Top Contenders Withdraw From Portland Search

By Catherine Gewertz

Four finalists in the search for a Portland, Ore., schools superintendent have bowed out of consideration, triggering a new round in the search for a leader and a host of questions about how the district lost all four nationally prominent candidates.

Since mid-March, superintendents of four major school systems have spent two days each meeting with the school board and various local groups in the 54,000- student district: Anthony S. Amato of Hartford, Conn.; Winston C. Brooks of Wichita, Kan.; Patricia Harvey of St. Paul, Minn.; and Eric J. Smith of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg County schools in North Carolina.

Portland's struggle comes as urban districts across the country are working to find effective, stable, and harmonious leadership. The average urban superintendent stays in the job less than three years, and many butt heads with school boards. Given those difficulties, some are questioning Portland's selection process, which is lengthy, and...