DALLAS — Dallas County Schools (DCS) has named Gary Lindsey as its new interim superintendent after the current interim superintendent, Leatha Mullins, announced her retirement from DCS on Tuesday.  

Mullins was named interim superintendent in March and was instrumental in the restructuring of the agency over the last five months, according to DCS.

“Leatha Mullins was the ideal leader and ‘turnaround artist’ for Dallas County Schools,” said C.W. Whitaker, DCS’ board vice president. “She truly reinvented DCS and implemented new business practices and protocols and reorganized the school bus operations. Monday, those results were evident with an excellent opening day for our largest client [Dallas Independent School District], and it happened even though the school district was making route changes and additions up until the last minute.”

“We are truly grateful for Leatha and her leadership in this critical time period,” Trustee Dr. Kyle Renard said. “DCS has cleaned up its deficiencies, installed new people into the operations, and she reinvigorated the agency at a critical time. We understand Leatha’s decision to retire; her work for DCS following the death of her husband last month has been truly extraordinary.”

Lindsey has worked at DCS as the chief of police for the last year and a half. Prior to joining DCS, he assisted Dallas Baptist University in creating its police department, and served as its first chief of police. Lindsey served approximately 36 years with the Dallas County Sheriff's Department, and the last 10 years as an assistant chief.

“Gary has a highly commended record of leadership and management,” Whitaker added. “His experience in working with groups to address community issues, success in implementing large projects, and working on legislative issues will serve DCS well as we move the agency forward and work to restore the public’s confidence in the services we provide.”

Lindsey received his master’s degree in public administration and political economics from the University of Texas at Dallas and his bachelor’s degree from Sam Houston State University.