DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — DeKalb County Schools Interim Superintendent Dr. Norman Sauce delivered the State of the District on Wednesday.
Channel 2’s Tyisha Fernandes attended the speech held at Cedar Grove High School as concerns have grown about the district’s plan to close or repurpose more than two dozen schools.
Sauce didn’t answer any questions before he got on state, but had to address it during his speech.
“Our system is built for 110,000 students – yet we serve around 91,000," he said.
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Sauce said DeKalb County has lost about 13,000 students over the last eight years.
“And the enrollment is projected to decline further,” he said.
SAP, the student assignment project, is still in the information gathering process. The district has unveiled two of its three proposals. Ultimately, several schools will be closed while others are repurposed.
Oak Grove Elementary is still on the chopping block. Parents who moved into that cluster so their kids could attend the historical school are fighting it.
“We have the highest percentage of students with disabilities for general elementary school in the entire district - and they do really well on standardized tests and other measures by the state - and to lose that would be a disservice to the district,” Tracy Brisson said.
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Elsewhere in his speech, Sauce talked about improvements the district has made.
“Our graduation rate as of 2025 is now at 81.4% which is the highest it’s ever been in the history of DCSD,” Sauce said. “Eighteen of our 23 high schools last year improved their graduation rates and trust me we’re 90% or bust from here on out.
Sauce took over after Superintendent Dr. Devon Horton, who was charged with federal crimes. He’s been in the interim role for about six months now.
Many parents believe how he handles school closures is his audition for the official position.
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