DOMENECH WITHDRAWS FROM HUNT : ZACARIAS FAVORED FOR SUPERINTEDENT JOB.

Byline: Terri Hardy and Sharline Chiang Daily News Staff Writers

Citing disappointment with the selection process, New Yorker Daniel Domenech withdrew from consideration as superintendent of Los Angeles schools, and sources said the LAUSD's No. 2 man, Ruben Zacarias, could be chosen as early as Thursday.

The Los Angeles Board of Education interviewed Zacarias a second time Monday, and all but sewed up the appointment although he failed to offer a concrete plan to turn around the district's cycle of failure.

Los Angeles banking executive William Siart, the third candidate, was invited to meet with the board Thursday. While the board officially said he is still a candidate for superintendent, sources said the board hopes to talk him into being Zacarias' deputy and provide the Los Angeles Unified School District with much-needed management expertise.

Siart could not be reached for comment late Tuesday, but in previous interviews has said he would not accept a No. 2 position in the district.

Domenech faxed a letter to board President Jeff Horton on Tuesday, saying he had decided to stay in New York at the urging of family and friends.

``I would have taken the position last week, I was certainly ready to go to Los Angeles,'' Domenech said in a phone interview Tuesday. ``But as time went on, I did not hear from the board. I thought that the board would have invited me back to get into specifics, but that didn't happen.''

Board President Jeff Horton said Thursday that the board was sorry to see him withdraw.

``He brought strong credentials and a personal quality to the process,'' Horton said.

Horton defended the selection process, saying the district has conducted an search process that will be looked upon as a national model for choosing school officials.

Before the search process began, three of the seven board members were known to support Zacarias for the job and only agreed to public forums under broad pressure.

On Tuesday, sources said the board could finalize its decision as early as Thursday to hire Zacarias.

``I think the position has been Ruben's the whole time,'' one source said.

The source said the board appears to be taking time to simply ``look for excuses'' for why it should eliminate the other contenders.

School board member Barbara Boudreaux confirmed Tuesday that if Zacarias is selected the group may ask Siart to serve as a deputy superintendent - even though Siart has indicated in past interviews that he wasn't interested.

A source within the school district said board support is solidifying around Zacarias, and that any further interviews with Siart would be to persuade him to become second-in-command.

``Some board members won't consider Siart as superintendent because he has no K-12 experience,'' a source said Tuesday. ``But Ruben couldn't miss the board's feelings that they'd like Siart to be part of the team.''

Zacarias, the LAUSD's deputy superintendent, did not return repeated phone calls Tuesday.

While some board members said they were satisfied with their meeting with Zacarias on Monday, they agreed that more specifics were needed from the candidate.

``We discussed ideas and philosophies, student achievement, the direction the district would go in - general things,'' said board member Julie Korenstein. ``So far, we've heard no specifics, but we're narrowing down the types of questions.''

Boudreaux said other board members remained less than open-minded during the process, including during their Monday meeting with Zacarias.

``He was wondering why he was being asked to come in for a second time . . . that's nerve-racking for any candidate,'' she said. ``If you're set against Ruben, nothing he will say will satisfy you. I'm willing to listen to all the comments and make a judgment call at the end.''

Early Tuesday, Siart provided a three-point plan of action to the Daily News, which he said would be put into place within three months.

Under his plan, he would restructure the district so that the LAUSD's regional administrators - called cluster leaders - would report directly to him.

Siart said he would seek to eliminate district bureaucracy by consolidating his administrative staff under three officers. And, he would focus all goals on school report cards that would chart each school's progress.

Zacarias did not supply an action plan despite repeated requests from the Daily News.

Board members said Tuesday that they must hear the candidate's action plans before a decision is made.

``That's the only way to make the ultimate decision, to find out the ways and means the district could get from where we are now to where we want to be,'' Korenstein said.

Added school board member David Tokofsky, ``We're no longer looking for sound bites on student achievement. The discussions need to move from campaign language to governance language,'' Tokofsky said.

While the board plans to meet with Zacarias a third time this week, the group is anxious to bring the process to a close, Korenstein said. Retiring Superintendent Sid Thompson is scheduled to leave at the end of June.

``I'd like to come up with a decision soon, so the transition can begin,'' Korenstein said. ``There's an awful lot that needs to be done.''

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PHOTO (color) DOMENECH