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Berkeley Unified School District Superintendent Jack McLaughlin will meet with the San Francisco school board sometime this weekend for a second interview for that district’s top job. 

But as of late Wednesday night, he didn’t know exactly when or where the interview was going to be conducted, and he didn’t know how many other finalists made this cut. 

McLaughlin told the Daily Planet that his wife received the phone call while he was at the special BUSD school board meeting. The only information relayed at that time was that the San Francisco Unified School District board was asking him to come back for a second interview. 

“My wife asked for a few more details, but they wouldn’t let her know,” he said. 

The SFUSD board had narrowed its field of candidates to six finalists earlier this week. Wednesday night’s closed-door session was expected to see that list narrowed further. 

The SFUSD job is the third superintendent post that McLaughlin has considered this year. In January, he met with the Oakland Unified School Board about its superintendent job but withdrew his name from the race. In February, he was one of three finalists for the top job with the Salem-Keizer School District in Salem, Ore. After a series of interviews and community meetings McLaughlin removed his name from consideration. He says the San Francisco job appeals to him because his career goal has been to oversee a large, urban school district. 

The 58-year-old McLaughlin has been superintendent of the BUSD since November 1994. Before coming to Berkeley, he was a superintendent in Hemet from 1987 to 1994 and in Sunnyvale from 1974 to 1987.