Decatur Superintendent Whitaker Plans Year-End Departure

City Schools of Decatur Superintendent Gyimah Whitaker announced she will leave the district on Dec. 31, 2026, after leading it since July 2023, saying she plans to pursue new opportunities without specifying her next role. The district credited her tenure with academic gains, including a 96.6% four-year graduation rate and its highest-ever state accountability score. Deputy Superintendent Karen Newton-Scott will become interim superintendent Jan. 1, 2027, while the school board searches for a permanent successor. Her departure follows scrutiny over her use of a podcast studio owned by her husband; a reported investigation found insufficient evidence of wrongdoing, and local coverage also noted controversy over a proposed early-childhood center that the district later abandoned.