Superintendent withdraws candidacy for D.C. position

John Thompson's name was released against his wishes.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Pittsburgh schools Superintendent John Thompson, whose four-year tenure has been marked by battles over school closings and the district's budgets, has withdrawn from the running for a similar job in Washington, D.C., according to published reports.
The Washington Post reported Saturday that Thompson, 59, sent an e-mail last week to a Milwaukee search firm hired by the District saying he was withdrawing because his name was released along with three other candidates' names to replace Paul L. Vance, who abruptly resigned nearly seven months ago.
Thompson did not immediately return a phone call for comment to The Associated Press on Saturday afternoon.
Citing members of the search committee who spoke on condition of anonymity, the Post reported July 24 that Thompson was a finalist for the job, along with former Rochester, N.Y., Superintendent Clifford B. Janey, 58; Toledo Superintendent Eugene Sanders, 47; and Robert Schiller, 57, superintendent of the Illinois State Board of Education.
Nancy R. Noeske, president of the Milwaukee search firm, told the Post that Thompson complained his name had been released despite an apparent agreement that it wouldn't become public unless a search group subcommittee decided to recommend him to the school board.
School system politics
Thompson was superintendent of schools in Tulsa, Okla., for six years before he took office in July 2000, becoming the fourth Pittsburgh superintendent in less than eight years. His tenure has been beset by bickering over proposals to close and then reopen schools. Top administrators, including Thompson, were also hit with complaints about credit card use two years ago.
Three major foundations suspended annual gifts to the 38,000-pupil district for two years because of infighting between Thompson and the school board. The Heinz Endowments, The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Grable Foundation resumed funding in February. The foundations have provided almost $12 million in grants to the district in the past seven years.
The Washington, D.C., school system, meanwhile, has suffered for years from crumbling facilities and poor academic performance. Violence, arson, and vandalism plagued the school system this past academic year.
About 65,000 pupils attended city's schools, but the system faces growing competition from charter schools and a federally funded voucher program that will allow 1,000 underprivileged pupils to attend private schools this fall.
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