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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Students line up after school for school buses at Sequoyah Middle School in Doraville on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. The school’s principal told teachers not to talk to students about ICE, and teachers and activists are pushing back. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

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Students line up after school for school buses at Sequoyah Middle School in Doraville on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. The school’s principal told teachers not to talk to students about ICE, and teachers and activists are pushing back. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com