City Schools of Decatur Superintendent to Step Down

City Schools of Decatur will begin a nationwide search for a new superintendent following the Tuesday announcement that the current superintendent plans to leave the post within the next few months.

Phyllis Edwards has been at the helm of the city’s school district since 2003 and has overseen the renaissance of the once-troubled institution. Edwards said during her comments on Tuesday that she planned to return to Florida, where she spent more than two decades in education before taking the Decatur job, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said.

Edwards said she wasn’t sure when she would formally leave the position, but has narrowed it down to either the end of the 2014-15 school year or the end of 2015, according to the AJC.

A new challenge for the district is on the horizon, as enrollment projections for the next five years call for a $100 million project for facility renovations and new construction, the AJC said. Edwards’ successor, who will be chosen with the help of an executive search firm or the Georgia School Board Association, will enter office facing a capacity crisis that has city leaders concerned.

Edwards told the AJC that she wasn’t ready to retire from the education world, and confirmed that there were no health issues among her family that could have spurred the decision to step down.