DeKalb County School Board finds Dr. Joyce Morley violated ethics code

Board of Education member Dr. Joyce Morley speaks during a COVID delayed ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Indian Creek Elementary School in Clarkston on Tuesday, May 3, 2022. (Courtesy of Dean Hesse.)

The DeKalb County School Board on May 31 found that Dr. Joyce Morley violated the district’s ethics code during the school board’s recent superintendent search.

Morley did not attend the May 31 hearing about the complaint against her because the school district would not pay for an attorney to represent her, according to Alex M. Shalishali, an attorney who represented the school board during the hearing.

The board voted 6-0 to disavow Morley’s conduct in speaking to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about matters that were discussed in executive session. Those conversations concerned hiring Dr. Devon Horton as the district’s new superintendent. The board hired Horton 6-1, with Morley voting “no.”