The District of Columbia is continuing its search to find someone run the school system, a process that’s been going on since November. Several times over the past nine months city leaders thought they had someone willing to take the job only to find each of the "ideal" candidates deciding to do something else with their lives. It’s happening again with one of the four current finalists dropping out of running because the paper actually identified him as a candidate.
It’s really not hard to figure out why DC is having a hard time finding a new superintendent. The system is pretty well known as a disaster that needs a drastic overhaul, but that’s not the real problem. More difficult to overcome is the fact that whoever takes the job won’t really be running things. They’ll be taking orders from the mayor, the city council, the school board, the unions, the charter board, an assortment of parent groups, and DC’s alternate city council/school board (aka Congress). I doubt they have enough money to pay someone to endure that kind of torture.