Hickory, N.C., Superintendent Lillie Cox is in negotiations with the DeKalb County school board to be the district’s next school superintendent, a source close to the deal told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Cox was named a finalist last month along with two other candidates, Gloria Davis, superintendent of Decatur (Ill.) Public Schools, who withdrew; and Arthur R. Culver, superintendent of Champaign (Ill.) Community Unit School District.
According to the source, the board voted 6-3 to pursue a contract with Cox, who is currently superintendent of the 4,440-student Hickory Public Schools. Negotiations are hinging on Cox’s request for 15 months severance and a due process hearing before she could be terminated.
"I absolutely can’t confirm," DeKalb school board Chairman Tom Bowen said. "Anything related to that would have been in executive session."
Cox, who has been superintendent in Hickory since July 2009, is asking for a $275,000 salary and a three-year standing contract, which means after she completes one year, another year is added.
She also wants 25 days vacation, $28,000 for moving expenses and $2,000 a month for six months for living expenses during her relocation, the source said. Cox also is asking for permission to be an adjunct professor.
But the sticking point, the source said, is the severance package and the due process. Cox did not immediately return calls for comment.
She has been head of a small city-run school system in Hickory, about 60 miles from Charlotte, but Cox has experience in larger districts. She worked as an assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction for Alamance-Burlington (N.C.) Schools, enrollment 23,000. She was also an executive director in Guilford County (N.C.) Schools, which has an enrollment of 73,000 students. The DeKalb system has about 97,000 students.
Reports are she's aggressive at dealing with system issues and has earned the respect of the business community by reaching out for help. Former staff members say she's a collaborative leader who knows her field but takes time to listen to those she works with.
Cox’s potential selection comes as a surprise to DeKalb parent Jerrie Williams.
Cox has had multiple jobs in recent years "and to me that shows she doesn’t really have a good stable background,” said Williams, who has a special-needs son at Stone Mountain Middle School. “But I’m all for a new regime, and it’s time for a change.”
Williams is hoping the needs of special education students are high on Cox’s priorities, as well as balancing the needs of all parts of the school district.
“The north side has a tendency to do a lot of complaining to get what they want, and we on the south side have difficulty getting what we need,” Williams said. “I will be watching and holding her accountable.”
DeKalb is looking to hire a replacement for Crawford Lewis, who was fired and later indicted on charges he ran a criminal enterprise in the school system.
Staff writers Janel Davis and Aileen Dodd contributed to this article.
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