Gorman on Rahm Emanuel short list?

The Chicago Tribune reports today that Rahm Emanuel, who recently left the White House to become mayor of the Windy City, may be looking outside for someone to lead the city's troubled schools.

The article says he's looking at inside candidates, but "many believe he wants to nab a proven leader or education innovator from outside Illinois." Charlotte-Mecklenburg's Peter Gorman is among four outside candidates said to be on Emanuel's "short list," along with Jerry Weast, who was superintendent in Guilford County in the 1990s and retired as superintendent in Montgomery County, Md.

Gorman's response to the speculation: "Not interested in being superintendent anywhere else!"

This is becoming a familiar drill, as superintendent jobs come open and people speculate about names that are prominent on the national education scene. Next comes the part where I remind you that superintendents always say they're not interested in leaving right up until they make a public finalist list, and you weigh in on whether Gorman's departure would be a tragedy or a cause for celebration.

The thing that's got me grinning this time is imagining Gorman, after five years' immersion in ever-so-polite Charlotte, dealing with Emanuel's infamously earthy tirades. Talk about culture shock!