DISTRICT SEARCH DOWN TO THREE CORTINES' TERM TO END JUNE 30.

Byline: David R. Baker Staff Writer

The search for the next superintendent of Los Angeles schools has narrowed to three candidates, including former Colorado Gov. Roy Romer, board President Genethia Hayes said Thursday.

Board members interviewed Romer on Thursday and hope to meet the remaining two as soon as possible, perhaps by Tuesday, she said. Members declined to name those two candidates, although sources close to the search said one is an educator while the other comes from outside the field.

The three finalists have been whittled from a list of 11 candidates whose names were forwarded to the board by the search committee, Hayes said.

Whereas many candidates already have withdrawn their names from consideration, all three people left in the running told the search committee that they want the job, Hayes said.

``This is not us trying to beg someone,'' she said.

At the same time, board members said that if they can't agree on a choice from among those three, they may try yet again to convince interim Superintendent Ramon Cortines to stay.

Cortines, however, has repeatedly said he plans to leave the district at the end of his term, which expires June 30. Although some on the board hope they could appeal to his sense of responsibility to the district and its students, they acknowledge convincing him would be difficult.

``It's hard to play upon his sense of civic duty when he's already done so much,'' said board member Caprice Young. ``Really, the most important thing for us to do now is look forward, and that means finding a new superintendent.''

Cortines said he didn't think the board would need him to stay.

``The board is in a serious process, and they will find a superintendent,'' he said Thursday.

Although no one predicted an easy search, the hunt for Cortines' replacement has been difficult. Many of the 11 candidates brought to the board by the search committee already have bowed out. And with Sacramento legislators threatening to appoint a watchdog to oversee the district's operations, many Los Angeles Unified officials worry that no one of the caliber needed for the job would want to take it on.

The post, which could pay more than $200,000 a year, includes the oversight of 67,000 employees and 711,000 students in kindergarten through 12th-grade.