Falls Church School Board chair Lawrence Webb released a letter late Friday afternoon to the Falls Church community signalling that the School Board search for a permanent new superintendent is nearing completion, and will be finalized before spring break, or by April 8.

According to Webb’s statement, a methodological search process began with contracting B.W.P. Associates last fall, following the departure of Superintendent Dr. Toni Jones, for a nationwide search and a month-long survey of local parents, staff and citizens. The search concluded on Feb. 24, Webb stated, with a pool of 38 candidates “representing a wide range of geographic, ethnic and gender diversity” was presented to the school board.

The board has since “selected and invited several of the top candidates in for personal interviews,” and “we will whittle this group further to our finalists who will then meet with a 13-member stakeholder panel that the board approved last Tuesday night.” After that, the board will make its final determination, and “it is our intent to announce the new permanent [Falls Church City Public Schools] Superintendent by Spring Break,” Webb said, adding “this is still a confidential process.”