By Maria Saporta
It’s official.
The Atlanta Board of Education voted Monday to name Erroll Davis, the outgoing chancellor for the Georgia Board of Regents, as the interim school superintendent (see previous posts in Latest Reports).
In an 8-0 vote (one board member was out of town), the school board picked Davis to succeed Superintendent Beverly Hall, whose last day will be June 30. By the way, Davis’ last day as chancellor also will be June 30, and he will become the interim on July 1.
Meanwhile, the board also is continuing its search for a permanent superintendent. It will interview three finalists for the position on Friday, but Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said he will not support any superintendent that has been selected under the current governance of the Atlanta Board of Education.
The City of Atlanta and the mayor have no direct oversight or control when it comes to the school board and the Atlanta Public Schools. But Reed has taken an active role in the current governance issues because the system faces a possible loss of accreditation in the fall unless it adopts major changes.
In particular, much of the controversy has centered around board president, Khaatim Sherrer El, who was elected to his post by a five-four majority. El has agreed to step down if that action is approved by Fulton County Judge John Goger.
At today’s meeting of the school board, members also decided to send a modification of the judge’s consent decree that would pave the way for El to resign.
There has been some question about whether that action was legally necessary, but El made that a condition of his resignation.
