L.A. School Board Woos Cisneros for Superintendent Job

In the tense, final stages of the search for a new superintendent, the Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday spent more than five hours interviewing two new candidates while pressing a third to take the job.

The board interviewed George Munoz, a former president of the Chicago Board of Education who now heads a federal agency that promotes international trade, and John Murphy, former superintendent of the Charlotte, N.C., school system.

Neither candidate was available for comment after their private meetings with the board.

Separately, district officials Tuesday said Rudy Crew, who was ousted as New York City schools chancellor in January 2000 by Mayor Rudolph W. Guiliani, has expressed an interest in the Los Angeles schools chief job. He now leads the University of Washington’s partnership with K-12 schools.

Crew, who has said he expects the Washington institute to become an international purveyor of education leadership training, was unavailable for comment.

The board tried to persuade Henry Cisneros, former mayor of San Antonio and ex-secretary of Housing and Urban Development, to accept the post with its unanimous support. Cisneros last week turned down the job, citing family considerations. His reaction to the latest lobbying efforts was unclear late Tuesday.

Among those lobbying Cisneros on Tuesday was interim Supt. Ramon Cortines, who said, “This system needs him.”

“As mayor in San Antonio, he emphasized the importance of education in the life of that city, and he can do it here,” Cortines said. “I really like the way he interfaces with people, and how people come together around him.”

Ex-Colorado Gov. Roy Romer, 71, remained a finalist for the position, which the board hopes to fill by Monday. Romer now heads the Democratic National Committee.

Los Angeles district officials Tuesday said the board wants to select a superintendent who enjoys the support of all seven board members. So far the only candidate backed by the entire board is Cisneros.

As president of the Chicago Board of Education from 1984 to 1986, Munoz played a key role in reorganizing the severely troubled system.

Northwestern University professor Fred Hess, who documented the failure of the Chicago school system in the late 1980s, said Munoz was instrumental in reforming the district during his three-year term as board president.

“He was one of the guys trying to open the district to reform rather than being a defender of a nonperforming system,” Hess said.

Hess provided the research that U.S. Education Secretary William J. Bennett used to denounce Chicago’s schools as the worst in the nation, precipitating state-mandated reform.

Murphy, who has a reputation for challenging administrators and developing standards, won praise for raising student test scores. Since 1996, Murphy has been vice president of educational services for Arvida Corp. His job is to improve schools in nine master-planned communities.

The board is trying to select the new superintendent by Monday so that Cortines can consult him in naming the superintendents of the 11 mini-districts that will be created under a reorganization taking effect July 1.