DeKalb Schools: Recent departures highlight administrative turnover

DeKalb County School Superintendent Steve Green said he sees the district’s current situation with high turnover among his cabinet members as a good thing.

DeKalb County School Superintendent Steve Green said he sees the district’s current situation with high turnover among his cabinet members as a good thing.

The DeKalb County School District has confirmed in the last two weeks two departures from the superintendent’s staff cabinet, high-ranking officials in charge of key departments.

Chief of Staff Ramona Tyson will be stepping into a new role with the school board, according to an announcement during the Sept. 10 DeKalb County Board of Education meeting. Chief Information Officer Gary Brantley will join the city of Atlanta in October as its chief information officer.

Superintendent Steve Green said it’s a positive consequence of employing top-quality people who are upwardly mobile and attractive to outside entities.

“It’s a testament to the fact that we’ve got good people here,” he said. “It tells me this is a place where opportunity exists. It’s better than the alternative, where you have to create the turnover.”

Brantley's and Tyson's positions will soon be filled by interim replacements, along with the chief operations officer role, left vacant in August when Joshua Williams resigned after 10 years to become the city of Atlanta's deputy chief operations officer.

Since the beginning of 2017, half a dozen department heads and regional superintendents have left their jobs for various reasons, including reassignment, retirement and new opportunities outside the school district.

Former Chief Human Capital Management Officer Leo Brown was reassigned to a position in the operations division in February 2017. District officials said Brown missed nearly three months of work and was reassigned upon his return.

Former Chief Academic and Accountability Officer Lisa Martin abruptly resigned in January after less than two years on the job.

Former Regional Superintendent Rachel Zeigler retired this spring.