D.C. School Board Votes to Negotiate With Cohn

WASHINGTON - The D.C. Board of Education voted to begin contract negotiations with Carl Cohn, the board's choice for superintendent.

The board's resolution called for "negotiating an appropriate contract" with the former longtime superintendent of public schools in Long Beach, Calif., The Common Denominator reports.

The unanimous decision Wednesday night comes on the heels of a Washington Post report, in which Cohn told the newspaper he would not sign a long-term contract, but would consider taking the job for one year under certain conditions.

Some school board members have said they are concerned that Cohn, 58, isn't interested in accepting a longer contract. Still, they remain impressed with Cohn.

Long Beach Mayor Beverly O'Neill has praised Cohn for transforming that jurisdiction's troubled school system into one that was recognized last year as the nation's top urban school district. Cohn led that system, California's third largest, for 10 years.

(Copyright 2004 by WTOP and The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)