The Williston Public School District 1 is a little closer to hiring a new superintendent for the district.

Out of 12 overall applicants, North Dakota School Board Association Executive Director Dr. Jon Martinson recommended four names to the Williston School Board at a special board meeting Thursday night. Martinson thought the four individuals stood out from the rest of the applicants.

The individuals are Viola LaFontaine, superintendent in Belcourt, Mike Severson, superintendent in Casselton, Janna Stevens, assistant superintendent in Superior, Wisc., and Douglas Sullivan, superintendent in Sidney.

After a discussion about all of the applications, the board voted to pursue interviews with the four candidates Martinson recommended.

Martinson named what he considers to be the strengths of each individual and why he thinks they could be a good fit for the district. Board member Kim Egge pointed out that two of the four candidates do not have North Dakota superintendent credentials. However, Martinson said in many cases these credentials are not difficult to achieve, and sometimes they may just require one additional class.

During a short recess, Martinson attempted to reach all four candidates to set up interviews. He then informed the board he left messages on each of their cell phones and should hear back from them shortly. He is keeping in contact with the board to let it know what he finds out in terms of availability.

Tentatively, board members penciled possible interview dates for Nov. 4-7 and Nov. 10.

Additionally, the board discussed how it wants to interview the candidates. Hanson gave a recap of tentative plans for the interview day, which begins with lunch at approximately 1 p.m. The locale is to be arranged by the board.

“Then we’ll arrange for a tour of the community and incorporate the school facilities or a representative sample thereof roughly 2 to 5-ish,” said Hanson, adding the candidate gets a break from 5-7 p.m. and the interview begins at 7 p.m.

Hanson noted the Williston Community Library worked well in the past for interviews. The board agreed to pursue this location and the Elks as a backup location.