Selection of new Atlanta public schools superintendent postponed until fall

A new superintendent for Atlanta Public Schools is expected to be named this fall, not July 1 as originally planned.

The exact timeline is unknown as the Atlanta School Board continues what is now turning into a more than year-long search for the next leader of one of the state’s largest school districts.

Last week, the board announced it was accepting new applications for the superintendent position until May 17. The original deadline was January 12.

The board also announced it is extending its contract with Dr. Danielle Battle as interim superintendent until December 31.

The May 17 extension came weeks after the board said candidates had until May 2 to apply for the superintendent position. This extension was granted after members learned that the names of some candidates had been made public – a violation of the process.

“You have a parent group, you have people in the community, you have stakeholders, you have people who know people all over the United States, in Georgia and Atlanta – and people are having conversations,” said Atlanta School Board President Erika Mitchell.

“I’ve been told it’s one of the most important pieces of research, so people are talking about it,” she said. “Conversations were happening in different parts of the city, there were candidates sharing information with the public, to put pressure on people to support them for the position.”

The search for a new superintendent began last year after the board voted in June against renewing Dr. Lisa Herring’s contract. Herring served from July 1, 2020 to August 2023.

The school board hired Illinois-based Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates to conduct a national search.

In December, the school board approved what it wanted to see in its next superintendent: a confident and transparent communicator, focused on equity, uses data to make decisions, knows Atlanta and is politically savvy, and has experience leading large school districts.

In January, just days before the application process for superintendent candidates closed, two new school board members were sworn in: Ken Zeff and Albert “Shivy” Brooks.

Mitchell also took on her new role as chair of the board of directors. The changes have disrupted the research process somewhat, she said.

Mitchell said she couldn’t say how many people applied for the position before the Jan. 12 deadline.

Did some people who had already applied for the position have to drop out and that’s why the search was prolonged?

“No,” Mitchell said.

“We don’t need to go through the whole process again.” she says. “The search firm will conduct the intake and then provide us with the entire pool of applicants who have applied since day one.”

Later this year, the jury will interview a shortlist of candidates and select up to three finalists. Finalists will then meet with parents, students and the public who will provide feedback to a community advisory committee. This committee then makes its recommendations to the board of directors.

“Their comments are taken with great value, let me just say that,” Mitchell said. “But rest assured, it’s the board of directors that makes the decision.”

“I’m committed to structure and doing things the right way,” Mitchell said. “Our families, our children and our students, our employees, our stakeholders – they depend on us to get it right. And they depend on us to do it the right way.