DeKalb superintendent eyes higher grad rate, braces for future budget issues
DeKalb County School District Superintendent Devon Horton touted improving graduation rates and a happy workforce at his annual address about the school system.
But the state’s third-largest school district is also bracing for difficult financial decisions and shifts in how it serves students in the next few years.
Here are four takeaways from Horton’s talk Thursday at the Fernbank Science Center.
Historic graduation rate?
Last year, DeKalb celebrated its highest-ever graduation rate — and Horton said the district is on track this year to beat it.
The class of 2024 had a 79.1% graduation rate, which was a record-setter for DeKalb but is still one of the lowest rates in the state.
“It’s great to have the graduation rates improving, (although) it’s nowhere near where we want to be,” Horton said.
Since becoming superintendent in 2023, Horton has prioritized checking in with every school about what they need to be successful and changing the district’s leadership structure to ensure schools have more access to experts to help them make decisions. The district is also prioritizing making sure that every student who graduates has an “E-plan,” whether that’s enrolling in college, enlisting in the military, entrepreneurship or employment.
Bracing for budget problems
Horton said DeKalb’s budget in the next couple of years will be tight, in part because of major cuts by the Trump administration and in part because of the end of pandemic relief funding.
“It’s not as if we’re falling off a cliff,” he said. “It’s just a matter of, we have to be cautious.”
Horton anticipates that not the upcoming fiscal year, which begins in July, but the following one will be when DeKalb would have to make any hard financial decisions.
Fewer suspensions
DeKalb is on track to have several thousand fewer out-of-school suspensions this year compared to past years, Horton said.
In the 2023-2024 school year, the district reported 16,000 suspensions — which is 2,000 fewer suspensions than in 2022-2023, he said. So far this year, the district has only counted 9,800 suspensions. It’s “remarkable,” Horton said.
He attributed the decrease to efforts to train staff in de-escalation tactics and restorative practices, as well as using in-school suspensions more often. He noted a 3% increase in daily attendance as evidence that students want to be in school.
Training more teachers
Georgia universities cannot produce as many teachers as the district needs, Horton said. He said more than 100 people by the summer will have made it through the district’s residency program for teachers, which Horton hopes will help fill the gap.
It’s a one-year master’s degree program called the IGNITE residency, where people who already have bachelor’s degrees can be trained to be teachers for free. There have already been 87 graduates through the program, and the upcoming cohort will produce another 50-55 teachers, Horton said.
The training program, coupled with competitive salaries, means the district is in a better position than it has been in the past few years.
“We really try to treat our teachers fair,” Horton said.
About the Author
Cassidy Alexander covers Georgia education issues for the AJC. She previously covered education for The Daytona Beach News-Journal, and was named Florida's Outstanding New Journalist of the Year.
