In their quest to find a new schools superintendent, Duchesne County School Board members will look no further than the principals' offices of a few schools within the district.

School Board members interviewed last week say there's no reason to launch a time-consuming search for a new superintendent to replace John Aland, who's retiring in August, when the local district has talented principals who are interested in the job.

“We'll probably have an announcement at our next board meeting,” said board member Gordon Moon, who represents the Duchesne area. “We are going to hire from within. We know our pool and we're just deciding among them.”

Board members would not divulge the names on their short list. They said there are fewer than five principals who are being considered for, and have an interest in, the job.

The board meets on Jan. 14 in Duchesne.

“It's going to happen pretty fast and pretty soon,” Moon said of naming Aland's successor.

Aland, 58, who has presided over Duchesne County schools for 18 years, announced his upcoming retirement at the board's Dec. 10 meeting. He cited stress and health issues as part of the reason for his decision — he is being treated for a heart ailment — but noted that he has been working in the education arena for 32 years.

“We've got some top-notch people,” Moon said. “I have no doubt we're going to get a good superintendent.”

Board members discussed their plan for finding a new superintendent during an executive session at the end of the Dec. 10 meeting. Executive sessions are closed to the general public and the media.

Board member Kim Harding said he doesn't remember who first came up with the idea of promoting a principal to the superintendent's post, but he said he fought for the process once it was on the table.

“I feel good about it. And I pushed for it to be this way,” he said.”It's a waste of time to open it up.”

Other changes are in the air with regard to the school district's future administration. Board members say the district's two assistant superintendents, Jack Bell and Larry Abplanalp, also will retire in 2010. Instead of replacing both positions, the board plans to hire a “curriculum specialist.” That newly created job will be filled by an existing district principal as well.

The board faced some criticism this past fall for not involving the public more directly in coming up with a school building plan that was contingent on voters' passage of a $49 million bond issue and a property-tax increase to pay debt on the bonds. Since the failure of the bond-issue referendum on Nov. 3, school board members have spoken at times of the need for more openness, transparency and public input when it comes to making major decisions.

However, there will be no public input with regard to the superintendent appointment, board members say.

Harding said choosing a superintendent is a far different task than trying to pass a bond issue.

“The public is not going to look at applications,” he said. “It's going to come down to a board decision whether it's opened up or not. It will be an appointment.

“We don't need to send a signal that we don't already have good candidates,” Harding continued. “We have a lot of people in the district who have earned their stripes.”

Board President Nancy West said her research suggests there aren't a lot of available candidates outside of the district but in the state of Utah. She said it's important to hire someone from within the state who is familiar with curriculum guidelines and funding mechanisms.

“When we got John Aland, we searched outside the district,” she said. “But things are much different now than they were then.” She said the current state of the economy, and tough budget decisions faced by local school districts, would make the job less appealing to someone from the outside.

West said four districts in Utah are currently looking for a superintendent, which waters down the statewide pool of qualified candidates. She echoed comments from other board members in saying that the Duchesne district is lucky to have a good pool of candidates available from within, applicants who are comfortable living and working in a rural Utah community.

Board member John Hullinger said the local principals who are interested in the job have a good handle on curriculum issues, a necessary skill given the recent emphasis on “curriculum mapping,” a system that thematically aligns assessment, curriculum and instruction. Like the other school board members interviewed for this story, he likes the direction the board is taking with the superintendent appointment.

However, he wasn't so sure that a decision would be made by the January meeting. “I think we will have a decision by February,” Hullinger said. There are “at least two strong candidates” in the district, he said, and they are principals.

An advantage of hiring from the inside, he said, is that the new superintendent “will know the district's personnel and how to juggle them.”

Board member Doug Swasey could not be reached for comment.