those charges. A jury trial is scheduled for October in Illinois.
Horton is also facing charges related to a family dispute at his DeKalb home. A grand jury indicted him in August on one felony charge of aggravated assault-strangulation and two misdemeanor counts of cruelty to children in the third degree.