The search for the next Fountain Hills Unified School District superintendent is underway and entering its next stage.

The deadline to submit applications for the position was this past Monday, Feb. 24, and as of Feb. 21 the District has received 10 applications.

Now School Board President Jill Reed and Vice President Nadya Jenkins, along with Human Resources Director Caroline Lynch, will sort through the submitted applications and decide on two to four finalists.

After narrowing the field down to a handful of finalists, two committees and the school board will schedule interviews.

“As for committee members, we will have a faculty/admin committee made up of teachers that cover all three schools, and are versed in special education, STEM, and our honors program,” Reed said. “We also have a principal, the transportation director, a classified staff member and a representative from Fort McDowell. Our community committee is comprised of parents that have children in all three schools, the PTO president, the Booster Club president, a business owner and two students.”

The school board will divide between the two committees and sit in on their interviews before coming back together to interview the candidates themselves.

The board will then meet in executive session on March 10 to choose the new superintendent and then will vote publicly to approve them at the March 18 governing board meeting.