DeKalb County Schools Superintendent Michael Thurmond said Thursday he’ll remain on his job until his replacement is named, should the school board delay in finding a new superintendent.
The board fired a superintendent search firm earlier this month, though a spokesman said the board expects to stay on track with candidates already identified.
Thurmond said he received permission from his law firm — Butler, Wooten, Cheeley and Peak LLP – to continue in his current capacity should the board not find his replacement before Thurmond’s contract ends on June 30. Thurmond has been on leave from the law firm since February 2013, when he became the district’s interim superintendent.
The DeKalb County Board of Education voted May 4 to fire PROACT Search, the firm charged with finding Thurmond’s replacement because of misconduct allegations in another state. Gary Solomon runs PROACT and SUPES Academy, and media in Chicago report a federal investigation that involves SUPES’ work in the Chicago Public Schools.
About 120 candidates had been identified for the DeKalb schools post through the search firm. PROACT Search had received $16,000 of the $25,000 contract for the search, board Chairman Melvin Johnson said earlier this week.
Johnson said the district’s law firm, also certified as a search firm, likely will aid in completing the search.
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