DeKalb County School officials said that Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson has promised significant personnel changes at every level of the school system at the beginning of 2012.

Atkinson is nearly finished with her 90-day entry plan and school spokesman Walter Woods said the personnel changes, which would occur throughout January, would bring the plan to a close.

“We are expecting significant changes throughout the district at all levels, particularly the higher central office levels,” Woods said.

Woods said the reason for the personnel changes is to ensure the system has the right staff in place to carry out the mission both the superintendent and the board are committed to, which is to improve student success throughout all areas of the school system.

“We have pockets of excellence; we need a system-wide school system of excellence and to do that we need the right people in place,” Woods said.

Recently, the system began a complete personnel audit, which is slated to be finished Jan. 13. Woods said some of the personnel changes would come as a result of the audit. He said the changes include principals.

“I think that we have to make sure that there’s a leader in every building,” he said. “This has come up with every parent forum we’ve had and this has come up with every employee forum we’ve had over the past couple of weeks and the superintendent can tell you there’s going to be major changes.”

Woods would not be specific about any changes in particular but said they would be drastic.