Somers-Lakeside School District will interview candidates in April in the search for a new superintendent.

The district personnel committee will conduct interviews with potential candidates at 5 p.m. April 5 and 6 at Somers Middle School.

The district has received applications from Gerald Chouinard, principal of Lame Deer Elementary; Mark Johnston, principal of Ronan Middle School; Robert Macauley, who recently spent four years as a high school principal in Oregon and is currently a substitute teacher in the Flathead Valley; and Joseph Price, executive director of a cooperative educational service agency in Wisconsin

June 30 will be Paul Jenkins’ last day as Lakeside-Somers superintendent.

In his fourth year with the district, Jenkins submitted a letter of resignation to the school board thanking trustees, staff and the community “for allowing me to make a difference for the students of Somers and Lakeside Schools.” He did not cite a particular reason for his resignation in the letter.

Jenkins also noted, “There is much to be accomplished until the end of my employment, and know I will continue to work every bit as hard as I have since you brought me on three and a half years ago.”

Some of the work that lies ahead for the district is the decision whether or not to send Somers Middle School students to a new building that Kalispell Public Schools proposes to construct at the south end of Kalispell.

Hilary Matheson is a reporter for The Daily Inter Lake. She may be reached at 758-4431 or [email protected].