Steamboat Springs — The Hayden School District has announced its finalists for a new superintendent.

Hayden School Board President Brian Hoza said Friday that the three people are strong candidates.

The finalists are Phil Kasper, Lynda McCarty and Stephen Scheill.

Kasper is from Dolores and is currently the director of administration at the Central Consolidated School District in Shiprock, New Mexico.

McCarty is from Pueblo and is currently an assistant professor at Colorado State University-Pueblo.

Schiell is from Amery, Wisconsin, where he is the superintendent at the School District of Amery.

Members of the public can view the candidates’ applications at the school district office until May 6 and are invited to submit comments about the applicants.

Interviews will be held Thursday at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. at the district office. The interviews are open to the public.

The public is invited to meet the candidates during a candidates forum and meet-and-greet from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Thursday in the Hayden High School lobby. The public will again be allowed to submit comments.

The school board will meet at 6:30 p.m. to rank the candidates. That meeting will also be open to the public.

The chosen superintendent will replace Trudy Vader, who resigned in March during her first year as superintendent. Vader will work for the remainder of her one-year contract, which expires June 30.

On Jan. 27, Vader was arrested on suspicion of DUI by the Routt County Sheriff’s Office. Her case is set for a jury trial on June 12.

To reach Matt Stensland, call 970-871-4247, email mstensland@SteamboatToday.com or follow him on Twitter @SBTStensland