Clayton May Bring in Temporary Superintendent

By Odette Yousef

Atlanta, GA – Clayton County may bring in a new temporary superintendent to provide a quick fix to the troubled school system.

The search firm, Hazard, Young and Attea, was brought in to identify a permanent superintendent after the last one left, in July 2007. But now it recommends suspending the search until 2009.

Attorney Glenn Brock, who's working with the system, says it's because most of the school board will likely be voted out by January:

BROCK: Given that, and all the other issues surrounding the board right now, the search firm questioned whether or not it made sense to have this particular group of board members hiring a permanent superintendent.

The firm recommends replacing current interim superintendent Gloria Duncan with a so-called corrective superintendent. That person would have just a few months to more or less fix the problems that threaten to cost the system its accreditation.

Mark Elgart, head of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, says this approach could bring greater short-term gains than continuing to search for a permanent hire.

The school board has yet to approve the recommendation.