9 make short list for Cleveland schools CEO job

CLEVELAND (AP) — A committee considering applicants to be the next chief executive of Cleveland schools has narrowed the list to nine, and former Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher did not make the cut.

The district had 126 applicants to succeed Eugene Sanders, who retired Feb. 1 as head of the 44,000-student district.

The Plain Dealer newspaper reports the district’s current chief of staff and chief academic officer made the short list. So did the superintendent from Lorain. The remaining candidates include administrators from schools in Iowa, Massachusetts and Michigan.

The screening panel passed on Fisher, a Democrat, and on Roderick Chu, who stepped down as chancellor of the state’s higher-education system in 2006.

The school board could choose a new executive by June, and it would require approval from Mayor Frank Jackson.