DeKalb County Board of Education to vote on superintendent finalist

Cheryl Watson-Harris is second in command at the largest school district in the country, serving as first-deputy chancellor for the New York City Department of Education. According to her bio on the department of education website, she returned to New York after more than 15 years in Boston, where she worked as a principal and network superintendent until 2015. She began her teaching career in New York in 1993.

By Marlon A. Walker

Updated June 18, 2020

The DeKalb County Board of Education is expected to vote today on whether Cheryl Watson-Harris will become its next superintendent.

The school board has called a meeting for 10:30 a.m. where they will immediately enter into executive session for the purpose of discussing personnel matters. One action item is on the agenda: To vote on hiring Watson-Harris.

Watson-Harris, currently the first deputy chancellor for the New York City Department of Education, was announced on June 4 as the district’s second superintendent finalist. Rudy Crew was announced in April as the heir-apparent for the district’s top job. School board members voted 4-3 not to hire him on May 11.

If hired, Watson-Harris would make $325,000 with additional stipends. She inherits a district still reeling from allegations of financial mismanagement that recently lost its credit rating from Moody’s Investors Service after falling behind on its financial audits.

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