The search for Jordan’s next superintendent is not going quite the way its current superintendent hoped.

The district office has sent out only 16 informational application packets to potential candidates, Superintendent Larry Kauzlarich said. It’s not as many has he had hoped to send out.

Of those 16, only three have returned application materials – and one of those applications is incomplete.

Between 10 and 12 of the 16 potential candidates so far will return their application materials, Kauzlarich said. He still feels the district will find the right candidate in that pool.

The application deadline closes Feb. 1, and Kauzlarich said more applications will come in.

“A lot of people wait until the last few days,” he said.

One of the problems may be the high number of potential candidates who are more interested in interim positions – something he, too, plans to pursue after leaving Jordan.

The lack of candidates had at least one board member worried that the district would have been better served by hiring a consultant. Joe Benko asked if the board might want to check with other districts involved in superintendent searches that did use consultants to find out how many applications those districts received.

Board Member Jim Donna also worried that only Minnesota candidates had seen the job information posted through the Minnesota School Board Association.

Any candidate willing to move to Minnesota will have seen the information, Kauzlarich said. Those out-of-state candidates have likely already contacted the state’s school board association.

The application deadline is Jan. 18 for district residents hoping to be included in the citizen committee that will meet with each potential superintendent during the interview process. The board will appoint people 10-12 citizens from the applications they receive.

The candidates will be brought to Jordan for interviews Feb. 23 and Feb. 25, and hopes to hire a new superintendent by the middle of March.