WARREN – SAD 40’s superintendent search committee has narrowed a field of 10 applicants to four Maine residents who will be interviewed for the top administrative post, committee Chairwoman Shlomit Auciello said Friday.

The 18-member committee, which met Thursday, is made up of some school board directors, staff and residents from each of the district towns. SAD 40 covers Waldoboro, Warren, Washington, Friendship and Union.

All of the candidates to be interviewed are from Maine, Auciello said, noting that all 10 applications were from within the state.

The selection of a replacement for former Superintendent William Doughty has included a survey of district residents to find out what qualities and attributes people want in a school leader. The results of the questionnaire showed that people want someone who communicates well with the community, Auciello said, and one who has strong financial and educational skills.

“We want a strong leader” and someone “who recognizes who all the stakeholders are,” she said.

In January, board members learned the district budget was in the red by nearly $500,000 on June 30, 2002, and Doughty had withheld that crucial information, which he knew about in July.

Doughty has since resigned.

On March 3, the board hired interim Superintendent Jerry T. White of North Haven.

An advertisement for the position placed on American Association of School Administrator’s Web site ran longer than newspaper advertisements, Auciello said, so they have received some applications that were not considered. If the committee is not satisfied with the group being interviewed, it conceivably could look at the other candidates later, she said.

One newspaper advertisement stated the salary would be commensurate with experience and qualifications. After more than three years on the job, Doughty’s annual pay was $79,483.

Auciello expected interviews to begin soon and for the committee to make recommendations to the full board by March 31. Then the board will select one or more candidates to be interviewed before selecting a finalist, she said.

“We’re just doing the preliminaries,” she said of the committee interviews.