My 9 y/o (4ft 4in or so) just got a 24" road bike, we picked up a felt f24 from a club mate for $250, not a bad deal, it's a 2004 model, so bicyclebluebook would say I overpaid, but fact is kid road bikes are hard to come by and there have been none on the local market (I'm in Boston so you tend to be able to find just about anything). I quickly perused the thread and saw mention of frog bikes, giant produces a 24" CX model (which of course works well on road with different tires), you might be able to pick up a redline conquest CX bike (a local shop in my area still has it in stock, but they've been discontinued).
It is too bad there are more companies making bikes for kids, but if people aren't buying them then they won't produce them, especially if they're seen just as "race bikes" and neither parents nor kids are interested in doing competitive cycling, but that's a whole can of worms.
Best of luck with the search!