Georgia Superintendent To Spend Millions On Administrators Amid Teacher Shortage, newsletter 1,

A Georgia county superintendent hopes to ease the teacher shortage by enacting a $12 million plan to recruit new administrators. Devon Horton, Ed.D., newly appointed to lead Dekalb County Public Schools, confirmed the plan on July 24, 2023, to rectify the issue as the school year approaches.

Horton has taken on a mighty task since he accepted his role as Dekalb County superintendent. As the teacher shortage within the county has increased to 400 needed personnel in and out of the classroom, the educational leader has allocated funds to directly address and remedy that employment issue by hiring support staff instead.

WSB-TV confirmed that the original solution was for a banner to encourage eligible applicants to join the school system. However, Horton acknowledged that the initial plan was not creating the swift results needed. His new course of action was to hire administrators instead to fulfill the roles of aiding in resources. The financial allotment stemmed from a plan to improve learning, but Horton believes it needed to be realigned elsewhere to combat this urgent issue.

“I didn’t just start working on this two weeks ago on July 1. It was an idea, I’ve been talking to critical team members and those in the RNE community and also had the opportunity to look and observe the surveys principals took [in] 2021 that talked about supports they would need,” shared Horton. “So I took that data, and we go to work.”

He hopes to reassure the public that he is not “stacking” the main offices and remains confident in the approach he believes will ultimately help students most. He added that millions are still being invested in other capacities, such as their special education program and hiring more tutors.

With 138 schools in the district and the first day of school on Aug. 7, 2023, Horton’s plan must be widespread and quick to start to have the benefits he hopes for.