Superintendents in large urban school districts typically spend three years on the job before they run – or get pushed – out the door.
But that wasn’t the experience when Robert R. “Bob” Freeman was heading DeKalb County public schools.
Freeman was top man in DeKalb for 16 years, from 1980 to 1996, and was one of the longest-serving superintendents in Georgia and the nation.
He died Oct. 21 in Alpharetta at age 84.
A native of Jordan, Mont., Freeman is remembered by family and friends as a gentleman with wit, grace and story-telling abilities. Athletics was one of his early interests, and he earned 10 varsity high school letters in football, basketball and track. After serving four years in the Air Force, he played basketball on the 1954 freshman team at Indiana University. He obtained his doctorate in education from Indiana in 1965 and was an education consultant after leaving DeKalb.
Freeman had an extensive track record in education when he was hired by DeKalb, then Georgia’s largest school district. He had been a teacher and school administrator, as well as a school superintendent in four communities in Michigan, Indiana and Colorado.
DeKalb was under court order to desegregate during Freeman’s tenure, and the district was rapidly changing from majority white to majority black, largely due to white flight from Atlanta to the suburbs.
Bill Barr, who served as executive director of the Georgia School Superintendents Association from 1991 to 1999, said Freeman worked to bring people together.
“His tendency was to put out fires, not to start them,” Barr said. “Bob was a person who placed a lot of importance on building coalitions of people to achieve success in the school district.”
Freeman worked well with members of DeKalb County’s school board, considering himself their adviser, Barr said.
“He knew they were elected by the citizens and it was his responsibility to ensure that they were informed on the issues that came before them,” he said. “He listened carefully to what they had to say and followed carefully the direction of the board.”
Frances Edwards, who chaired the DeKalb school board when Freeman announced his retirement, said Freeman went above and beyond the requirements of the court in the desegregation lawsuit.
“With the number of African-American administrators at the top level, the total inclusion of people and programs, you can see he did not allow the courts to set the standards,” Edwards said in late 1994.
Freeman also oversaw the formation of DeKalb’s popular magnet schools and presided over a controversial transfer of experienced teachers from schools on DeKalb’s more affluent north side to the county’s south side.
The DeKalb school system’s administrative building carries Freeman’s name. He also received numerous awards, including Outstanding School Administrator of the Year from the Peachtree-Atlanta Kiwanis and Superintendent of the Year from the American Association of School Administrators.
He is survived by two sons, Robin Freeman (Frankie) of Grayson, and Timothy Freeman (Teresa) of Big Canoe; seven grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and five nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by wives Jean Ann Jessup and Mary Lou Day.
A graveside service for Freeman was Thursday in Conyers.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions be made to the Alzheimer’s Association at alz.org.
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