Education
Education

School superintendent negotiates settlement in expensive legal battle

By Ty Tagami
Dec 2, 2013

The DeKalb County schools superintendent has negotiated a settlement in a long-running lawsuit that has cost the school district about $18 million.

Superintendent Michael Thurmond told the AJC Monday that Heery International, Inc., a former construction manager for the district, has agreed to pay $7.5 million to end the legal fighting that has been going on in DeKalb Superior Court since 2007. DeKalb has spent $6.5 million on legal fees and about $12 million more on other case-related costs.

“We will no longer speculate with public money,” Thurmond said. He made the disclosure after leaving a school board executive session where a legal matter was on the agenda.

The school board has not yet authorized the settlement, but Thurmond said the question will be added to the Monday night meeting agenda. High legal costs have been a problem for the district, an issue noted by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools when it put DeKalb on probation last December. The agency will revisit DeKalb’s accreditation later this month.

About the Author

Ty Tagami is a staff writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Since joining the newspaper in 2002, he has written about everything from hurricanes to homelessness. He has deep experience covering local government and education, and can often be found under the Gold Dome when lawmakers meet or in a school somewhere in the state.

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