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Former DeKalb County School Board member Dr. Joyce Morley says the board made the right call in accepting Superintendent Dr. Devon Horton’s resignation but argues it should have taken effect immediately.
Morley was the sole opponent to the board’s hiring of Horton.
“It was a good decision,” Morley said. “In all actuality… he should have never been hired.”
Morley, who served 12 years on the board, said the district rushed Horton’s hiring instead of keeping interim superintendent Dr. Vassant Tinsley in place. “We had someone in place who was moving us and doing what needed to be done,” she said. “Sometimes we begin to act out of our hearts and our emotions instead of being objective and looking at what’s best for the children.”
Horton’s resignation takes effect Nov. 15, but Morley questioned the delay. “It should have been effective the minute that he decided he was going to resign,” she said. “We already have an interim, Dr. Sauce, who’s in his place. So why are we having to wait 30 days?”
Morley said the decision to give Horton a month’s notice reflects “leniency” and special treatment. “Children can’t wait. Teachers and educators can’t wait. The community can’t wait,” she said. “He still is being given a privilege and treated as if he should not have to go by rules and regulations.”
SEE ALSO: DeKalb school board accepts Devon Horton’s resignation as superintendent
Morley said she opposed Horton’s hiring from the start because of concerns about his background and experience. “We knew about former bankruptcies. We also knew about the fact that there was a case going on in Evanston,” she said. Horton previously led the Evanston/Skokie School District 65 in Illinois.
“He had 7,800 students. We had 90,000,” Morley said. “He came from a district where he was handling a budget of over $500 million. We were handling about $2 billion. He didn’t have the track record to show that he could deal with all the things that needed to be done in DeKalb County.”
Morley added that she was troubled by what she called early warning signs. “Anyone who’s willing to break a contract after they have an agreement and then go somewhere else, that’s a red flag,” she said.
When news broke of Horton’s recent federal indictment in Illinois, Morley said she wasn’t surprised. “The board already knew,” she said. “We had an anonymous package sent to us last year, August 2024, that showed about 14 indictments that they were suggesting.”
According to Morley, the packet was sent to multiple agencies, including the Cook County attorney’s office, the Illinois attorney general, and the Evanston school board. She said it detailed “14 indictments” and related financial concerns, including misuse of purchase cards.
Morley said the DeKalb board voted in August 2024 to conduct a forensic audit of Horton’s purchase cards but that it has yet to be completed. “Here it is, October 2025, and that audit has not been done,” she said.
“As a psychotherapist and board-certified coach, I know for a fact that people don’t change their spots,” Morley said. “If you’re over here doing something, you have to grow beyond it. I already knew from day one that we faced the possibility of things continuing that were egregious in Evanston—they were gonna be egregious here.”
PREVIOUS STORIES
- DeKalb superintendent indicted on 17 federal counts in Illinois case; placed on leave
- DeKalb Schools superintendent Dr. Horton’s hiring drew early controversy
- DeKalb Schools names Dr. Norman C. Sauce III interim superintendent after Horton suspension
Horton was placed on paid administrative leave earlier this month after a 17-count indictment was handed down in the Northern District of Illinois. He is accused of wire fraud, honest-services fraud, federal program theft, and tax evasion stemming from his previous tenure leading Evanston/Skokie School District 65.
Horton and several co-defendants were scheduled to appear in court in Chicago on Wednesday, but that appearance was postponed and will be rescheduled after consultation with all parties, according to court records.
