Cheryl Watson-Harris is second in command at the largest school district in the country, serving as first-deputy chancellor for the New York City Department of Education.
Cheryl Watson-Harris, currently first deputy chancellor for the New York City Department of Education, was announced June 4 as finalist for the district’s top job, nearly a month after the board voted not to hire its first choice.
“Cheryl Watson-Harris is part of the next generation of outstanding leaders in public education,” DeKalb County Board of Education chairman Marshall Orson said when announcing Watson-Harris as the district’s superintendent finalist.
The board voted on May 11 not to hire Rudy Crew, president of New York’s Medgar Evers College, as the district’s superintendent after announcing him as the sole finalist for the position on April 23.
School board member Joyce Morley took issue with the planned compensation package, mentioning that Watson-Harris has yet to receive her doctorate, that other educators working in the district are paid based on their level of education.
