front page - search - community

Cafritz remains 'optimistic' on superintendent search
(Published June 28, 2004)

By KATHRYN SINZINGER
Staff Writer

Board of Education President Peggy Cooper Cafritz says she remains "optimistic" that city officials soon will be able to select a new superintendent of "national caliber" for D.C. Public Schools, despite the decision by another leading candidate to drop out of contention for the job.

"I'm disappointed, but really optimistic," Cafritz told The Common Denominator. "I think we have to proceed swiftly but not desperately and respect the integrity of the [search] process."

Several sources close to the search process said the District's new superintendent may be selected from a "short list" of candidates drawn from the existing pool of applicants and other individuals suggested to the search committee.

City officials expressed concern that a delay in naming a new permanent superintendent may adversely affect the school system's ability to get Congress to release a "hold" recently placed on about $10 million of $13 million in federal funds that were earmarked for D.C. Public Schools as part of legislation that created the nation's first federally funded school voucher program in the District. The money is expected to be released when a new superintendent is hired.

"We're going to need every bit of that $13 million," mayoral spokesman Tony Bullock said.

The school board is expected to follow through with plans to meet privately June 30 to discuss the selection of a new superintendent, but without the previously expected presence of Carl A. Cohn. Cohn, a University of California education professor who served for 10 years as superintendent of that state's third largest school system, withdrew his name from consideration June 24 after having begun contract negotiations with D.C. school officials.

Cohn called his decision, which he made for professional and personal reasons, "agonizing and painful" in a commentary he submitted for possible publication in The Washington Post, according to Cafritz, who obtained a copy. In the article, according to Cafritz, Cohn wrote that "the fault lies with me, not with the leaders of the citywide collaborative that tried to recruit me."

Cohn's status as court-appointed monitor of the Los Angeles public schools' special education programs is believed to be among professional commitments that figured prominently in his decision to drop out of contention for the D.C. job. Another leading contender for superintendent, former New York City schools chief Rudolph Crew, cited the District's continuing political debate over school governance among his reasons for choosing Miami schools over Washington's.

D.C. schools have been led by two interim superintendents since Paul L. Vance resigned last November, citing political dysfunction and interference with school operations. Vance's immediate interim successor, Elfreda W. Massie, cited similar reasons when she left in April to become a vice president of Harcourt, an education materials and support company. The school board then awarded a provisional one-year contract to the system's chief academic officer, Robert C. Rice, to serve as interim superintendent.

Rice, who served as superintendent of three different school systems before coming to D.C. Public Schools, said he is "disappointed that Dr. Cohn couldn't find a way to get here" but also expressed his continuing commitment to stay at the helm while the search continues for a permanent successor to Vance.

"I was happy to hear the mayor say [on the radio] that they will continue to do what they need to do to put in place the conditions to attract a good superintendent," Rice said. "I would appreciate the same things being done while I continue to serve as interim superintendent."

Bullock, chief spokesman for Mayor Anthony A. Williams, said the mayor will continue to work with the school board and D.C. City Council "to get the best person they can" to fill the superintendent's post.

In the meantime, Bullock said, "the schools will continue operating, and Dr. Rice is doing an admirable job as an interim superintendent."

"I think the acrimony has died down considerably," he added.

As part of Cohn's demand for stability in the school governance structure, Mayor Williams pledged to abandon his controversial proposal to put the public school system under the mayor's control. Williams recently vetoed a city council bill that would have re-created an all-elected school board in January 2007, but did not object when the council in mid-June approved – on first reading – a new bill that would replace the current partially appointed board with an all-elected board in January 2009. The council is expected to give final consideration to the bill at its legislative session on June 29.

District IV school board member William Lockridge, who originally objected to appointment of Rice as interim superintendent, told The Common Denominator that he, too, has tempered his rhetoric and talked about "moving forward" to improve the schools.

"The board felt confident enough about his ability when we knew we would be turning the system over to Dr. Rice, so the board should feel confident enough to keep him in place until the process [of finding a permanent superintendent] is complete," Lockridge said.

As interim superintendent, Rice "has been able to move things in the system and to get things done," Lockridge said. "He's doing basically a good job, and I wouldn't have a problem with him staying at the helm."