The Ames School Board came one step closer to selecting a new superintendent this week when it announced the names of the four final candidates.

Anne W. Johnson, Ankeny, associate superintendent for instruction; Kathleen Mulholland, Naperville, Ill., assistant superintendent of curriculum; W. Ray Richardson, current Ames interim superintendent; and Dewitt Jones, Fond du Lac, Wis., superintendent, were announced Tuesday as the finalists.

Board members will conduct interviews Monday through Thursday.

Several challenges await the new superintendent, said School Board President Barbara Guy. Foremost among these challenges is drastic budget cuts.

The budget stands at about $36 million but was cut by about $566,000 this winter. Next year there is a likelihood of another $1.8 million cut.

“We’re going to have to do business differently,” Guy said.

He added the school district does not want the high quality of Ames education to suffer.

Teachers often fear the risks of inventive teaching when budgets are slashed and tend to limit themselves to simply maintaining the core of education, she said.

“We want to encourage teachers to be creative and innovative,” Guy said.

Guy and other board members want the new superintendent to be both fiscally and educationally responsible.

Tim Taylor, deputy superintendent for personnel in the Ames school district, said one person can hold the superintendent position for three years, but the school board annually reviews the contract. The board can then continually add time to the superintendent’s term.

The superintendent is the highest-paid position in the school district. Last year’s salary was $115,000, but Taylor said he expects it to rise this year. The negotiable salary depends on the individual’s experience and skills, Taylor said, including working with Iowa State.

“We do already collaborate, but we could probably increase our collaboration,” Guy said.

Iowa State works with the Ames school district on a number of issues, Guy said, including ISU student-teacher internships, research and development, and Advanced Placement classes for high school students.

The positive relationship between Iowa State and the school district is just one of the strong points the new superintendent will be expected to build on.

“People care about education in Ames, and they expect the very best,” Taylor said.

Because of the high expectations of the community, the board of education has made sure that Ames residents have had input in the hiring process.

Taylor said ultimate hiring responsibility rests with the seven board members, but about 90 people have been involved in the process.

Taylor said the board held a series of focus groups in January that included students, parents, teachers, and administrators to determine what people wanted in their superintendent.

Taylor said all the participants were not looking for someone with a particular stance on issues, but rather someone with distinctive personal characteristics, such as high moral character, a focus on students, compassion, energy and vision.

“Education in Ames is a top priority,” Taylor said.