The Bozeman School Board narrowed down their search for superintendent to four finalists, Wednesday night.

School Board officials say each board member spent at least 10 hours analyzing applications.

Now, they say they've narrowed their search from 12 qualified candidates to four finalists.

Officials say they were looking for someone who is used to working with communities, has vision, leadership and management skills, to name a few.

They say they have no clear front-runner right now and stress that each individual has their own strengths.

"These were the four that kind of came forward in our minds as the best candidates for taking our children into the 21st century and they all are very exciting and we're looking forward to meeting them and going through the interview process," says School Board Chair Denise Hayman.

Shawn Woodward is an administrator with the North Kitsap School District in Washington state.

Josh Middleton is the Billings Schools assistant superintendent. The district is set to eliminate the position at the end of the school year, due to financial reasons.

James Warford of Oregon is former school superintendent of Marion county and internal candidate Robert Watson is currently principal of Bozeman High School.

Both Woodward and Watson have agreed to interviews.

Officials are waiting to hear back from Middleton and Warford.

The Montana School Board Association is set to perform background and reference checks on the four finalists.

Assuming Middleton and Warford agree to interviews, all four candidates will meet with the community at Hyalite Elementary May 15th and 16th.