The Selma City School’s Board of Education is narrowing down its search for a new superintendent. The board will announce five finalists for the position at a special called school board meeting Friday, Aug. 25 at 5 p.m.

“We’re having a special called board meeting and at that meeting we’ll narrow our search down to five,” said board president Johnny Moss. “After that meeting, we will begin interviews on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.”

Moss said school board attorney Katy Smith Campbell has been going through applications and has narrowed the list down to seven, and the board will vote on the top five to interview for the superintendent position.

“Attorney Campbell will present seven finalists, and the board will narrow those seven down to five,” Moss said. “Those five will go through the interview process.”

The five candidates will tour the schools, have a public reception and then interviews will begin.

There will be two interviews Tuesday, two Wednesday and one Thursday.

“Attorney Campbell said that she’s got some strong applicants, and it’s going to make it difficult for us to choose the right person,” Moss said.

Moss said he is hoping that the community will attend the receptions and interviews to listen in on what the candidates offer and have to say about leading the school system.

“We want as much support as possible from the public, parents, city leaders,” Moss said. “We encourage students as well. All of the interviews will be held at Selma High School as well as the receptions, so we really want support from the community.”

The board meeting will be held in the Selma City School’s board room and the details of the interviews and the five applicants will be announced then.

The superintendent position became available in May when the board voted to accept Dr. Angela Mangum’s resignation and agree to a financial settlement. She was placed on administrative leave two weeks prior to the vote for an alleged breach of her contract after the board found out she was a candidate for the Pike Road Schools superintendent position.

A clause in her contract required her to notify the school board if she decided to seek employment outside of the district.