The DeKalb County school board has named the members of a community panel that will help select the district’s next leader.

Superintendent Michael Thurmond's contract expires in June, and the board has hired the firm PROACT Search to lead the hunt for a successor. Responding to pressure from residents, the 7-member school board is also empanelling a 16-member community liaison group.

PROACT will find 20-25 candidates, and the community group will recommend anywhere from nine to a dozen of them to the board, according to the plan to be presented at the board's work session Monday afternoon. The board will then whittle the list to two to four candidates to be put through an extended interview process.

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Views of the exterior of Druid Hills High School in Atlanta shown on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. In the plan approved by the DeKalb County school board on Monday, everything but the main building, pictured here, will be demolished in favor of a new school building. (Natrice Miller/ AJC)

Credit: Natrice Miller

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Jo'wan Bellamy taught in the GNETS program for 17 years and recently transferred to Atlanta’s new behavioral program at Crawford Long Middle School. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com