The Lopez Island School District has narrowed its search for a K-12 principal to three candidates.

Those candidates will be interviewed March 11-13. The person selected will succeed Principal Roland MacNichol, who is retiring at the end of this school year.

Chosen from an initial pool of 26 applicants, each of the three finalists will be interviewed in a day-long process on March 11, 12 and 13. Islanders can meet each candidate those three nights, at 5:30 p.m., in the school library. Attendees will be asked to fill out a confidential rating sheet on each candidate to further assist the district in making a final decision.

“We have tried very hard to get meaningful input from parents, students, staff and community in this process,” Superintendent Bill Evans said in a press release. “Your comments and input on the three finalists will be very much appreciated.”

The three candidates:

— Larry Johnson, former Lopez school superintendent and currently superintendent of the Darrington School District. He has a broad background in administrative experience as a principal at both elementary and secondary levels, and a teaching and coaching background at the middle and high school level.

— Ronald Yauchzee, currently the director of Leadership and Learning in the Longview School District. He has also been an elementary principal and assistant high school principal. He has a strong special education background, and has taught at the elementary level.

— Parvin Baharloo has experience as an elementary teacher and was the director of two private schools. She was most recently the assistant head of a private school in Seattle.

“Each of these three candidates would bring a wealth of talent and experience to our school,” Evans said. “And we are looking forward to interviewing each candidate in the tough process of choosing Mr. MacNichol’s replacement.”