The Olentangy Local School District (OLSD) is closing in on identifying its next superintendent after beginning the search in February. On Thursday, the Olentangy Schools Board of Education will meet in a special session to hold a second round of interviews for two final candidates.

In January, current Superintendent Mark Raiff announced his plans to retire after the school year, ending two decades of service to the district. Now, the board has whittled down a pool of 13 candidates and will decide between Dr. Joseph Clark and Todd Meyer to lead the district forward.

Clark currently serves as the superintendent of Nordonia Hills City Schools and as a professor for the American College of Education. Previously, he held assistant superintendent positions at Kent City Schools and Barberton City Schools.

Meyer would bring considerable knowledge of the district to the position as he currently serves as OLSD’s chief operations officer and was the first-ever principal at Olentangy Orange High School when the building opened in 2008. Meyer’s background in education also includes time as the principal at Westerville Central High School and as the executive director of secondary curriculum and instruction for Westerville City Schools.

“Selecting the new superintendent of Olentangy Schools is an important responsibility that the board does not take lightly,” said Board of Education President Kevin O’Brien. “Our search began by laying a foundation of characteristics our community would like to see in a candidate pool, which involved focus groups with 190 participants and collecting 1,321 feedback responses through a community survey. After 30 days, we received applications from 13 candidates, five of whom were semifinalists. Both our two finalists present a unique set of strengths that will serve the district well going forward.”

Following Thursday’s interviews, the board expects to announce its selection on Monday, May 15, with the new superintendent beginning the role by Aug. 1.

For more information on OLSD’s search, visit www.escco.org/OlentangySearch.

Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on Twitter @DillonDavis56.