DeKalb's new Superintendent addresses redistricting

We're sitting down with DeKalb County's new school superintendent as he lays out his vision for the district. The board officially appointed Dr. Norman Sauce this month as he's served as interim for about a year now. Fox 5's Eric Perry is at the live desk with more on the one-on-one conversation, Eric, that you had with Sauce. Yeah, this is a conversation that means a lot as a DeKalb County graduate myself with friends and family working and sending their kids to their district. Many people want to know what the future of the district will look like after years of turnover with leaders, Dr. Norman Sauce is no stranger to DeKalb County or to Metro Atlanta. He says he has no plans of going anywhere. Is it a sense of honor or pride to wear that DeKalb County badge? I wear it every single day of the week with immense pride. While Dr. Norman Sauce is new to the role of superintendent, he's not new to DeKalb County. He served as interim since 2025. The board made it official this month. Presence is a big part of my leadership style. and how I seek to connect with students. I think it starts with me being in classroom, being amongst our scholars, being with our teachers, and seeing firsthand what their learning experiences look like. Dr. Sauce is focused on literacy. He says it's the way to accomplish goals. A big question on the minds of parents, talk of schools closing and redistricting. Dr. Sauce says nothing is confirmed, but it's a harsh reality that districts across the country face. Declining enrollment comes with some fiscal pressures that we have to contend with. It comes with pressures around student experience and equitable distribution of resources. Thursday, two Clarkson High School students were arrested after they were found with a weapon on campus, prompting a lockdown. I asked him about his plan to keep students safe. We were one of the first districts in Metro Atlanta to implement weapons detection systems. We make no apologies for that. We've had a significant precipitous decline in the number of confiscated weapons, particularly firearms, since we implemented those measures. Sauce also hopes to work on retaining teachers. Teachers see that this is a school district that is responsive to their needs, that they have leadership that listens and is aware and interested in their needs and implements measures to improve conditions for them. Sauce says he knows there's been a lot of turnover with county leadership. He says he's here to stay. What I can say is that I love DeKalb County School District. I have history in this school district that precedes my time in this seat, and I am committed to being here as long as the board and the community would have me to help actualize the vision. And again, Sauce has decades in education experience working his way up from a social studies teacher to a assistant principal, then principal, then moving to the district level. We'll place this full interview on our website so you can look at it in its entirety there on our website, fox5atlanta.com. At the Live Desk, I'm Eric Perry, Fox 5 News. All right, he's got his work cut out for him. Eric, thanks.