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After a public session this morning in which most of the time (3 minutes) was consumed by the Pledge of Allegiance, the LA Unified school board disappeared into a closed meeting to discuss the next steps in the search for a new school superintendent, including who some of the candidates might be.

Joining the members was Hank Gmitro, president of the search firm Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, who had been scheduled for a presentation in the open session. But it didn’t happen.

The closed discussion was expected to include questions board members would ask candidates and a review of which ones to interview. Shannon Haber, the district communications director, said the interview sessions are expected to be announced in advanced even though they won’t be open to the public, with the first of them scheduled as early as Dec. 6. The content of the interviews and the expected candidates will not be posted.

Superintendent Ramon Cortines said he wanted to retire by the end of this year but would remain in his position until the school board finds his replacement.

The private session was expected to go through late in the afternoon. In anticipation, the district cancelled two committee meetings today, Curriculum, Instruction and Educational Equity Committee and the Early Childhood Education and Parent Engagement.