The United South Central School Board could name a new superintendent by the end of the month.

At a special board meeting Monday, the board named five semifinalists to replace Superintendent Jerry Jensen, who will retire June 30.

The five candidates were chosen from a field of 12 applicants by the South Central Service Cooperative, which has been contracted by USC to aid in its superintendent search.

According to consultant Harold Remme, the five applicants were chosen who best reflected a profile of attributes the board felt a viable candidate for the position should have. Some of the attributes taken into consideration included having excellent communication skills, having a good working knowledge of school finance, being a good listener with strong interpersonal skills, and being described by others as honest, ethical and dedicated to students and the education profession, among others.

Based on the criteria given, Remme said five prospective candidates were chosen by the firm and presented to the board. The board has accepted the recommendations of the candidates who will move on to the next phase of the interview process on Thursday.

The candidates are Keith Flemming, Bradley Johnson, Tim Plath, Barry Schmidt and Ted Simon.

Fleming is a high school principal with 11 years of experience as a secondary school principal at Southland Middle and High School in Adams and at Austin Senior High School. He also has three years of experience as a principal at a learning center, and nine years of experience as a social worker and youth counselor.

Johnson is an elementary principal at Northside Elementary School in Benson. He has been in the position for 12 years. He also has 10 years of experience as a math teacher in Waterville and Grand Meadow.

Plath has 10 years of experience as a high school principal and superintendent at Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School, where he also taught band. He was also a music teacher for 17 years, having taught in Manitowac, St. Joseph and New Ulm.

Schmidt has been a principal at Butterfield-Oden Public Schools for four years. He also has 12 years of experience as a physical education and health teacher in Madelia and taught at an area learning center in Worthington for five years.

Simon is a high school principal. He has six years of experience as a secondary principal at the Deer River, St. James and Maple River School Districts. He also taught agriculture education at Maple River for 10 years.

These candidates will be interviewed by both the USC School Board and a community committee made up of six community members, four teachers, one administrator and one support staff. The interviews with the school district will be open to the public; the interviews with the community committee will not be.

The community committee will complete feedback sheets, which the board will consider when making its final decision.

“The second round of interviews will take place March 9 and March 10 for the final two candidates,” Remme said. “We would like to have a candidate to be approved by board action at the regular board meeting on March 15.”

Remme, who retired from working as a superintendent in New Ulm in 2013, has been working with fellow consultant, Ed Waltman, during the USC superintendent search. Waltman is a former superintendent in Mankato.