The search for a school superintendent continues following last month's departure of Superintendent Dr. Brant Myers, who took the top post at the Jim Ned Consolidated Independent School District after five years with Lampasas.

Horn, Smith, Wood and Preston -- the firm hired to search for a new superintendent for LISD -- received 34 applications by Monday's deadline, and more could be forthcoming if they were postmarked by Monday's date and arrive by this morning.

That is when trustees plan to meet in closed session to consider the applications.

Prior to that, at 9 a.m. today, trustee positions for the LISD will be finalized after a meeting of the Early Voting Ballot Board to ensure all acceptable overseas mail-in ballots have been counted and added to the final totals.

After last week's election, just a handful of votes separated incumbent Andrew Irvin and his challenger, Mark Bishop. Before the race is declared final, official votes must be tallied.

Whichever school board candidate -- Irvin or Bishop -- garnered more votes in the election will be on hand to review the superintendent applications.

Also reviewing applications with the board will be Dan Claussen, the candidate who defeated incumbent Max Keele.

After the review, which is expected to take several hours, trustees will narrow their selections and begin making arrangements for interviews with finalists.

Potential superintendents likely will be interviewed early next week.

Trustees -- who plan to meet at 6 p.m. Monday to canvass election results, reorganize the board and swear in trustees -- may schedule interviews both prior to and following the board meeting.

From that pool, the field will be narrowed to the top candidates -- from one to three -- who then will be scheduled for a second interview, said LISD Board President James Briggs. Those interviews could come as soon as late next week or early the following week.

"We hope to be able to name a finalist as early as June 1," said Interim Superintendent Rex Daniels.

After naming a finalist, a mandatory 21-day waiting period will ensue.

If all goes as planned, a new superintendent could be in place by the end of June or early July, Daniels said.

When Myers left the LISD, his annual salary was $118,000, but the new superintendent's pay will be negotiated, said Daniels.

Briggs noted the LISD pays the lowest superintendent salary of any school in the district. "But I think there are many things that will make Lampasas an attractive place for a superintendent to locate," he added, "including the LISD's new schools."