Former board member expressed concerns about indicted DeKalb
superintendent
[October 11, 2025]
By Kim Jarrett | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – A former DeKalb County School Board member told
The Center Square in 2023 she had concerns about Superintendent Dr.
Devon Horton, who is accused of taking kickbacks while he was a
superintendent in Illinois.
Horton was indicted by a grand jury in U.S. District Court for the
Northern District of Illinois along with three other men, Antonio Ross,
Samuel Ross and Alfonzo Lewis. He is accused of taking kickbacks from
contracts awarded to companies owned by the three men while he was
superintendent of the Evanston/Skokie School District 65.
The indictment said Horton did not disclose the relationship with the
men and their companies on a Statement of Economic Interest form
submitted to District 65 in 2022 or 2023. Horton is also facing two
counts of tax evasion for failing to report the income made from the
kickbacks.
The grand jury also accused Horton of using his school system
procurement card to make thousands in personal purchases.
The DeKalb County Board of Education placed Horton on paid
administrative leave. Dr. Norman C. Sauce III, chief of student
services, is acting superintendent, the board said in a statement.
“While we cannot comment on confidential personnel matters, we are
concerned by these allegations,” said board chairwoman Deirdre Pierce.
Horton was hired by DeKalb County, Georgia's third-largest school
district, in 2023.
Former DeKalb County School Board member Joyce Morley told The Center
Square in October 2023 that she questioned Horton's spending and who he
hired to work for the district. She has voted against his personnel
recommendations and says she was critical of his “disruptive” approach
to education.
“I’m going to ask for an internal investigation,” Morley said in an
interview with The Center Square. “I want to see everything he's spent,
everyone he’s hired.”
Morley did not seek another term on the board in 2024.
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A wooden judge’s gavel with a brass band rests on a dark surface.
Photo: Alan Wooten / The Center Square
District 65 school officials said in a statement that they were
aware of the indictment.
"We are deeply troubled and angered by these allegations," the
statement from Sergio Hernandez and Dr. Nichole Pinkard said. "Now
that the federal government has formally indicted, the district is
reviewing the specific details of the indictment with the District’s
legal counsel. A more detailed statement will be forthcoming after
we have had an opportunity to review the details of the indictment."
Horton's attorney, Terence Campbell, told The Center Square in an
emailed statement that Horton served DeKalb County schools with
honesty and integrity over the past few years.
"Under his leadership in DeKalb County, graduation rates have gone
up, student attendance has risen, student performance has improved,
and hundreds of teacher vacancies have been filled with high-quality
educators," Campbell said. "The allegations in Chicago relate to
conduct that is several years old and have nothing whatsoever to do
with his very successful work on behalf of the students, families,
and teachers in DeKalb County."
Campbell said Horton also bettered District 65.
"In his prior position as superintendent of Evanston District 65
schools, Dr. Horton tackled head-on a number of tough and sometimes
controversial issues often under difficult circumstances, including
having threats of violence made against him and his family during
his tenure in Evanston," Campbell said. "Dr. Horton is eager to
address his case in court so he can return his focus to bettering
the lives and education of children, which has been his passion
throughout his professional career.”
Horton is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday.
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