atlanta — ATLANTA (AP) — The superintendent of Georgia’s third-largest school district is resigning After being charged on federal charges alleging he ran a bribery scheme and stole money from a smaller school district in the Chicago suburbs.
The DeKalb County School Board on Wednesday accepted Devon Horton’s resignation effective Nov. 15. Board members were facing calls to fire Horton.
School board members also voted Wednesday to appoint an auditor to examine spending under Horton.
Horton was making $360,000 a year. He will be paid through Nov. 15, but will not receive any payments after that date, spokeswoman Carla Parker said.
Federal grand jury in Chicago Horton charged last week on 17 counts including wire fraud, embezzlement and tax evasion. The indictment alleges that Horton issued contracts worth more than $280,000 to three friends and received more than $80,000 in kickbacks from 2020 through 2023 while he was superintendent of the Evanston-Skokie School District. That district had 5,800 students in grades K-8 last year.
Charged alongside Horton were three other men who prosecutors allege were part of the scheme: Antonio Ross of Chicago; Samuel Ross of Berwyn, Illinois; and Alfonzo Lewis of Chicago.
Horton’s attorney, Terry Campbell, said Horton is “excited to address his case in court.” Lawyers for Samuel Ross and Antonio Ross declined to comment. No attorney for Lewis is listed in court records.
Horton was supposed to appear in federal court on Wednesday, but it was postponed until October 23.
The DeKalb County School Board has named former Student Services Chief Norman Suess as acting superintendent.
The indictment alleges that the four men set up companies and billed them for services they did not provide in order to steal money from the Evanston-Skokie and Chicago school districts. In addition to the $283,500 from Evanston-Skokie, the indictment alleges that Antonio Ross, then the principal of Hyde Park Academy High School in Chicago, issued a fraudulent contract to a company controlled by Horton and took $10,000 from Horton.
Horton tried to hire Antonio Ross after Horton became DeKalb County supervisor, but Ross turned down the job amid questions about the business relationship between the two men.
Horton also faces charges of stealing more than $30,000 from the Evanston-Skokie area in 2022 and 2023 by using his district purchasing card to make personal purchases. Horton is also charged with tax evasion over allegations that he underreported commissions and personal purchases on his income tax returns.
Because of the large amount of money allegedly stolen and the fact that Horton was a public employee, he could face more than 10 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines if convicted.
Prosecutors are seeking to have the four men confiscate the funds in question.