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After one meeting last Sunday, two yesterday and another scheduled for the Sunday ahead to winnow the field of candidates for the superintendent job, LA Unified board member are moving along “on schedule,” board President Steve Zimmer said today.
“We’re on target,” he said. “It would not be a mischaracterization to see we’re on schedule.”
The board’s goal is to find a successor to Ramon Cortines by the end of the year. Cortines, 83, is stepping down after his third run as district leader. While his final day has not been made public, several senior district officials say they do not believe he will be at his desk after this week. The academic year continues through next week before schools close for a three-week winter break.
While Zimmer would not comment on a precise timetable for finalizing the search process, given the holiday schedule, it’s likely that a new superintendent would not be announced before early January.
It’s also reasonable to assume that the winning candidate would need a transition period before starting work in LA Unified, which could put off the official start of the next regime until February or early March.
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