The search is on for a new Central Junior High School principal.

Because it is so late in the school year, Superintendent Randy Weseman was weighing whether to start looking or appoint an interim principal and begin the search next school year.

Administrators announced last week that current principal, Frank Harwood, would move next year to district headquarters as the division director of technology services to replace Michel Eltschinger, who is retiring.

Administrators will begin advertising either this afternoon or Tuesday for the Central position, and they plan to accept applications for two weeks, said David Cunningham, human resources division director for certified employees.

“We don’t have the luxury of leaving it open as long as we did for Free State,” Cunningham said of the search earlier this year for a new high school principal that lasted nine weeks.

If they are satisfied with the Central candidates, administrators will screen them and have finalists meet with Central teachers, parents and students. Weseman would then discuss the interviews and make a decision.

Cunningham said the district is trying to get a feel for how many candidates might be interested, even though it’s already May. If they are not satisfied with the search in the short term, it’s still possible administrators could appoint an interim principal, he said.