Dallas officials said that Jerome Oberlton, the chief of staff to the schools superintendent, has resigned after acknowledging that he is the subject of a federal investigation from his time in a previous job as the top school technology official in Atlanta.
Oberlton’s resignation is effective immediately. It was requested, and announced by the superintendent of the Dallas Independent School District, Mike Miles, who suggested in a statement that his aide had not told the Texas district of the Atlanta investigation as quickly as the schools chief would have liked.
“I was profoundly shocked and disappointed when I was told of the allegations,” Miles said.
“When I learned of the seriousness of this issue yesterday, I immediately requested Mr. Oberlton’s resignation....[T]he district conducted a thorough background and credit check including interviews with his most recent employer. My disappointment is accompanied by anger because Jerome did not inform us about his involvement in this investigation until yesterday.”
Miles said he had asked the district school board to approve an audit of all of Oberlton’s work during his time with the Dallas schools. He did not specify the nature of the Atlanta investigation.
The Dallas superintendent’s decision was supported by the president of the district school board, Eric Owen, who said he and other members of the panel learned of Oberlton’s resignation Tuesday morning.
“While we believe a stable, highly qualified executive team is key to the success of the school district, we support the superintendent’s request for his resignation, effective immediately,” Owen said.
Oberlton served chief information technology officer in the Atlanta school system, according a bio from the Baltimore city schools, another one of his recent employers. Oberlton also worked in the private sector, including holding a senior executive technology position at General Electric. He served in Atlanta as a top technology official from 2004 to 2007, according to a description of his work experiences provided by another of his employers, Mannatech, a provider of dietary supplements and skin care solutions.
In Atlanta, Oberlton “adapted the district’s 109 schools to make the most of 21st century technology while transforming the IT department into a customer-centric, process-oriented solution center focused on improving overall district productivity and cutting district costs,” according to one of those bios.