DeKalb County schools superintendent might stay longer

Michael Thurmond and the school board chairman confirmed they have been negotiating an extension of his tenure for several weeks. The talks are going well, they say.

The district has little time to start a search for a successor if they fall through. It can take months to find the right person to run a school district of nearly 100,000 students. DeKalb’s troubled history — with finances, accreditation, morale and public trust — wouldn’t make a search any easier.

“There is always someone out there who might take the job,” said Gary Ray, whose Iowa-based firm found Thurmond’s predecessor. “But as far as the quality, whenever you have extenuating circumstances, it always makes the search more difficult.”

Melvin Johnson, the school board chairman, said Thurmond has done an “excellent” job and is “exactly what we need at this point.” Johnson noted, though, that he can’t speak for all eight of his peers on the board. He said a vote could come Monday.

Thurmond said he’d like to stay longer to finish what he started, but said he ultimately wants to return to the position he held as a lawyer at Butler Wooten & Fryhofer.

“We made some significant progress,” he said, noting that the district is no longer in deficit and that fears of accreditation loss have abated. “But we have a long way to go to stabilize the district,” he added.

The former Georgia labor commissioner has an extensive background in politics but no prior experience running a public school system. He was appointed in February to replace Cheryl Atkinson, who resigned prior to the expiration of her contract. Her tenure was marked by budget cuts, layoffs and shaky relations with some school board members. She revealed previously unrecorded financial shortfalls, introducing DeKalb’s first deficit in memory.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools placed the system on probation in December, citing management problems. Gov. Nathan Deal reacted by replacing two-thirds of the school board, prompting a lawsuit now before the Georgia Supreme Court.

DeKalb is still on probation, but the declarations from SACS sound more promising these days as the agency prepares to revisit accreditation in December. The new board seems to be getting along peaceably with Thurmond, who announced this summer that DeKalb no longer has a deficit.

Some parents are suspicious of the quick turnaround while others embrace it.

Molly Bardsley, who has children in DeKalb middle and high schools, worries that the financial surplus touted by Thurmond will evaporate, as surpluses did before him. She said many veteran leaders sidelined under Atkinson remain in the “hinterlands” of Thurmond’s administration and that she senses a lack of direction.

“I feel the county desperately needs an experienced superintendent — educational experience rather than political experience,” she said.

But Donna Priest-Brown, who leads a group of parents, said Thurmond has a winning personality and an open management style that has instilled trust.

“He gave me hope,” she said. As co-president of the South DeKalb Parent Council, she has met and talked with district administrators.

“The people who work for him have great things to say about him,” she said.

Should the talks with Thurmond fail, it could take three to six months to find a permanent successor, experts say.

Hank Gmitro, president of the national search firm Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates, said DeKalb could always appoint another interim leader if it needs more time. He’s seen districts employ multiple interim superintendents during a search. He also said the district’s troubled history won’t necessarily scare away candidates if the school board demonstrates a willingness to confront problems.

“I think there’s a strong possibility you can find good candidates to fill the position,” he said.

Of course, with a ruling pending from the state Supreme Court on the legality of the governor’s February suspension of six school board members, it’s anybody’s guess who will be on the board when Thurmond’s contract expires. The court could reverse the governor’s decision and bring back the old board. Or it could leave in place the current board — which includes six replacement members appointed in March — until elections next year.