DeKalb County Schools names sole finalist for next superintendent

DeKalb County Schools has named Dr. Devon Horton as the sole finalist to be the district’s next superintendent.

Horton would likely start after June 30. The board will have to wait 14 days to approve Horton’s contract, per state law.

Horton is currently the superintendent of the Evanston/Skokie School District 65 in Evanston, Illinois. If the school board votes to approve his contract, he will replace interim Superintendent Dr. Vasanne Tinsley, who took over when the school board abruptly fired Cheryl Watson-Harris last spring.

“I’m deeply honored to be selected as the sole finalist for superintendent, and I look forward to continued conversations with the board. I firmly believe that DeKalb will be the best place in America to learn, teach and lead. If entrusted with the superintendency, I will embrace that goal enthusiastically,” Horton said in a press release. “DeKalb is a place that inspires me, and the conversations that have led to this moment have only increased my excitement.”

Horton has received some criticism for his equity work in Illinois, mainly among conservative news websites. Fox News seized on reports that he would prioritize minority groups for a return to in-person learning in that district, for which he received hate mail and threats. Horton said the plan had been “misrepresented” by the media.

“In every priority group we have on our website, we don’t have Black and brown students anywhere,” he told The Daily Northwestern. “We know that’s illegal.”

Horton will inherit a polarized district with declining enrollment and unimpressive test scores. The board is also being watched closely by Cognia, a nonprofit accreditation organization, because of the board’s tendency to pursue individual interests instead of working for the district as a whole. The district also churns through superintendents. Since 2013, there have been six superintendents, with two of them being interim and two being terminated by the board, Cognia noted.

It’s unclear whether Horton will have the unanimous support of all board members. During the search for Watson-Harris’ permanent replacement, there was some not-subtle politicking going on by members of the board and state Sen. Emanuel Jones to keep Tinsley. Jones’ ex-wife was an assistant principal in the district, according to his ethics disclosure forms filed in 2020.

Winning over the diverse, quarrelsome DeKalb County community will be Horton’s first order of business.

Horton will attend a series of town hall meetings to get to know DeKalb better.

“Dr. Horton will engage with district employees, scholars and community members during April 12-14, including three town hall meetings in DCSD facilities,” the announcement from the district says. “Locations will be announced shortly on the DCSD homepage. Each two-hour town hall meeting will begin at 6 p.m.”

To see Dr. Horton’s redacted job application for the DeKalb County Schools job, click here. To read a short biography of him, click here. Here’s the full announcement from DeKalb County Schools.

Correction: The original version of this story said that Sen. Jones noted his spouse worked at DeKalb County Schools as an assistant principal on his most recent ethics disclosure forms, filed in May 2020. Decaturish contacted Jones via email on March 22 to inquire about this information. He didn’t respond. On April 5, Jones contacted Decaturish to confirm that he and his wife had separated a while ago and that she no longer works for the district. This story has been updated with the correct information. 

This story was provided by WABE content partner Decaturish.