WELLSBURG — Three months after appointing Jeffrey Crook as the interim superintendent of schools, the Brooke County Board of Education will begin screening applications in an effort to find a permanent hire to take over July 1.

A meeting of the school board is set to take place at 4 p.m. Friday in the school board offices in order to review the finalists.

The board members noted they do not take the responsibility lightly.

“The decision will determine the future of our school system in Brooke County,” said Stacy Hooper, board vice president.

Both board President Theodore Pauls and Hooper believe they have a good pool of candidates to screen Friday after narrowing the interview list to four individuals.

“It is impossible to know if we will make a decision Friday since we have a lot of viable candidates,” said Pauls.

The position was posted through the West Virginia School Board Association, which then distributed the opening to various entities.

During a board meeting held April 8, board member Antoinette Perkins turned to Crook and said she hoped he would apply for the permanent position.

“I’ll definitely put my name in there,” said Crook, at the time. “I want to be under consideration.”

Crook confirmed Wednesday he had applied for the position, but offered no further comment.

Hooper said the Brooke County Board of Education will continue to do what is best for Brooke County.

“I think we have upheld everything we intended to for the voters and will continue to do so,” said Hooper.

(Linder can be contacted at tlinder@heraldstaronline.com)